Story of America Cards

Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg

Hello Everyone Today in Story of America Cards we are gonna learn some civil war history with a fail act on the Confederates; it was a battle of the last day during the battle of Gettysburg and called Pickett's Charge after Major General George Pickett of the Confederate army, now let's get into Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg from the Civil War Category in Story of America Cards.

(What is Pickett's Charge?)

Pickett's Charge was also known as Pickett–Pettigrew–Trimble Charge, was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee against Major General George G. Meade's Union army on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War.

However the Confederates lost the battle due to lack of preparation and problems from the onset, The failed attempt was named and mainly known "Pickett's Charge" after Major General George Pickett of the Confederate Army as he was one of the three confederate generals who led the assault.

(A Doomed Act of Heroism)

Shortly after noon on July 3rd 1863, during the third day of the Civil War's most decisive battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Confederate gun batteries stationed along Seminary Ridge opened fire on General George Meade's Union troops, who were massed on the higher ground of Cemetery Ridge...(Hm, Why does this sound to be a perfect "I got the High Ground" joke; In video- "Stars Wars Clip").

Confederate Commander Robert E. Lee's plan was to soften up Meade's defenses with artillery, then commit General James Longstreet to a frontal attack on the vital crest of Cemetery Ridge.

After some 40 minutes of heavy bombardment, the Confederate gunners ran low on ammunition, causing one of the gunnery officers to scribble a note to General George E. Pickett, the divisional commander: "For God's sake" the note reads "Come quick...or my ammunition will not let me support you properly".

Pickett read the note then turned to General Longstreet and asked, "General, shall I advance?". Longstreet did not answer for a moment when nodded.

Out of the woods along Seminary Ridge there suddenly emerged an astonishing sight---15,000 men in confederate gray, their regimental colors waving advanced toward Cemetery Ridge. The line stretched nearly a mile (1.6 km) across, and even blue-clad soldiers on Cemetery Ridge gasped in admiration.

The Union artillery opened up with all the force it could muster, Pickett's men staggered under the deadly fire, which tore gaping holes in the long gray line, Flags began to waver and fall, while behind the still advancing ranks dead and dying men littered the field.

Then, as the Confederates neared the crest, the main Union infantry, which had been concealed behind stone walls, opened up and riddled the gray ranks mercilessly.

Now the exhausted Confederates rushed toward the stone walls using their rifles as clubs, charging blindly ahead without plan or order, soon it became apparent that there could be no victory for the South that day, as the growing masses of Union soldiers loomed ahead on the flanks.

Suddenly it was every man for himself as those who were able to scramble back over the walls and ran down across the field again to Seminary Ridge and safety.

Casualties were sickeningly heavy, In Pickett's division alone, less than one-quarter of his men returned unhurt, Estimates of all Southern casualties at Gettysburg---dead, wounded and missing---ran to 28,000, while Meade's army lost 23,000 in all.

(The Lost Cause)

Pickett's Charge has become one of the central symbols of the literary and cultural movement known as the Lost Cause, in particular for Virginians. Proponents extol the bravery of Confederate soldiers attacking headlong into Union lines, the capable leadership of southern generals inspiring overwhelming confidence in their men, especially that of Virginians such as Lee and Pickett, and the tantalizing closeness of ultimate victory. William Faulkner, the quintessential Southern novelist, summed up the picture in Southern myth of this gallant but futile episode:

"For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o'clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word and it's all in the balance, it hasn't happened yet, it hasn't even begun yet, it not only hasn't begun yet but there is still time for it not to begin against that position and those circumstances which made more men than Garnett and Kemper and Armistead and Wilcox look grave yet it's going to begin, we all know that, we have come too far with too much at stake and that moment doesn't need even a fourteen-year-old boy to think This time. Maybe this time with all this much to lose than all this much to gain: Pennsylvania, Maryland, the world, the golden dome of Washington itself to crown with desperate and unbelievable victory the desperate gamble, the cast made two years ago." - William Faulkner, Intruder in the Dust.

Over time this view came to dominate perceptions of the battle, despite the initial protestations from groups both north and south. Northern veterans in particular opposed the decreasing emphasis on their hard-fought defense of Cemetery Ridge in favor of extolling the bravery and sacrifice of the attacking Confederate army.

Non-Virginian southerners took offense at the overwhelming focus the myth places on Virginian leaders and Virginian troops, despite that larger number of Northern Carolina troops, who sustained greater casualties than the Virginian regiments. Nevertheless, after decades of strident historicizing this narrative had firmly taken root and by the battle's 50th anniversary in 1913 it had become in many ways the standard interpretation of what occurred.

Modern analysis, however, has increasingly shifted away from many of the Lost Cause interpretation's tenets. Lee's decision to conduct the attack has been characterized as the culmination of multiple strategic and tactical blunders, and the sacrifice of his troops as unnecessary. Examination of casualty records, capture reports, and first hand accounts has revealed that substantial numbers of Confederate troops involved in the attack refused to make the final charge, instead choosing to shelter in the sunken depression of the Emmitsburg Road and surrender to Union soldiers after the battle. And later research has shown that it is unlikely Pickett's charge could ever have provided the decisive victory imagined by Lee; a study using the Lanchester model to examine several alternative scenarios suggested that Lee could have captured a foothold on Cemetery Ridge if he had committed several more infantry brigades to the charge; but this likely would have left him with insufficient reserves to hold or exploit the position afterwards.

(Ending)

And that's how far I'll go over on Pickett's Charge, fun fact which came from my dad; I know I have some civil war ancestors, one was at the battle of Gettysburg on Culp's Hill located on the rear side of the Union line. He was my 5th Great grandfather Vital Lapoint of the 123rd NY Infantry. So there's some little facts on me anyways see you in the next history card.