On this date in 1863, confederate soldiers were lining up for what's called Picketts charge.

150 Confederate cannons and 100 Union cannons are about to take part in the largest artillery barrage in our history.
Then around 2:00, 12,000+ Confederate soldiers in a line a wide start marching across the field.

The point that they are stopped was/is considered the high water mark of the war, which just happened to be on land owned by a black fella.

A lot of good men died today during the bloodiest battle (Gettysburg) of the war.

51,000+ casualties and 7,800+ killed.

Thanks hippie, I appreciate history.

Very cool to be reminded... thanks hippie!

When I visited Gettysburg, I went to the “high water mark”, the farthest point in the wall the confederates penetrated plus the farthest they came north in the war. Also, the location in which Confederate General Armistead died and marked by a small monument. An eerie feeling and sense of wonder standing there in that small area were the course of world history was changed

Great post , Hippie

History is a good thing to learn about.

Thanks for the reminder.
I've been thinking a lot about the Civil War this past month.
My Grandfather had a brother from Ohio that saw a lot of action in the civil War.
My grandmother's father was from Pennsylvania he served.
My great grandmother had a brother from Michigan that died May 1864 at the Battle of the wilderness.

Your all welcome.

I like history also, and being today was a pivotal day in our history, figured I would remind y'all.

Thanks...

A little more history.
This is the discharge of my great Uncle. Company G, 3rd regiment, Wisconsin Cavalry.

Discharge is dated October 27, 1865, Ft Leavenworth, KS

My Great Grandfathers unit marker in the Wheatfield.


My Great-Great Uncles unit marker on top of Little Round Top.



My great grandfathers name on the PA monument.

Awesome history guys!

Here's a pic of my granddads uncle's discharge papers. He was wounded in battle.





Here's a medal my granddad got for ww1


My granddad more of less raised me until I got out of school and took up house keeping myself. Wish I would've paid closer attention to his stories!

Just a little information: At one time I knew where there were markers on building in Carlisle PA indicating that the buildings were shot up during the Civil War. My grand mothers uncle "quit" the army and walked home (about 60 miles) after Gettysburg. The northernmost battle of the Civil War was fought in St. Albans, Vermont, on October 19, 1864.There was lots of action north of Gettysburg.

Ohh yea, true.

One thing seldom mentioned is that the confederates pushed the union troops right thru Gettysburg proper on the first day of battle. There are storefront signs with bullet holes in them on display.

I have always enjoyed history.
Thank you hippie!

I still recall one of my profs back in the late 70's telling our class, "history is written by the victorious, and because this country has usually been victorious in all it sets out to accomplish, history is not accurately written about by these individuals. They just write to prop themselves up. Losers have a more accurate account most times."
Or something like that.

I remember sitting there in that Ann Arbor campus course thinking, this nut is weird. Where'd he go to school?

He's probably at Harvard now.

Ian Woodcock's book-50 yrs a hunter an trapper is a little extra special being from places i go or been.amazing amount of history in that ol book also.

The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (July 1–July 3, 1863), was the largest battle of the American Civil War as well as the largest battle ever fought in North America, involving around 85,000 men in the Union’s Army of the Potomac under Major General George Gordon Meade and approximately 75,000 in the Confederacy’s Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert Edward Lee. Casualties at Gettysburg totaled 23,049 for the Union (3,155 dead, 14,529 wounded, 5,365 missing). Confederate casualties were 28,063 (3,903 dead, 18,735 injured, and 5,425 missing), more than a third of Lee’s army.

Both the Union Army and the Confederacy's Army had over 5,000 missing after the Battle of Gettysburg, were they deserters?

I think at times, one needs to hear both sides...then meet somewhere in the middle, unless dealing with recorded specifics. Great thread!

We spent a day there and took two tours. Very meaningful sobering tours and venues. When there are 150 K of troops involved the area covered is huge. The Union line was over 3 miles long. Little Round Top, Bears Den Wheat field peach orchard, Culp's Hill and the copses of trees where Pickett's line met the Union line etc. etc. I was also very interested in the first early battles on the first day where the Iron Brigade held off a much larger Confederate force long enough for Meade to gain the high ground and thus win the battle. Many of those in the Iron Brigade were from WI and MI, several were in the zip codes around where I live now. Still the most veteran deaths in our county due to war are from the Civil War. We toured the church where the one of the hospitals were set up and we saw the holes drilled in the floor to let the blood run into the basement. We also saw the cart(s) that were used to haul the arms and legs off to be dumped. A very good reminder for us as to the real costs of war.

Bryce

Some were deserters. A lot of them got mixed in with other units when they were chasing Lee back to Richmond. My great grandfather was in the 62nd PA at Gettysburg. When he was discharged he was with the 105th.

I would really like to see the battlefield there some day. I have always been interested in the war between the states. Tactics have changed a lot with the invention of more advanced weaponry. What man here can say for sure he would run across a field towards certain death with canister being fired at him? Does anybody here have info as to whether the 5th NC infantry (CSA) was involved there? I have read lots of conflicting information regarding this.

I'm reading they were, under Capt.West with 473 men.

More reading says on the first day they attacked on Oak Ridge losing 64 killed, 125 wounded and 100 missing. Pretty decimated the first day.

Thanks, Hippie, I have read in some places that unit was involved in the charge, but I'm not sure. Had two direct relatives in it, one kia in the battle of cedar creek, Va.before Gettysburg, other made it back home

I edited with more info above for you. No problem!

Thanks, may I ask where you do most of your research, I run into a lot of paywalls when I am trying to trace the relatives

I got that info from civil war in the East website.

I can't link with this kindle or id link it for ya.

The monument dedicated to North Carolina at Gettysburg is very nice.

Never been to that battlefield. Only reason I would want to go that far east.

I have been to several battle fields in Ky. and Tn. I can't help but get a real odd feeling at everyone of them. The bravery those soldiers had is simply incredible to me. What they all endured is more than anyone should ever be asked to endure.

I lived just outside Ft. Donnelson in Dover Tn. for 7 years. It is a National cemetery with burials still on going. As "Taps" was played at a burial it always sent chills up and down my spine. The sound coming through the timber toward my house had a mythical way about it. I have a few of my kin buried there. Some from the civil war, some from WW1 and WW2, one from the Korean conflict. My last uncle to be buried there was an engineer that built several of the dams on the Cumberland and Tn rivers.

My parents house in Dover was just across a street from the outer embankments of the fort. With the help of a friend that lived there all his life we found many war items while metal detecting. Broken swords, many many buttons, mini balls, part of a rifle, a pistol, and even cannon shells that didn't go off. Cut down three trees to get the cannon shells out of them.

Didn't find out till later those shells could have still went off. LOL

North Carolina Monument. It's pretty much the first one you come to as you start down Confederate avenue. A lot of picture angles are horrible for this one because the modern town is in the background.



This would be where Pickett's charge would've pretty much ended. Pickett's charge was such an ill-conceived plan. It required them to run across an open field for about a mile in the blazing sun towards a heavily armed army hiding behind walls of stone. But then again the way this, and many other battles were fought is just odd. Wait until 2 or 3 in the afternoon and then attack.

Union Army 2,500,000 to 2,750,000 soldiers.....Confederate Army 750,000 to 1,250,000 soldiers.

Union battle deaths, 110,070
Confederate battle deaths, 94,000

The Union force was twice as big, and lost 16,000 more soldiers in battle, and took 4 years to win the war.

My grandparents ration books from WW2.



I'm not sure what the upper stamps are for, but the loose ones are for fuel.

I am very proud of my ancestry. They date back to Lord De La War from the word Delaware came from. One was the first Governor of Virginia.
I have documented proof that one ancestor fought with the Continental Army
I am a direct descendent of the Johns Hopkins family and my DNA reveals that my genetic markers are very close to those of Colonial artist, Benjamin West.
During the Civil War my great Grand Father served with the Ohio Volunteers. His brother served with Pennsylvania and was twice wounded. His brother in law was killed at the battle of Cold Harbor.My great grandfather moved his family from Philadelphia to northwest Ohio in 1858, by canal boat landing at a place known locally as Damascus. He was one of 9 men that founded the farm town of Liberty Center. Later in life he had the "Nebraska Fever", but lacked the funds to go.
On my mother's side she was a family member of the Brittons, a colonial family in New York and her ancestry dates back to the Dutch in New Amsterdam.
My cousin was a navy medic at Guadalcanal.
My wife's cousin was killed in Iraq.
Numerous family members served in Viet Nam
I am very proud of my heritage.