Walk with Lincoln in Gettysburg
In a fierce battle on July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 1863, the American Civil War came very literally to the doorsteps of the Gettysburg community. When the two armies departed, death and destruction had been left behind for the citizens of the town to cope with.
Dead horses of Bigelow's Battery near the Trostle Farm, Gettysburg 1863.
Photograph by Timothy O'Sullivan (Library of Congress)
Dead Confederate Soldiers near Devil's Den, Gettysburg 1863.
Photograph by Alexander Garner (Library of Congress)
Major General George Gordon Meade before the Battle of Gettysburg (Library of Congress)
General Robert Edward Lee, 1860 (Library of Congress)
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Size of Armies
- Army of Northern Virginia- 75,000
- Army of the Potomac- 97,000
Losses
- Confederate- 28,000
- Union- 23,000
- Total- 51,000 Killed, wounded, captured, or missing
Commanders of the Armies
- Confederate- General Robert E. Lee
- Union- Major General George G. Meade
Just who was Major General George Gordon Meade?
Major General George Gordon Meade was born on December 31, 1815 in Cadiz, Spain. After being accepted into West Point and attaining his degree in 1835, he became a civil engineer. Meade reentered the army in 1842 and earned a brevet in Mexico.
During the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania, Meade replaced Gen. Joseph Hooker three days before the battle when he recieved his assignment from Washington. Meade ordered a concentrated number of troops from the area surrounding Pipe Creek, Maryland to Gettysburg. During the battle he masterfully maneuvered his troops from one threatened section to another.
After the victory, Meade received formal thanks from Congress. Later, he was criticized for allowing Lee to escape to Virginia without another battle.
Just who was General Robert Edward Lee?
Virginian Robert Edward Lee is to this day one of the nation's most beloved generals. Lee was born January 19, 1807 and is the most celebrated war hero of America. Lee served in the US Army from 1829 to 1861 and in the Confederate Army from 1861-1865. Lee served in both the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. Later, Washington and Lee University was named after him, and he served as President of the College until his death.
Lee married Mary Anna Randolph Custis in 1831 and had seven children. All of the children are buried with Anna and Robert in Lee Chapel at Washington and Lee University, Virginia.
To learn more about the history of Washington and Lee University . . . click here.
300 North Washington Street · Gettysburg, PA 17325