The Roving Ronin Report

It was a hot day on July 1, 1863 near the small Pennesylvania town of Gettysburg. Little did the citizens of Gettysburg know that their town would soon be caught up in the great tide of history to become a decisive moment of the American Civil War. Gettysburg is a name that echoes through ages where even the most oblivious to history have heard of it. It was the largest battle of the Civil War and the largest ever fought in the Western Hemisphere. After three days of fighting, there were over 50,000 casualties.  The biggest battle of the war happened though by accident and not part of some grand strategic design. On the first day, Confederate troops encountered Union troops near Gettysburg not the local militia they expected. Union Cavalry General Buford was screening the Army of the Potomac and he saw that if the Confederates got control of the heights south of Gettysburg it would be tough to dislodge them. He fought a delaying action which bought time for the Un...

July 2013 was the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg which occurred July 1-3, 1863. Confederate forces under General Robert E Lee invaded the north in the hopes of winning a decisive victory against the Union Army. The first two days of the battle had been inconclusive so Lee tried a frontal assault on the Union's center position thinking it weaker than the flanks which he had attacked the previous day. General George Meade commander of the Union Army predicted such a maneuver and put troops in his center for just such an attack. Cavalry General JEB Stuart was sent to the Union rear to cause confusion and support the center assault but he was forced to withdraw. Around 1, an intensive artillery barrage commenced which was the largest of the war. Around 2 or 3 (depends on who you ask), Pickett's brigade along with brigades from General A.P. Hill's moved forward to cross nearly a mile of open field exposed to deadly Union cannon fire and the...