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'''The Battle of Gettysburg''' took place during the [[American Civil War]] from July 1 to July 4, 1863. General [[George Meade]] commanded the [[Union]] [[Army of the Potomac]] while general [[Robert E. Lee]] led the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] Army of Northern Virginia.  

'''The Battle of Gettysburg''' was the climax of the [[Gettysburg Campaign]], a decisive defeat for the Confederacy in the [[American Civil War]] from July 1 to July 4, 1863. General [[George Meade]] commanded the [[Union]] [[Army of the Potomac]] while general [[Robert E. Lee]] led the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] Army of Northern Virginia.  

==Lee moves north==

==Lee moves north==

[[Image:Lee5.jpg|thumb|200px|right|General Robert E. Lee in 1863]]

[[Image:Lee5.jpg|thumb|200px|right|General Robert E. Lee in 1863]]

[[Image:Gettysburg Campaign.png|thumb|200px|right|The Gettysburg Campaign]]

[[Image:Gettysburg Campaign.png|thumb|200px|right|The Gettysburg Campaign]]

General Robert E. Lee was not ready to sit idle and wait for the next Union thrust after Chancellorsville. He had communicated with Richmond for several months on his desire to make another invasion of the North and by late May saw an opportunity to take the initiative while Union forces appeared to be in disarray. Lee's objectives were quite simple: take the war out of Virginia so that the land could recover, a necessary measure to provide relief to farms and farmland devastated by battle and foraging armies, and to gather supplies for his hungry army. His army's movement north of the Potomac River would not only force the Union Army out of Virginia, but hopefully also draw Union troops away from the ongoing siege of Vicksburg. Once his army had raided northern territory, he could gather his troops for battle in an area to his liking where advantages of position could force the Union to attack and Lee counterattack as opportunities were presented. Politically, Lee reasoned a conclusive victory on northern soil would add weight to the growing Northern peace movement, apply pressure to the Lincoln administration to end the war and sue for peace, and provide sufficient reason for official recognition of the Confederacy by European powers. Only the political diplomacy of the Lincoln administration had kept England and France from recognizing the southern government as an independent nation. Lee's argument was reasonable to Jefferson Davis and though the Confederate president was nervous about Richmond not being fully protected by Lee's forces, he approved the plan.

 

 

Up until now the Confederate army had generally been successful in pitched battles, although they were always outnumbered in men and supplies. While Lee was used to fighting with inferior numbers he was also severely handicapped at [[Gettysburg]] by the recent loss of his best general, [[Stonewall Jackson]], as well as the absence of his "eyes"--the cavalry under [[J.E.B. Stuart]], who he depended on reconnaissance. Lee never knew how close and dangererous the Union army was. Another problem was the new division of the Confederate Army by General Lee.  There were originally two corps, one under General [[James Longstreet]], the other under General Jackson. With Jackson's death, Lee decided to divide the second corps into two new ones: one under General [[Richard S. Ewell]], the other under [[A.P. Hill]]. Lee moved north through Maryland and into Pennsylvania, close to a small town called Gettysburg. <ref>  [[the American History of the Civil War]], by Bruce Catton, MetroBooks, 2001, p. 304. </ref>

 

   

   

While Lee's army made preparations to march, the Army of the Potomac rested in their old winter camps opposite Fredericksburg while its commander, Major General [[Joseph Hooker]], wrestled with innumerable predicaments. Not only were Lee's intentions perplexing Hooker, his relationship with War Department officials in Washington had become almost hostile. The flamboyant Hooker had rebuilt morale and discipline in the army after the disastrous "Mud March" in the winter of 1863, and in late April brilliantly moved the bulk of his forces around Lee's army concentrated at Fredericksburg. Despite the Union advantage, Lee and his top general "Stonewall" Jackson, countered Hooker's strategy and soundly defeated him. Hooker's bluster and bravado before the campaign meant nothing after his miserable failure at the [[Battle of Chancellorsville]]. Many in the War Department had lost faith in the general's abilities, including President Lincoln who soon believed Hooker unsuited to contend with Lee.

While Lee's army made preparations to march, the Army of the Potomac rested in their old winter camps opposite Fredericksburg while its commander, Major General [[Joseph Hooker]], wrestled with innumerable predicaments. Not only were Lee's intentions perplexing Hooker, his relationship with War Department officials in Washington had become almost hostile. The flamboyant Hooker had rebuilt morale and discipline in the army after the disastrous "Mud March" in the winter of 1863, and in late April brilliantly moved the bulk of his forces around Lee's army concentrated at Fredericksburg. Despite the Union advantage, Lee and his top general "Stonewall" Jackson, countered Hooker's strategy and soundly defeated him. Hooker's bluster and bravado before the campaign meant nothing after his miserable failure at the [[Battle of Chancellorsville]]. Many in the War Department had lost faith in the general's abilities, including President Lincoln who soon believed Hooker unsuited to contend with Lee.