Pickett's Charge: The Battle Of Gettysburg

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It was July 3, 1863 the final day of Gettysburg; the third day of battle for both sides and cannon fire could be heard all around. An infantry assault of about 15,000 (number estimated) Confederate troops against the Union Major General George Meade’s troops’ have a position along Cemetery Ridge, which is guarded by about 6,500 (number estimated) Federals (historynet.com, Pickett’s Charge). “The thunder and lightning of these two hundred and fifty guns and their shells, whose smoke darkens the sky, are incessant, all pervading, in the air above our heads, on the ground at our feet, remote, near, deafening, ear-piercing, astounding; and these hailstones are massy iron, charged with exploding fire…The projectiles shriek long and sharp. They hiss, they scream, they growl, they sputter; all sounds of life and rage; and each has its different not, and all are discordant.” –excerpt from Frank A. Haskell (Document Reader). …show more content…
This disastrous assault resulted in over 6,000 (number estimated) Confederate casualties and noted the end of the battle at Gettysburg along with General Lee’s last offensive to the north (history.net, Pickett’s Charge).
In the decades that passed, Pickett’s Charge became known as the “high water mark of the Confederacy” (thoughtco.com, Pickett’s Charge). This name was given as it seemed to mark the point when the Confederacy lost any hope of winning the war (thoughtco.com, Pickett’s