Perhaps the most crucial battle in the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg was fought outside Gettysburg from July 1 to July 3, 1863. General George Mead's Union army of 90,000 men defeated General Robert E. Lee's Confederate force of 75,000.
The two armies met accidentally and spent the first day maneuvering for position. Lee tried to crack the left side of the Union's defenses on the second day. He failed to occupy the position he gained. On the following day, Lee decided to aim directly at the Union center. In a famous charge, General George E. Pickett's troops advanced across and open field into heavy fire. They reached the crest of the ridge but could not hold it.
Lee withdrew his battered army to Virginia, having suffered more than 20,000 casualties. Meade's forces sustained about 18,000. Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on the site of the battle on November 19, 1863.
