Pickett's Charge

About 3:00 p.m., following a furious two-hour cannonade, Confederate infantry launched a massive frontal assault from this ridge against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge ahead. The Confederates in this section of the line were Virginians commanded by Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett. Twelve thousand Southern attackers surged forward in a line of battle a mile long. As they crossed the Emmitsburg Road and approached the enemy line, Federal canister and musket fire raked them with deadly effect, yet the attackers pressed on with great courage. Pickett's men gained a small lodgment in the Union line at the Angle but could not hold it. As casualties mounted, the attack lost momentum, and by 4:00 p.m. Confederate survivors were streaming back to the shelter of this ridge. The Confederate tide had reached its high water mark.

Freedom Township, Pennsylvania · United States