Gettysburg

By Ron Kohler

What lessons do we learn from the Battle of Gettysburg? What are the leadership principles that emerge out of contest that transcends time and space? Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address said, “that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.” This book deals with leadership principles that apply across different venues of leadership including; Church leadership, government, military and business. The Battle of Gettysburg is the largest battle ever fought on American soil. Gettysburg was a pivotal battle that shaped the outcome of the war and reshaped American culture. What can our forefathers teach us across the dusty pages of history that help us as a modern culture today? For the clear eye there are many lessons to learn from history. A failure to learn these lessons means that we will only repeat our mistakes of the past.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638740650

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Gettysburg

Ron Kohler

Copyright © 2021 by Ron Kohler

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

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Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Grand Drama

Tools

Why They Fought and Faith

Price of Leadership

Foundation—Rock or Sand?—and Strategy

How It Works—Tactics

KISS—Simplicity

A Beautiful Mind—Knowledge

Mystique of Leadership—Persona

Opportunities and Obstacles

Mentoring

Cruise Control—Flexibility

The Buck Stops Here—Responsibility

Murphy’s Law—Preparedness

The Empty Suit—Vanity

What We Got Here Is a Failure to Communicate—Communication

The Clock Is Ticking—Timing

No I in Team—Teamwork

The Red Badge of Honor—Courage

Finish Strong

Conclusion

The Rest of the Story, a Word of Caution

Dedication of Gettysburg National Cemetery

To Matthew, Andrew, and Jonathan. No father could be prouder of three very fine sons than I am of the three of you.

Preface

Anyone visiting the Gettysburg Battlefield will be impacted by the silent sentinels who stand guard over the fallen and who are a very stark reminder of what transpired on that field. Visitors of the Gettysburg are struck by the monuments, buildings, and cannons that are located on the battlefield to commemorate the historic events of the battle. The Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center houses many artifacts from the battle.

There are 1,320 monument markers, 410 cannons, 148 historic buildings, and forty-one miles of road on the Gettysburg Battlefield. The Gettysburg National Cemetery is the final resting place for 3,500 Union soldiers. The cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863, where Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address. Lincoln was not the keynote speaker. That honor went to Edward Everett of Massachusetts. Everett spoke for about two hours whereas Lincoln’s address lasted for about two minutes.

The words of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg are sealed into the consciousness of our nation. In 1938, as part of the seventy-fifth anniversary, the Eternal Light Peace Memorial was dedicated on the battlefield by President Franklin Roosevelt. Located at the Visitor Center is the Cyclorama, which is a massive picture 377 feet by 42 feet high, a painting in the round of Pickett’s Charge. The picture is graphic and powerful.

A key feature of the old Visitor Center was the Electric Map, which used colored lights to mark the movement of both armies during the battle. The Electric Map was built for the one hundredth anniversary of the battle. The twenty-nine by twenty-nine foot map was purchased by Hanover businessman Scott Roland and equipped with six hundred modern LED lights and had opened in Hanover, Pennsylvania.

One of the highlights in visiting Gettysburg was the American Civil War Wax Museum and Gettysburg Gift Center, which was a staple of the Gettysburg community for sixty years. The museum had an extensive collection of artifacts that brought this period of American history back to life. The museum has since closed, and the contents have been auctioned. It reopened as the Gettysburg Heritage Center.

June 29 to July 4, 1913, was the fiftieth anniversary reunion and encampment of Civil War veterans. The encampment was attended by 53,407 veterans of the American Civil War. Of the 53,407, 8,750 were Confederate veterans. The reunion was marked by many examples of camaraderie by the veterans from both sides. At the 1913 reunion, the youngest veteran present was 61, and the oldest was said to be 112.

The highlight of the reunion was the meeting of Pickett’s division association and the Philadelphia brigade association at the high-water mark. The veterans, in a show of camaraderie, shook hands over the stone wall at the Angle, which saw so much bloodshed in July of 1863. The video footage commemorating this event was both graphic and powerful. The 1938 reunion commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the battle saw 1,359 Union and 438 Confederate veterans in attendance. The dedication of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial took place at this seventy-fifth reunion.

I vividly remember my very first visit to the Gettysburg Battlefield at the age of eight. I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and my dad took our entire family on a family outing to Gettysburg. Dad was a former member of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War and had spent many encampments at Gettysburg. From a little boy’s eyes, the view was spectacular. So many cannons and monuments highlighted significant events during the battle. We went to Gettysburg on a Saturday and spent most of the day on the field. It was a beautiful spring day, and everything was in bloom. Everywhere you looked, there were gorgeous green fields, beautiful flowers, and lush green trees. This was at a time when Gettysburg hadn’t become the tourist site that it is today.

I climbed all over the rocks at Devil’s Den and Little Round Top. I marched up the steps to the Pennsylvania monument and climbed to the top where the view was magnificent. As a boy of eight, I wasn’t able to grasp the significance of what happened at Gettysburg, but I was fascinated with Devil’s Den, Little Round Top, the Pennsylvania monument, and the museum at the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center.

At the gift store, Dad bought me a Union soldier’s hat and a toy sword. It was much later that I discovered that my great-grandfather Andrew Furlough was a member of the 12th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry. Four years later, when I was twelve, my sister bought me my very first book on Gettysburg, The Battle of Gettysburg: A Guided Tour by General Edward J. Stackpole and Colonel Wilbur S. Nye, copyright 1960, a book that I still have in my library to this day. I now have over three hundred books on the Civil War in my personal library. This was a memorable birthday because it was the start of a major snowstorm that hit the Northeast in 1960, and that snowstorm meant that school was closed. What an amazing birthday present.

When I was in the sixth grade, our sixth grade school trip was to Gettysburg. By this time, the Civil War had captured my imagination. During the one hundredth anniversary of the American Civil War, Life magazine highlighted the Civil War in a series of full-picture exposés. Waiting for each new publication, I was literally like a kid in a candy store until I could get my hands on the latest issue.

There were two television shows that emphasized the Civil War—The Gray Ghost (the story of John Singleton Mosby that ran from October 1957 to July 1958) and The Americans (a seventeen-episode series that aired on NBC from January to May 1961)—which only fueled my imagination. When I was in high school, one of my boyhood friends, Jim, loaned me Bruce Catton’s Army of the Potomac trilogy. Later, as a freshman in college, we took a school trip to Gettysburg, which once again brought this special place to the forefront of my memory and my focus.

The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel on the Battle of Gettysburg, brought the battle to life in exquisite detail. Forbes gave this review of Shaara’s work:

You will learn more from this utterly absorbing book about Gettysburg than from any nonfictional account. Shaara fabulously, convincingly brings characters such as Robert E. Lee to life and makes the conflict all too real.

I was able to take my family to the 125th anniversary celebration and reenactment of the battle in 1988. As we approached the town, we could hear the guns in the distance, which immediately propelled us back in time to the days of the battle. My sons were amazed with the storytelling of those participating in the reenactment—the guns firing, the infantry and cavalry maneuvering, and finally, the demonstration of Pickett’s Charge. What a day we had. We capped our day by eating at a little Italian restaurant in the town of Gettysburg.

Gettysburg has a way of getting into your system. Once you have walked the rolling hills of Cemetery Ridge or stood at the Virginia monument to gaze across the killing field of Pickett’s Charge, an indelible impression is printed on your heart and mind.

I visit the Gettysburg Battlefield often. Living in Texas, whenever my family traveled to Pennsylvania to see my parents, we always made the journey to Gettysburg. I wanted my three sons to see this place that had become so special to me in hopes that they would one day share my enthusiasm. I still have some amazing pictures of the boys sitting on the cannons at Gettysburg or standing on the rocks at Devil’s Den.

As my business career grew, I made business trips or training trips to New York. These trips were a golden opportunity to further my passion for Gettysburg. My fascination with Gettysburg and the Civil War led me to visit all the major battlefields of the American Civil War.

The moment you step on the field, you are struck by the serenity and solemnity of this very special place. You are impressed with an overpowering feeling that something truly profound took place on this quiet field. When you stand either on Cemetery Ridge or Seminary Ridge and survey the lines, you can envision the struggle between those who wore blue and those who wore gray and the human tragedy that unfolded on these bloodstained fields They are at rest now, but what they accomplished will live long in the history of this great nation.

I have read everything written by Bruce Catton and Shelby Foote because they were amazing storytellers who captivated your attention. Shelby Foote had an engaging Southern accent that would draw the listener in and keep them glued to his voice. The video series The Civil War by Ken Burns was both revealing and entertaining. It came out with two wonderful series of books—Time-Life: The Civil War and the Collectors Library of the Civil War.

Gary Gallagher has two courses with the Teaching Company that I recommend highly: The American Civil War and Robert E. Lee and His High Command. The movies Glory, Gettysburg, and Gods and Generals help to tell the story of the men who fought and died. To quote Abraham Lincoln, That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Introduction

In the history of this great nation, there are four figures who have always loomed large—George Washington, a man who could have been king but chose to be our very first president; Abraham Lincoln, a man who came from very humble beginnings to become one of our greatest presidents during a period of great trial; U. S. Grant, the leader of the victorious Union army who went on to serve as a two-time president of the United States; and Robert E. Lee, one of our greatest military leaders who helped to bring healing after the horrors of Civil War.

As a boy growing up in school, I saw two pictures in my classroom: Washington and Lincoln. But in my imagination, there was always a third and a fourth picture: Robert E. Lee and U. S. Grant. It is a real challenge to look at a hero with a critical eye, so my analysis of Robert E. Lee in no way diminishes from the greatness of the man. We live in a time of political correctness where there is a tendency to look at things through the myopic lens of the now. Political revisionism like an armchair quarterbacking doesn’t operate within the realm of reality but lives in a fantasy world of our own making.

In the Journal of Practical Ethics, Dan Miller says, Political correctness operates by shaping public discourse often by inhibiting speech or other forms of social signaling. It would also be helpful to remember the closing words of Lincoln during his second inaugural address.

With malice toward none, and charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see right. Let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and all nations.

My interest in the Civil War caused me to work on a graduate degree in Civil War studies from American Military University, which I completed in 1998. The inspiration for this book came from a research paper that I did, Confederate Failure at Gettysburg: A Study in Command. My work in military history coupled with my experience in business and church leadership as a minister and lay leader gave me a unique perspective on leadership.

Many books have been written about Gettysburg, so why another book about the battle? The battle has been nuanced in many different ways over the years. This book is not intended to be a detailed analysis of the battle, but rather, it is intended to highlight leadership lessons that arise naturally out of men when responding to the terrors of battle. I believe that the greatest book ever written on leadership is the Bible, so I use a lot of references from Scripture to emphasize important principles. The best memorial is not one of stone or steel but is a living memorial. The best way we can remember the sacrifice on both sides at Gettysburg is to learn the lessons that these honored dead have left for us.

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is significant because Lincoln captured the gravity of what transpired at Gettysburg. At the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery on November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the now famous Gettysburg Address. Although Lincoln was not the keynote speaker—that honor was given to Edward Everett, who spoke for two hours—Lincoln’s address captured the essence of the moment. With just a few well-chosen words, Lincoln put the battle into perspective.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Lincoln summarized the moment with these words: The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. We must never forget what took place during those three days in July. Nor should we forget the events of the American Civil War that tore this nation apart. The goal is to learn from these events in order to form a more perfect union. We can learn from the example of the men who fought, bled, and died on the Gettysburg battleground.

There are a myriad of examples of leadership that emerge from the Gettysburg battle. Leadership transcends many different theaters of life. Leadership can come in many forms and can be seen in many ways, such as military, business, volunteer organizations, nonprofits, sports, education, and the church as well. Leadership is leadership, and the cream always rises to the top.

Our goal in this work is to utilize the Battle of Gettysburg as a tool to understand principles of leadership that emerge naturally as men react to the stress of battle and apply those principles across different venues of leadership.

Failure at Gettysburg was a failure in leadership, a failure in command and control. What do we learn as we examine what happened? We learn principles that can be applied across many avenues of life. The Battle of Gettysburg was arguably the turning point of the American Civil War. The year 1863 was the year of decision.

The Confederate army marched into Pennsylvania on the heels of their greatest victory at Chancellorsville. The Army of Northern Virginia was confident based on a history of success against an enemy of overwhelming numbers. The Gettysburg campaign should have been another victory for an army that seemed destined for victory. The Army of the Potomac had a new leader, but the fighting men had always done their duty with devotion. Lee warned that George Meade would make few mistakes, and he was correct in that analysis.

What went wrong at Gettysburg for Lee’s army? What can we learn from the Battle of Gettysburg? Many books have been written on this subject, giving a detailed view of the combatants and the struggle. My intent is to focus on leadership lessons that transcend time, which means they are just as applicable today as they were in 1863, and that can be applied broadly across many different fields and vocations.

There is an old saying that says, Even a blind hog discovers an acorn every now and then. This is not an exhaustive study, and the principles of leadership that emerge are but a few of the lessons that can be learned from the experience that we call the Battle of Gettysburg. It is my hope that you will discover some acorns of truth concerning leadership.

Gettysburg is a story of human drama in the midst of great stress and trial of battle. As we examine the principles of leadership that emerge out of the context of the Battle of Gettysburg, there may be some very subtle or slight differences in some of these principles. The differences allow us the ability to place emphasis where emphasis is necessary. The differences allow us the ability to see shades of meaning and, therefore, make pertinent application.

Proverbs are a genre of literature that comes out of the Ancient Near East. Often, the proverbs, whether from Mesopotamia or Egypt, often, it will be restated for emphasis’s sake. We see this in the Bible as well when we consider the book of Proverbs. Case in point, look at Proverbs 1 in the Bible: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity, to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth. Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles (Proverbs 1:2-6). In Proverbs 1, the writer is emphasizing the importance of knowing wisdom. He restates this in different ways to stress the importance of the task.

Dr. Francis Schaeffer wrote a book that examined the flow of history. How Should We Then Live? studied the rise and decline of Western culture. As a result of the study, Schaffer asked the question that is the title of his book: How shall we then live? In a sense, this question is similar to a line from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Lincoln poses it this way:

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolved that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

We can pose the same question that Dr. Schaeffer asks: How shall we then live?

Part I

Preliminaries

Chapter 1

The Grand Drama

Four key battles are fought in 1863. Two of these battles are won by the South, Chancellorsville and Chickamauga. Two of the battles are won by the North, Vicksburg and Gettysburg. The year 1863 is literally the year of decision. The year begins with Lee’s greatest victory at Chancellorsville under incredible odds, and it ends with a victory at Chickamauga. Chickamauga’s victory is wasted because of Braxton Bragg’s failure to follow up.

From the Union standpoint, Vicksburg is a spectacular victory because it gives control of Mississippi back to the Union. Vicksburg also builds on Grant’s reputation as a commander and allows him the opportunity to rise to overall commander of Union forces. This is important because Grant understands that to win, it has to be a war of attrition. Grant has the determination to do what is necessary to win, and he proves that the following year in the Wilderness Campaign.

Gettysburg was critical because the eyes of the Union—literally, the world—were focused on the little crossroads town in southern Pennsylvania. The Union could not afford to lose the Battle of Gettysburg. The Lincoln administration was struggling at this point. A loss at Gettysburg would seal defeat for the Lincoln administration in the upcoming election.

Lee’s army would never be as strong as it was at Gettysburg, and Bragg’s army would never be as strong as it was at Chickamauga. The Union could afford to reinforce and resupply their armies in the East and West, but the South couldn’t.

Chancellorsville set the stage for Lee’s invasion of the North, and Gettysburg closed the curtain on any future major invasion (excluding the raid in the fall of 1864). Vicksburg gave Lincoln the commander he was looking for in Grant. Vicksburg cut off supplies coming from Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Chickamauga was a great opportunity that was squandered. After 1863, the end was inevitable, and it was only a matter of time. The year 1863 was the South’s last gasp of breath, which began with promise but ended at Chickamauga with failure to follow through. You could look at 1863 as the Battle of the Bulge, a last great offensive thrust that led to a static defense and failure.

The Players

All the world is a stage, And all the men and women are but players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts. (William Shakespeare)

Consider some of the key players on both sides of the contest. Larry Tagg has a great work entitled The Generals of Gettysburg that helps to put flesh and blood on the men who fought the battle. Napoleon’s comment about the role of a general is very revealing: The personality of the general is indispensable, he is the head, he is the all of the army.

The Army of Northern Virginia

In the movie Gettysburg, General Lee said, They do not die for us. Not for us. That at least is a blessing. If the war goes on and it will…what else can we do.

General Robert E. Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee’s father, Light Horse Harry Lee, was a Revolutionary War veteran and hero, but his postwar efforts tarnished his career. For much of Lee’s early life, his father was absent without leave, and therefore, his mother was the one who had a great impact on Lee.

Lee graduated second in his West Point class of 1829. During his time at West Point, he did the unimaginable by having no demerits, a feat that has never been duplicated. Because of his position in his 1829 class, he chose engineering as his military vocation, which comprised much of his early army career. In 1831, he married Mary Custis, the daughter of George Washington’s adopted son. Washington became one of Lee’s greatest role models and heroes.

Lee served with distinction in the Mexican War, catching the eye of Winfield Scott. He was one of Scott’s staff officers, and at one point, Scott raised a toast to Lee’s contributions in his efforts. From 1852 to 1855, Lee was the commandant of West Point. In 1855, Lee became the lieutenant colonel of Second Cavalry Regiment. In 1861, Lee resigned to accept a commission in the Confederate army.

His early career in Confederate service was less than stellar. He led a failed campaign in Western Virginia. But the wounding of Joe Johnston in the summer of 1862 gave Lee the opportunity to demonstrate his excellence in command. Victories in the Peninsula, at Second Manassas, in Fredericksburg, and in Chancellorsville added to Lee’s impressive record. Lee’s skill as a general rested on his ability to analyze a situation swiftly and accurately. Lee had a knack for anticipating an enemy’s movements and the ability to improvise. These skills were matched by a great strength of character and a high sense of duty coupled with humility and selflessness. Lee was born in 1807, and he was fifty-six at the time of the battle.

Lieutenant General James Longstreet’s corps consisted of three divisions: McLaws, Pickett, and Hood. Longstreet was forty-two at the time of the battle and the senior member of Lee’s corps commanders via experience in his position. Longstreet was born in 1821, and in 1842, he graduated fifty-fourth out of West Point’s class of sixty-two. He served with distinction in the Mexican War, being wounded in the action at Chapultepec.

Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson worked well together, complementing each other’s talents and providing Lee the power of strong offense and defense. At Second Manassas, Longstreet came to the rescue of Jackson, and his powerful action caused the rout of Pope’s army. Longstreet fought a very strong defensive battle at Antietam. He defended Maryes Height at Fredericksburg. Longstreet was ambitious, confident, tireless, and capable. He was a good administrator and able tactician. He was much respected by his men, who called him Old Pete. Longstreet was born in 1821. He was forty-two at Gettysburg.

Lieutenant General Richard Ewell’s corps consisted of three divisions: Early, Johnson, and Rodes. Ewell graduated fourteenth out of a class of forty-two in 1840. He served as a dragoon fighting Indians in the Southwest and also served in the Mexican War only to return to the Southwest after the war. Ewell served as division commander under Stonewall Jackson where he became one of Jackson’s most trusted commanders. He was wounded at Second Manassas and lost his leg in the action. He was a very aggressive division commander and fought well at this level.

The loss of his leg coupled with his late-in-life marriage took some of the fire out of his ability as a commander. Before his wounding at Second Manassas, Ewell was excellent in leading his men into combat and joining them on the front line. Critics of Ewell suggested that he was indecisive in deferring to his subordinates. Ewell was intelligent, daring, and resourceful, and he showed considerable tactical skill. His disability coupled with his marriage to Mrs. Brown (what he called his wife) neutralized his effectiveness. Ewell was born in 1817, and he was forty-five at Gettysburg.

Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell Hill’s corps consisted of Anderson, Heth, and Pender. Hill graduated fifteenth in his 1847 class of thirty-eight. He served in the First Artillery in Mexico and also served in the Seminole War. Hill could be temperamental and, therefore, had conflict with both Longstreet and Jackson as corps commanders. He wore his red fighting shirt into battle. Hill’s hard-hitting tactics at Gaines’ Mill caught Lee’s eye.

In the heat of Second Manassas, before Longstreet joined Jackson, Hill did not allow the heat of an enemy breakthrough to cloud his thinking or shake his judgment. His arrival at the Antietam battlefield after a forced march came just in time to save the Confederate army from collapse. At times in his career as a division commander, his actions were colored with brilliance and, at other times, less than stellar. Gettysburg Hill was largely not a factor due to illness. Hill was an aggressive, firm disciplinarian who worked his men hard. Lee once referred to him as the best soldier of his grade with [him]. A. P. Hill was born in 1825 and was thirty-eight at Gettysburg.

Major General Jeb Stuart was in the Cavalry Corps. Stuart cut the image of a swashbuckling cavalier in both his dress and his actions. He graduated in the top third of his West Point class of 1854. He served in the West against the Comanche and was also present for action in Bloody Kansas. In 1859, Stuart was present with Robert E. Lee at Harpers Ferry, signaling Lee’s troops to attack Brown’s forces. In 1855, he married the daughter of Philip St. George Cook, a renowned cavalryman in the old army. He showed brilliance in independent command from the very beginning.

Twice he rode around the entire Union army in a scouting expedition, bringing valuable information to Lee. He was quite literally Lee’s eyes and ears. But at Gettysburg, the Union cavalry prevented Stuart from accomplishing his mission. Jeb Stuart was a daring, imaginative, flamboyant, intelligent, and brilliant commander of the cavalry. Stuart was born in 1833, and he was thirty at Gettysburg.

Brigadier General William Pendleton was in artillery. Pendleton was perhaps one of the weaker commanders in Lee’s army. Pendleton graduated from West Point in 1830. He suffered from a chronic illness that sidelined him during much of his early military career. Pendleton resigned his commission in 1830 and became a teacher at Delaware College. He switched careers again in 1837 and became an Episcopal minister. He spent time in studying the theory for the use of artillery in warfare, but practically, he never demonstrated the ability to actually direct the guns in combat. In July 3, Pendleton removed the floating batteries that E. Porter Alexander had designed to move forward in support of Pickett’s troops during the attack.

The Army of the Potomac

In the movie Gettysburg, Joshua Chamberlain said, Gentleman, I think if we lose this fight we lose the war, so if you choose to join us I will personally be very grateful.

Major General George Gordon Meade commanded the Army