• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Wytchery: A Gothic Cabinet of Curiosities and Mysteries

Wytchery: A Gothic Cabinet of Curiosities and Mysteries

A collection of gothic horror stories, urban legends, ghosts, haunted houses & other curiosities

  • Curiosity Cabinet
    • Journal
    • The Witch’s Gardener
      • A Grimoire
      • Plants
      • What’s blooming?
    • Pagans & Witches
    • Gothic Horror
    • Real Ghost Stories
    • History
      • Daily Life
      • Towns and Villages
      • sites
      • Events and Celebrations
      • Issues
  • Travels
  • Author
  • Hello
  • Shop
    • Shirts & Hoodies
    • Mugs
    • Books
    • Art Prints
  • Cart
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg

Civil War Battlefields: Confederate Officer Leads His Men in Pickett’s Charge. North Carolina Memorial, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania

The North Carolina Memorial at Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania.On the afternoon of July 3, 1863, approximately 13,000 Confederate soldiers, in a line a mile long, stepped out from the woods, marching side by side, all looking to converge less than a mile away, and in the process, crush the Union army. In the light of history it’s easy to see each of those men as a number, but in truth they were human beings. They had a mother and a father, there were brothers and sisters back home, wives, girlfriends. Each one of those men had a life, a life which was precious to them. They laughed, they loved, they cried and they knew fear.

And men? The truth is many were no more than boys, fourteen, fifteen years old. Far from home, and all that distance walked, and no way back but to walk it in disgrace or honor.

The bombardment of the Union lines which preceded the attack was largely without effect. But the psychological toll must have been massive. Up to 170 southern cannon were joined by about 80 northern cannons, in a two hour barrage that was likely the largest display of artillery in the war to that point. The smoke which covered the field of battle helped to hide the fact that the Confederate cannons were usually overshooting the mark. When the Union cannons fell silent to preserve ammunition, the southerners interpreted it to mean that the cannons had been destroyed.

Though named for him, the attack wasn’t led by Confederate general, Maj. Gen. George Pickett, but instead by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, who predicted its failure. He claimed to have told General Robert E. Lee, who ordered the attack, “General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been with soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know, as well as any one, what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that no fifteen thousand men ever arranged for battle can take that position.” When the time came to move, Longstreet could only nod, unable to bring himself to verbally order the strike. In addition to Longstreet’s troops, men under the command of Gen. A.P. Hill, who were already worn down from heavy fighting two days before, and Pickett’s division made the fateful attack. Pickett was slated to lead the charge, and so had had his name associated with futility ever since.

There was no cover from the Union fire. The day was humid, hot – pushing ninety degrees, and the typical uniform was heavy. Many were barefoot, as the reason for heading to Gettysburg was to raid the shoe factory there (editor’s note: this appears to be a myth. See comment below). It’s easy to imagine the fear, their hearts pounding, the sun bearing down, waiting for the moment when the enemy would aim their weapons at them and let go.

Emmitsburg Road facing The Angle
Emmitsburg Road facing The Angle – Obstacle on Pickett’s Charge. Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania

The Union cannon were loaded with canister – scrap metal, nails, any kind of steel they could find, which turned them into giant shotguns. A cannon typically fired a cannonball, intended for a specific target. Loaded with this kind of debris, it cut a wide swath through lines of men walking side by side, ripping skin from bone, literally tearing them to pieces. By the time the Confederates reaches Emmitsburg Road, their numbers had dwindled under the withering fire. To cross the road, the troops had to climb over two five foot fences, under devastating fire. After scaling the second and wheeling to face the enemy for the last few hundred yards, it must have been like facing the gates of hell. Of the several thousand who made it over the fences lining Emmitsburg Road, very few returned.

The Confederate left virtually evaporated. Union soldiers left their positions to fire indiscriminately into the southerner’s ranks. Those who made it to the low stone wall which marked the Union positions faced a line of men four deep, standing and firing into their faces at point blank range. Hot, exhausted and having watched thousands of their fellow soldiers die, an untold amount found death at the end of a bayonet. As the southerners reached a junction in the stone fence called “the angle,” later known as “the bloody angle,” the Union line opened up and the southerners poured through. But too few, and too late to turn the tide. Captain Andrew Cowan of the 1st New York Independent artillery, wheeled two cannons into place to face the oncoming tide of southerners, loaded double loads of canister into each, fired, and the entire Confederate line before him was obliterated.

In less than an hour it was over, and with it, the last great hope of the Confederacy.

The Copse of Trees, High Water Mark of the Confederacy,
The Copse of Trees, High Water Mark of the Confederacy, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania

Belief in a cause made these men walk into this kind of hell, and before the last of them finally made it to the union line, more than half lay wounded or dying. For the wounded more torture awaited. A ball to the arm or the leg usually meant the saw, without benefit of morphine.

There have been more horrendous battles, and perhaps many more just as senseless. But you have to wonder what kind of psychic stain an event like this leaves on the landscape. How much blood seeped into the earth that day, how many people lay on the ground and looked to the sky as life left their bodies. It would be nice to think that over the years we’ve evolved. But instead our weapons have just grown more powerful, more accurate. Gettysburg is considered one of the most haunted places in the country. Isn’t it time we started listening to what these ghosts are telling us?

Tombstones at the Gettysburg National Cemetery, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania

You might find these interesting

  • Haunted Gettysburg: True ghost stories from Little Round Top, then and now

    44th New York Infantry Monument and 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Little Round Top, Gettysburg…

  • Haunted Gettysburg: True ghost stories from Little Round Top, then and now

    44th New York Infantry Monument and 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Little Round Top, Gettysburg…

  • Haunted Gettysburg: True ghost stories from Little Round Top, then and now

    44th New York Infantry Monument and 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Little Round Top, Gettysburg…

  • Yorktown Battlefield Historic Site: Vive la Yorktown!

    In the woods around Surrender Field at Yorktown Battlefield, the ghost of George Washington's stepson…

  • Stepping back in time and into the muck at Cache River State Natural Area

    Tucked away in the southern tip of Illinois you can find places which don't seem…

  • Ancient America comes alive at Angel Mounds State Historic Site

    Native American Life: Reconstructed Sweat Lodge. Angel Mounds State Historic Site, Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana…

Tweet
Share
0 Shares

April 28, 2010 By gothiccurios 11 Comments

Filed Under: Gettysburg, historic sites, Mid Atlantic, Ohio River Valley, The History Trekker Tagged With: devils den gettysburg, gettysburg battle of, gettysburg battle photos, gettysburg battlefield photos, gettysburg pickett's charge, pickett's charge, pickett's charge at gettysburg

About the author and artist

The haunted, macabre, the downright peculiar ….the curiously gothic world of Todd Atteberry

 

Gothic horror stories, haunted travelogues, a healthy dose of witchcraft, paganism, stone circles and ancient trackways.

Meet Todd

The Witch’s Gardener …

A look at witch’s garden plants, ideas, resources, moon gardens, folklore, herbalism and life with the witch’s gardener.

Enter The Garden

Gothic Travels …

Haunted travelogues, where to visit, where to stay, the history and truth behind the legends

Explore

Memento Mori

Remember you are mortal. T-shirts, hoodies and gaiters, Premium fabrics and fit, eco friendly and ethically sourced.
Wear Memento Mori

Visit the shop …

Offering Wyrd and Wanton T-Shirts, Long Sleeve Tees and Hoodies, Books and Fine Art Prints … Literary love tokens for children of the night.


Lets go shopping!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. MIchael H

    April 28, 2010 at 1:09 pm

    A decent summary of events but I would like to point out to you that the idea that the Army of Northern Virginia converged on Gettysburg to get shoes is myth. While there were rumored to be shoes in Gettysburg any shoes that may have been there were taken when General Early, a Division commander of the 2nd Corps ANV, went through town several days before the battle and requisitioned them. General Heth’s Division of Hill’s 3rd Corps ANV moved on Gettysburg not for shoes but because it was believed there were state militia (really Buford’s dismounted cavalry) in town and Heth wanted to push them out. While he did intend to forage for supplies shoes were not the intended purpose of the move on Gettysburg on the morning 1 July 1863.

    Reply
    • todd

      April 28, 2010 at 4:45 pm

      I stand corrected. Thanks for the detailed explanation!

      Reply
  2. Halie and Sadie

    April 21, 2011 at 7:03 pm

    That was an amazing summary

    Reply
  3. Random

    April 28, 2011 at 5:03 pm

    I see your boobies (.Y.)

    Reply
  4. Jaylee Minekime

    May 26, 2011 at 6:36 pm

    It was 12,000 thousand soldiers not 13,000 men in the battle. They were only 18&19 years of age is the youngest!!!

    Reply
  5. Nigel UK

    November 11, 2012 at 7:08 pm

    Fascinating story! Just like the “Pals’ Battalions” at Serre, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme exactly 53 years later. One would have thought in that long interval after Pickett’s charge, that a mass infantry assault without benefit of cover and in the face of modern infantry weapons would be nothing short of suicidal.

    Reply
  6. Ronald G. Crowe

    December 15, 2012 at 8:34 pm

    Thanks for the great summary. I’ve always been fascinated by “Pickett’s Charge,” One of Lee’s worst blunders, if not the worst. My great great uncle Sgt. Calvin Crow of Habersham Co. GA: Company K, 24th GA. Vol. Reg., Cobbs Brigade, Army of Northern VA, was wounded and captured during the Battle of Gettysburg. But I don’t know which day of the battle he was captured. He spent the rest of the war in Elmira Military Prison in NY. My great Grandfather Elijah L. Crow was in the same outfit, but had earlier been wounded at Chancellorsville, VA., so he missed Gettysburg. But he was captured a year later on Aug. 16, ’64 at Deep Bottom, VA., and also ended up at Elmira Military prison.

    Reply
  7. Jim

    June 17, 2013 at 1:39 pm

    Could have done without the personalized summary… We will never learn.. Not since Abe killed able.

    Reply
  8. Rick Riedel

    June 28, 2015 at 9:07 pm

    As a lifelong student of military history, strategies, and tactics, I would love to know what General George S. Patton thought about Picketts charge. Somehow, something tells me that he would have advised Robert E. Lee against it. While I suppose that Pickett, Longstreet etc. were considered “good soldiers” for following Lee’s orders to the letter, exactly what is the moral imperative of following an order that you know, for thousands of your men, to be certain suicide ?

    Reply
  9. ALAN GREENHALGH

    April 1, 2017 at 1:51 am

    Are there any personal recollections of soldiers who survived Pickett’s Charge that are in existence regarding their feelings about marching across that field on July 3, 1863? Also, how accurate is the movie Gettysburg’s interpretation of the charge?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tweets that mention Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg -- Topsy.com says:
    April 29, 2010 at 6:07 pm

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The History Trekker. The History Trekker said: The site of Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. "General Lee, I have no division left." Gen. George Pickett http://mee.bo/d6C3t0 […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Discover more

Haunted Travels A witch's garden Get Connected

Footer

Copyright © 2021

Keep In Touch

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Thank you for visiting

Want curiosities in your inbox?

Sign up to receive emails from A Gothic Curiosity Cabinet.