Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Pickett's Charge

Picketts

Pickett's Charge

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Human Events

July 3, 1863: Day Three of the Battle of Gettysburg: Confederate Maj. Gen. George Pickett leads his ill-fated division against Union Army forces under the command of Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock positioned on Cemetery Ridge. Said to be “the highwater mark of the Confederacy,” Pickett’s charge will fail.

Gen. Robert E. Lee, commanding general of the Army of Northern Virginia, had ordered the charge. Lee’s subordinate corps commander, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, had argued against such a charge. But following Lee’s orders, Longstreet directed Pickett to attack.

Years later, Pickett will be asked why his attack failed. His reply: “I've always thought the Yankees had something to do with it.”

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