The sun comes up hot on July 3rd, 1863 over the hills and fields surrounding Gettysburg. Neither side has sent out burial parties to pick up the dead. The bodies from the last 2 days lie where they fell, bloating in the hot sun.
Pickets take occasional pot shots at each other, but in general all is quiet.
The morale of the Army of Northern Virginia is still high. They have defeated the Army of the Potomac time after time. They had no doubt that this would continue. They had faith in themselves. They had faith in "Marse Robert" -- General Robert E. Lee.
During the night, Longstreet tries once again to dissuade Lee from attacking. Lee tells him that he would think on it.
General J.E.B. Stuart is finally located and arrives at Lee's headquarters. Stuart was, in fact, "joy-riding", getting his name in the papers but not achieving anything of value. His mission was to shield Lee's army and to provide information on the movements of the enemy. He was supposed to provide information about the ground. Stuart did not fulfill his mission. He receives a dressing down from Lee which is less than what many Confederate officers wanted. They wanted Lee to court martial him.
Now, in the morning, Lee makes his decision and summons Longstreet.
Longstreet is to mount an attack on the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge with his corps.
Longstreet points out to Lee that his corp suffered 50% casualties yesterday on the abortive attack on the Union left flank. Lee considers this and allocates other forces to supplement the only division that has not yet seen action in this battle -- the division of General George Pickett of Longstreet's corp.
Pickett is a graduate of West Point. He graduated dead last in his class and is proud of it. No man can criticize Abraham Lincoln in his presence. It was Lincoln, as a congressman who sponsored his application to the Point.
Longstreet has one other beef with Lee over this attack. The Confederate line on Seminary Ridge is over a mile away from the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. The attack is to be made in broad daylight in full view, and in range of the Union artillery. He tells Lee flat out that he believes that the attack will fail.
Longstreet knows that at the time of the Civil War, defensive weaponry has far outpaced offensive strategy. At this time, officers still believed that the best way to take a position was to mass your men shoulder to shoulder and attack it head on. It is not much different than the tactics practiced by Napoleon 50 years ago.
Even the men in the rank and file believe it is manly to march shoulder to shoulder up to an entrenched line to get blown away. It is a question of honor.
But the weapons are better. There are rifled muskets with a far better range and accuracy than the smooth bore ones of old. Cannon also have better range and accuracy. Longstreet knows that his men will be decimated long before they get anywhere near the Union line.
But Lee's blood is up. He has faith in his men and in Longstreet. He tells Longstreet that the attack will be preceded by a massive artillery bombardment that will break up the enemy defenses before the attack begins.
Longstreet, given no choice begins to plan the attack. Pickett will lead it. He is delighted.
One of Pickett's brigade commanders is General Lewis Armistead. Before the war he was close friends with Winfield Scott Hancock. Hancock is in command of the Union troops in the center. Armistead is heartbroken. He had earlier promised Hancock that "May God strike me dead if I should raise a hand against you." The words are prophetic.
Around 1:00pm the Confederate artillery opens up. Some 150 guns shoot a rain of shot and shell on the Union center,
But because of defective fuses, the overwhelming weight of the bombardment falls well to the rear of the Union positions. Hospitals and commissary areas are hit hard. The Confederate gunners are unable to adjust their fire due to the huge amount of smoke generated by the artillery that obscures their vision. The enemy has not been driven off.
After an hour, the guns fall silent.
Pickett's men, numbering around 12,000, emerge from the woods on Seminary Ridge, form up in a line almost a mile long as if on parade, and move off at route step, muskets shouldered towards the Union line.
It's a beautiful site. Many men on the Union side were awed by the military precision and spirit displayed by the oncoming Confederates.
The Union cannon open up from all over the field, plowing wide swaths of death into Pickett's men with shot and shell.
Before the long slope that leads to Cemetery Ridge, there is a road running north-south flanked by wooden fences. This holds up the attack as the Confederates have to spend time knocking down the fences. But they are now in range of cannister ammunition from the Union cannon. Cannister is just a canvas bag jammed with small metal balls, or even just small bits of metal like nails and broken up horseshoes. It is a vicious anti-personnel weapon.
They are also now in range of aimed muskets from the Union infantry. The dead and wounded fall in clumps.
Only a few hundred men led by Armistead, actually reach the Union line at a place called "the angle". They are quickly either dispatched or taken prisoner. Armistead is killed. Hancock was wounded.
The remains of Pickett's men trudge back to Seminary Ridge.
Pickett never forgives Lee for the attack. Years later he confides to a fellow officer: "That old man destroyed my division".
But in the meantime, Lee and Longstreet have to decide what to do next. They prepare for a Union attack that never comes.
That night, under cover of a rainstorm they begin the long retreat back to Virginia.
General Meade, commander of the Union forces is confronted with a golden opportunity to destroy Lee's army once and for all and end the war right then and there. But he stays put and instead cautiously follows Lee all the way back.
Lee will never again have the strength to mount a major offensive. Instead, his army will be hounded and bled until he finally surrenders in the spring of 1865.
