Battle of Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg
Part of the American Civil War
The battle of Gettysburg, Pa. July 3d., 1863, by Currier and Ives
Date July 1 (1863-07-01)–3, 1863 (1863-07-04) Location Adams County, Pennsylvania Result Union victory[1]
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
George G. Meade	Robert E. Lee
Strength
93,921[2]	71,699[3]
Casualties and losses
23,055 [a] (3,155 killed  14,531 hurt  5,369 captured/missing)[4]	23,231 [a] (4,708 killed  12,693 hurt  5,830 captured/missing)[5]

The Battle of Gettysburg (locally /ˈɡɛtɨsbɜrɡ/ (listen), with an ss sound),^[6] was fought July 1–3, 1863. The battle took place in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War.^[a][8] Gettysburg is often called the war's turning point. Union Major General George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac stopped attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. This ended Lee's second invasion of the North.^[9] Lee began to move his men back to Virginia on July 4. Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers from both armies were casualties in the three-day battle.

The Siege of Vicksburg ended on the same day, also a Union victory.

That November, a cemetery for those who died there was opened at the Gettysburg National Cemetery. President Abraham Lincoln gave a speech called the Gettysburg Address at the ceremony to open the cemetery and honor the dead soldiers on both sides.

1. ↑ Edwin B. Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign; a study in command (New York: Scribner's, 1968), p. 573, See the discussion regarding historians' judgment on whether Gettysburg should be considered a decisive victory
2. ↑ John W. Busey; David G. Martin, Regimental Strengths and Losses at Gettysburg 4th ed. (Hightstown, NJ: Longstreet House, 2005), p. 125, "Engaged strength" at the battle was 93,921
3. ↑ John W. Busey; David G. Martin, Regimental Strengths and Losses at Gettysburg 4th ed. (Hightstown, NJ: Longstreet House, 2005), p. 260, state that "engaged strength" at the battle was 71,699; McPherson, p. 648, lists the strength at the start of the campaign as 75,000.
4. ↑ John W. Busey; David G. Martin, Regimental Strengths and Losses at Gettysburg 4th ed. (Hightstown, NJ: Longstreet House, 2005), p. 125.
5. ↑ John W. Busey; David G. Martin, Regimental Strengths and Losses at Gettysburg 4th ed. (Hightstown, NJ: Longstreet House, 2005), p. 260. See the section on casualties for a discussion of alternative Confederate casualty estimates, which have been cited as high as 28,000.
6. ↑ Robert D. Quigley, Civil War Spoken Here: A Dictionary of Mispronounced People, Places and Things of the 1860s (Collingswood, NJ: C. W. Historicals, 1993), p. 68. ISBN 0-9637745-0-6.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} "Civil War Casualties". Civil War Trust. November 16, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
8. ↑ The Battle of Antietam, the end of Lee's first invasion of the North, had the largest number of casualties in a single day, about 23,000.
9. ↑ "Battle of Gettysburg". History. A&E Television Network, LLC. Retrieved September 16, 2016.