July 3, 1863: Pickett's Charge
Quick answer: What was Pickett's Charge?
Pickett's Charge was the Confederate infantry assault of about 12,500 to 13,000 men against the Union center on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Preceded by a massive artillery bombardment, it was repulsed with heavy losses and marked the end of Lee's invasion of the North.
It is July 3, one day before the nation's 87th birthday and the third day at Gettysburg. During the night, General George Pickett's division, the Army of Northern Virginia's last fresh troops, takes position on Seminary Ridge. Among them is General Lewis Armistead, a Virginian and a close friend of Union General Winfield Scott Hancock from before the war. The night before, at General Meade's council of war, the Union commanders learn that Lee has only one fresh division left. They agree to stay and wait for his attack, and Meade expects it to hit the center. Meade wires Washington, "The enemy attacked me about 4:00 P.M. this day, and after one of the severest contests of the war, was repulsed at all points." Lee tells General James Longstreet, "The enemy is there, and I am going to strike him." Longstreet objects: "It is my opinion that no fifteen thousand men ever arrayed for battle can take that position." Lee is not moved. The heat is near 90 degrees. At about 1:07 p.m., two Confederate guns fire, and as many as 150 more open up on the Union line. About 80 Union guns reply. To a local woman, it was as if heaven and earth collided. Hancock rides along his line under fire, telling an officer who begs him to dismount, "There are times when a corps commander's life does not count." When the guns go quiet, Lee watches some 13,000 men step off in lines across nearly a mile of open ground. "Here they come!" Union soldiers shout. Armistead leads his men over the stone wall at the Angle with his hat on his sword and falls among the guns of the 69th and 71st Pennsylvania area, mortally wounded. He asks after Hancock, his old friend, who has also been badly wounded. Hancock dictates a message to Meade that the troops under his command have repulsed the enemy's assault and gained a great victory. The survivors stream back across the field. Meade reaches the crest and asks an officer how it is going. "I believe the enemy has been repulsed, Sir." "Thank God," Meade replies.
Why it matters for leaders: The decisions made at headquarters on July 3 were paid for by the men who crossed that field, on both sides.
Q: How many men took part in Pickett's Charge?
A: Roughly 12,500 to 13,000 Confederate infantry from the divisions of Pickett, Pettigrew, and Trimble.
Q: What happened to General Armistead?
A: He crossed the stone wall at the Angle, was mortally wounded, and died on July 5, 1863.
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By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation