PICKETT'S CHARGE DISASTROUS FOR THE CONFEDERACY
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (JFK+50) Between 2:00 and 2:30 p.m. on July 3, 1863,the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee ordered 12,500 Confederate soldiers under General George Pickett* to charge up Cemetery Ridge and attack the Union position here at Gettysburg.
The charge ended in disaster for the Confederacy as Pickett's lines were torn apart by rifle and cannon fire as they crossed a mile of open ground. Taskandpurpose.com describes the charge as "the most costly mistake of the (Civil) War."
Pickett's division, made up of Virginians, suffered 50% casualties. The statistics included 498 killed, 643 wounded, 833 wounded & captured & 681 not wounded but captured.
General Pickett never forgave General Lee for ordering the charge. Later he would say..."that old man had my division slaughtered at Gettysburg."
*George Edward Pickett (1825-1875) was born in Richmond, Virginia to a prominent family. He graduated from West Point in 1846 and served in the Mexican War. After the Civil War, Pickett fled to Canada but returned to Norfolk, Virginia where he died at the age of 50.
SOURCE
"Pickett's Charge in 30 Seconds", www.taskandpurpose.com/
Pickett's Charge
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (JFK+50) Between 2:00 and 2:30 p.m. on July 3, 1863,the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee ordered 12,500 Confederate soldiers under General George Pickett* to charge up Cemetery Ridge and attack the Union position here at Gettysburg.
The charge ended in disaster for the Confederacy as Pickett's lines were torn apart by rifle and cannon fire as they crossed a mile of open ground. Taskandpurpose.com describes the charge as "the most costly mistake of the (Civil) War."
Pickett's division, made up of Virginians, suffered 50% casualties. The statistics included 498 killed, 643 wounded, 833 wounded & captured & 681 not wounded but captured.
*George Edward Pickett (1825-1875) was born in Richmond, Virginia to a prominent family. He graduated from West Point in 1846 and served in the Mexican War. After the Civil War, Pickett fled to Canada but returned to Norfolk, Virginia where he died at the age of 50.
SOURCE
"Pickett's Charge in 30 Seconds", www.taskandpurpose.com/
Pickett's Charge
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
July 3, 1863
