I have been interested in this Civil War battlefield even since I read Killing Angels, the Pulitzer Prize winning historical novel that told the tale of the battle.
killing angels - highly recommended
Gettysburg was, together with Vicksburg, a significant turning point in the Civil War. It was the most northern penetration of the North by Robert E. Lee. After Gettysburg, the war was controlled by the Union and ended 2 years later. Lincoln's Gettysburg address occurred after the battle as the country was trying to decide on how to bury the dead. The last images are from the National Cemetery that was created there.
a very detailed profile of the events of the day
The battle must have been crazy as it pitted 12,500 CSA (south) troops against an equal number of Union (north) troops. And, for the most part, was fought between Seminary ridge controlled by the CSA and Cemetery ridge controlled by the Union. Imagine being on a hill and looking across 1/2 mile of land and seeing 12, 500 men stretched over about a mile. The battlefield itself was mostly treeless farm land broken up by stone walls, a major road and crazy fences. It remains today as it was then.
It is very hard to describe what happened there. Most people are familiar with Pickett's Charge, which although not totally correct in the overall scheme of things, was possibly the final break point that ended the 3 day battle.
to the left is Seminary ridge and way over on the right is Cemetery ridge. -- this is the battlefield.
More from the south side.
Limbers -- which holds all the cannon stuff.
The aftermath -- many deaths - known and unknown. Large number of deaths over a period of 3 days, but not the most in a civil war battle.... that happened at Antietam.
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