Pickett's Charge

**Pickett's Charge** was an infantry attack ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions.  The attack took place on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863.  It was part of the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet (who was in charge of attack) believed that it would fail.  The farthest point reached by the attack has been called the high-water mark of the Confederacy.

The charge is named after Maj. Gen. George Pickett.  Pickett was one of three Confederate generals who led the attack under Longstreet.

Lee hoped to attack the Union center on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Confederate attacks on both Union sides had failed the day and night before. On the night of July 2, General Meade said at a council of war that he thought Lee would try an attack on his lines in the center the next day.

A large attack by artillery took place before the infantry charge. The Confederates hoped the artillery attack would make the Union weaker.  It did not work well.  About 12,500 men in nine infantry brigades marched over open fields for three-quarters of a mile under heavy Union artillery and rifle fire.  Some Confederates were able to get past the low stone wall that many of the Union defenders hid behind.  However, they could not hold this area.  The Union pushed the Confederates back.  Over 50% of the Confederate soldiers on the charge suffered casualties. This defeat ended the three-day battle and Lee's campaign into Pennsylvania. Years later, when asked why his charge at Gettysburg failed, General Pickett said: "I've always thought the Yankees had something to do with it."

## References

- Boritt, Gabor S., ed. _Why the Confederacy Lost_. Gettysburg Civil War Institute Books. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. .
- Clark, Champ, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. _Gettysburg: The Confederate High Tide_. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1985. .
- Coddington, Edwin B. _The Gettysburg Campaign; a study in command_. New York: Scribner's, 1968. .
- Desjardin, Thomas A. _These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory_. New York: Da Capo Press, 2003. .
- Dixon, Benjamin Y. _Learning the Battle of Gettysburg: A Guide to the Official Records_. Gettysburg, PA: Thomas Publications, 2007. .
- Eicher, David J. _The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War_. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. .
- Gallagher, Gary W. _Lee and His Generals in War and Memory_. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1998. .
- Gottfried, Bradley M. _The Maps of Gettysburg: An Atlas of the Gettysburg Campaign, June 3 – June 13, 1863_. New York: Savas Beatie, 2007. .
- Hall, Jeffrey C. _The Stand of the U.S. Army at Gettysburg_. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003. .
- Harman, Troy D. _Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg_. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003. .
- Hess, Earl J. _Pickett's Charge–The Last Attack at Gettysburg_. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. .
- Pfanz, Harry W. _The Battle of Gettysburg_. National Park Service Civil War series. Fort Washington, PA: U.S. National Park Service and Eastern National, 1994. .
- Sears, Stephen W. _Gettysburg_. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. .
- Stewart, George R. _Pickett's Charge: A Microhistory of the Final Attack at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863_. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1959. .
- Symonds, Craig L. _American Heritage History of the Battle of Gettysburg_. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. .
- Trudeau, Noah Andre. _Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage_. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. .
- Wert, Jeffry D. _Gettysburg: Day Three_. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. .

## Further reading

- Bearss, Edwin C. _Fields of Honor: Pivotal Battles of the Civil War_. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 2006. .
- Bearss, Edwin C. _Receding Tide: Vicksburg and Gettysburg: The Campaigns That Changed the Civil War_. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 2010. .
- Gallagher, Gary W., ed. _The Third Day at Gettysburg and Beyond_. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. .
- Haskell, Frank Aretas. _The Battle of Gettysburg_. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 2006. .
- Laino, Philip, _Gettysburg Campaign Atlas_. 2nd ed. Dayton, OH: Gatehouse Press 2009. .
- Petruzzi, J. David, and Steven Stanley. _The Complete Gettysburg Guide_. New York: Savas Beatie, 2009. .

## Other websites

- Pickett's Charge in _Encyclopedia Virginia_
- Numbers at Pickett's Charge in _Encyclopedia Virginia_
- Modern photograph of the Copse of Trees