The Battle Of Gettysburg

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The Battle Of Gettysburg

The night of July 2nd marked the end of two bloody and inconclusive days of fighting. After the promising scenario of July 1st and the route of the Union 1st and 11th corps, things were becoming bleak after the failure of assaults launched by General Robert E. Lee on July 2nd, against both sides of Union general George Gordon Meade's positions. Robert E. Lee, with his spirits and hope high, was determined to drive his rival from the field, crush the Potomac Army, and even and force the United States government to negotiate a peace settlement with the rebellious Confederate States of America. As for July 3rd, Lee proposed an assault against the center of the Union line, 1 away from the 'Cemetery Ridge'. The essence of this attack would be the 5,400 men of Major General George Pickett's division of Longstreet's corps. Supporting Pickett's battering would be portions of 'A.P. Hill's' corps, which had been heavily used on July 1st but had partially been reserved on the 2nd. A total of 12,000 men would take part in the planned attack.

Due to the nature of Meade's troop, the famous "fishhook line", these forces could be easily supported by other units of the Army of the Potomac. One of the squad's leaders in Pickett's division was General Lewis Armistead, a participant of the prior war of Mexico and a close friend of Winfield Hancock. Armistead's brigade was made up of five regiments of Virginia troopsL 9th, 14th, 38th, 53th, 57th, coming to a total of about 2000 men. These five regimens would be supported by the other two brigades of Pickett's division.
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At approximately 12 noon, the 9th Virginia Regiment, which was under the command of Colonel John C. Owens, took its place in the tree line. The 9th consisted of 277 officers and men, recruited from the town of Portsmouth, Virginia. They prepared to attack on July 3rd. Soon after the men were in place an Artillery barrage, originally intended to weaken the Union forces, began. 150 rebel cannons precisely aimed, continuously fired for almost to two hours. Unfortunately, most of this cannon fire flew over the Union line and landed way beyond the troops it was intended to ...

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