First Day

It was July 1, 1863. The Battle of Gettysburg had just begun. Confederate General Lee headed to southern Pennsylvania from northern Maryland, looking for supplies. They headed into a small town named Gettysburg, not knowing that Union soldiers were nearby. Lee was lacking enemy information, and didn't know that they were headed right into the Union's trap. Lee's troops ran right into Union forces and began the Battle of Gettysburg. The Confederate army pushed the Union soldiers to Gettysburg, who then headed for Cemetery Ridge and Culp's Hill. The Confederates held back their fire and attacks and decided to camp at Seminary Ridge, running parallel to Union forces. All they had to do was wait.

Second Day

Now, it was July 2. General Lee decided to attack from the left side of the Union line. He thought that from the hill, they could fire down at the Union forces and then win the battle by capturing Little Round Top. On the south side on the hill, the fighting was getting intense. The 20th Maine fought the 15th Alabama, and eventually, the Union forced the Confederates to pull back. Then, the Confederates decided to attack Cemetery and Culp's Hill, but were unsuccessful and allowed the Union to hold a stronger position by the end of the day.

Pickett's Charge

Now, it was the third day of the long battle. General Lee wanted to attack the Union from Cemetery Ridge. He thought that the Union was weak and ready to retreat. The Confederates attacked the Ridge with cannon fire for over an hour. The Union cannons fought back for awhile, but then retreated. The Confederates thought that they damaged the Union's cannons, but ended up doing little harm. Then, the Confederates decided to send 15,000 soldiers into Pickett's Charge. This meant sending the Confederates up to Cemetery Ridge for about a mile. They suffered major losses by artillery fire, but some were very close to reaching the destination on the Ridge where Union forces were located. But, the Union decided to add more soldiers on the Confederates which led the Confederate soldiers to retreat. They suffered almost 7,500 casualties that day and caused the Confederates a major defeat. This gave Confederates little hope of winning the Battle of Gettysburg.