One of the bloodiest battles in American history is being remembered 160 years later. The Battle of Gettysburg, in addition to its ferocity, is known as a major turning point in the Civil War.
On July 1, 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Union Maj. Gen. George Meade and their forces violently clashed around the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg.
Lee had just been victorious a month earlier in the Battle of Chancellorsville and decided to take the 75,000 man Army of Northern Virginia north of the Mason-Dixon Line, hoping to force negotiations to end the fighting.
Maj. Gen. George Meade had just taken command of the 90,000 man Army of the Potomac and was ordered to keep his forces between Lee and Washington D.C.
The three-day long engagement resulted in 50,000 casualties.
“This was a huge moment, sometimes actually referred to as the high watermark of the Confederacy, and the Union victory there had a tremendous impact on the outcome of the war,” said Mary Koik with the American Battlefield Trust, a D.C.-based nonprofit that has helped protect 57,000 acres of American battlefields across 25 states.
Koik said the nation waited with bated breath for the outcome of the northern most Civil War battle.
“It’s close enough to Washington and all of these other major metropolitan areas, that the news is actually coming in pretty quickly of what’s happening and just massive moments of anticipation,” said Koik.
The decisive victory along with Gen. Ulysses S. Grant taking Vicksburg, Mississippi served as the “one-two punch” that put the Confederacy on its heels.
With just a short 70 mile drive from the city, folks from the Capital region can day trip to now see Gettysburg National Military Park.
“In the immediate aftermath of the battle, local residents started setting aside portions of that battlefield — they knew, even then, this was an event worth remembering. And today, 160 years later, there’s this beautiful National Park,” Koik said.
The American Battlefield Trust offers an app for any visitor that will take you on a self-guided tour and key facts as you walk the hallowed ground.
Their YouTube channel also offers breakdowns of the battles before you visit.
