Gettysburg: The Full Moon Battle | Unknown Civil War (S1, E2) | Full Episode

Lee's Grand Invasion Lincoln's search for a general Jeb Stewart's mysterious raid and John buford's clever defense this is the story of an accidental meeting between two great American armies the Battle of Gettysburg day one next on the unknown Civil [Music] War as spring turned to summer in the year 1863 the American Civil War was building toward a [Music] crescendo in the West Union victories continued but all eyes were on the east on Virginia on Confederate General Robert E Lee in less than a year General Lee had reversed the fortune of the Confederacy leading an Army on the brink of defeat to Victory after Victory from the Peninsula Campaign of June 1862 through second Manasses in August then the narrow Escape at antium in September Lee built momentum at Fredericksburg in December he slaughtered federal troops then came the stunning Confederate victory at Chancellorsville in early May 186 3 this was an Army like no other our army would be Invincible if it could be properly organized and officered there never were such men in an army before they will go anywhere and do anything if properly LED General Robert E Lee May 21st 1863 they had come to the conclusion that properly lead they could not be beaten they were Invincible Lee has that same conclusion that his men are so good following Chancellor's Ville a battle which he should never have won which on paper he could not win but which he had with the help of Stonewall Jackson the main worry as Lee noted was leadership the brilliant victory at Chancellorsville had come at high cost the death of Confederate general Thomas Stonewall Jackson Lee's right hand with Jackson gone the Army needed new leaders and Lee wondered where he might find them in late May 1863 Robert elely reorganized the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia the first core commanded by Major General James Long Street donated one Division and Jackson's second core donated another to help create the new third Corp to lead the reorganized second Corp he promoted Jackson's trusted Lieutenant Richard s Yule Ule was a West Point man class of 1840 in 1861 he resigned his army commission to fight for the Confederacy under Jackson he rose to division command but in August 1862 he lost a leg in battle by May 1863 he was back in the saddle with a wooden leg commanding the powerful second Corp Ambrose Powell Hill was Lee's choice to lead the new third Corp Hill was also from West Point and Virginia after an unspectacular career in the US Army Hill Rose to Major General in the army of Northern Virginia largely through skill and bravery indeed Hills light division was well known in Jackson second core when Lee had to name a replacement to lead the new third core he chose Hill by 1863 Robert El Le himself was universally regarded as the brightest military man in America maybe the world Lee was aware of his reputation but not concerned with it his Focus was on his army and his Nation how to feed these people how to relieve their suffering how to end the war and he had a plan Lee wrote to Jefferson Davis several times in late May and early June and we can glean from those letters what he hoped to accomplish by movie North he hoped to pull the Union forces out of Virginia after him uh to find logistical support for the army of Northern Virginia across the pomac river and really just to reorient the war away from Virginia which had been suffering from the presence of the armies for a long time into Pennsylvania but Confederate President Jefferson Davis had other concerns Lee's bold plan coincided with a deteriorating situation in Vicksburg Mississippi the jalter of the South was under siege by a voracious Union Army Davis wanted to reinforce Vicksburg with a division from Lee's army George Pickett's division from long Street's first core nearly all of the soldiers in pickets division were natives of Virginia to send them West Lee argued was Folly for a number of logistical and emotional reasons Lee saw the bigger picture already planning his March to the North Lee told Davis that the survival of the Confederacy had become a question between Virginia and Mississippi the war Lee admitted could well be lost in the west but equally It could only be won in the [Music] East General Lee was faced with a major major strategic problems the fundamental Grand strategic problem was how to secure the independence of the Confederate nation and he felt that the most important theater of the war was right here in the East if he could continue to gain such major victories over the Union Army of the bomac and could carry the war north of the pomac river into the Union territory itself achieve victories on Northern soil perhaps he could break the will of the northern people to continue the war Davis reluctantly agreed with Lee's opinion and endorsed the grand strategy of an invasion of Pennsylvania once Lee determined that it was in the East that he should take the offensive he began formulating his plans as to how to to do this I think that Lee's frame of mind was that of a somewhat frustrated man in the wake of Chancellorsville which had not been as useful a victory uh as he had hoped it might he thought that by going north he could dictate the actions to the Union Army put himself in the position to make the federals respond to him rather than simply reacting to what they did and that was always of Paramount importance to Lee AC crossing the pomac was a way for him to be the person who was calling the shots on June 3rdd General Robert El launched his summer campaign of 1863 from its base of operations in Fredericksburg the army of Northern Virginia began moving Northwest along the lines of the ranic river toward the Shen andoa Valley where it would turn due north for Pennsylvania by the time that Lee marched his army into Pennsylvania that summer I believe he had lost respect for his enemy he thought the Union Army was badly LED badly organized and the men must have been demoralized and that was completely untrue the Union Army of the pomac commanded by Major General Joseph Hooker was certainly wounded in body and soul hooker's timid Battle Tactics at Chancellorsville had resulted in 177,000 casualties the men were dispirited weary and wanted to go home what's more many of their enlistments were up the effects of battle casualties and expiring enlist ments drained nearly 30,000 men from the Union Army of the pomac on the eve of Lee's Invasion but there was more trouble for the federal troops Lincoln was unhappy with his Commanding General after Chancellor's Ville hooker had withdrawn to a position north of the rahan when Lee moved West Lincoln urged hooker to act quickly Lincoln actually saw it as an opportunity to cut off the Confederates from their home base in Virginia uh maybe even trap them somewhere in the north and bring them to battle and ruin them and indeed uh he wrote to Hooker and said uh this gives you back the opportunity to [ __ ] the enemy far from his home base uh hooker instead said well they're leaving my front why don't I cut in behind them and try to capture Richmond and Lincoln and disgust wired back to to Hooker that Lee's army and not Richmond is your true objective hook had done much good in restoring the morale the fighting tone the spirits of the army before it went into action at Chancellorsville but following Chancellorsville he had been to a considerable extent discredited discredited in the eyes of the Washington administration discredited in the eyes of his brother officers and it could be argued that that hooker had been somewhat discredited even in his own eyes that he had lost confidence in his ability to do battle against Robert ele so began the most famous battle campaign of the Civil War on one side an army believing it was invincible began a massive Invasion and on the other side a vulnerable Army was suddenly faced with the possibility of a devastating defeat on its own [Music] soil Major General Joseph Hooker and the US Army of the pomac were still suffering from the damage inflicted at the Battle of Chancellorsville but in early June 1863 he reacted quickly to Lee's movement out of Fredericksburg immediately hooker gave aggressive orders to a healthy arm of his command the Union Cavalry Corp under the command of General Alfred Pleasanton the Union Cavalry once the butt of jokes in the South was finally emerging as a First Rate Force but still they had yet to earn the respect that followed their Confederate counterparts the Confederate Cavalry was the most visible arm of Lee's army led by the most dashing soldier of the entire War Major General James Ule Brown Stewart Jeb Stewart was a gifted Cavalier colorful in dress exceptional in reconnaissance and spectacular in battle for southerners he echoed the tradition of Francis Marian The Immortal Swamp Fox of the American Revolution to Northerners he inspired fear and hatred during the first two years of the Civil War Stuart proved again and again that his men were unrivaled in the field he had circled the army of the pomac twice and routinely he embarrassed the Union Cavalry thus steuart himself became an object of motivation for the US cavalry union Horsemen aspired to be like Stuart so they could defeat him during Lee's Pennsylvania campaign Stuart's primary task was to screen the movement of the army of Northern Virginia from the prying eyes of the Union Cavalry on June 5th outside cul pepper Virginia Stuart held a grand review of the Cavalry for the benefit of the Commanding General Lee attended the spectacle but was somewhat embarrassed by it he was more concerned that Stuart performed his duty for the Army 4 days later that concern came to haunt Stewart when the US Cavalry mounted a reconnaissance in force to detect and disrupt Lee's [Music] move for the first time in the war Jeb Stewart was caught off guard and surprised quite literally by a Union force the battle that followed became the largest Cavalry engagement of the war the Battle of Brandy Station though Stuart and his men rallied to repulse the federal probe and protect Le's Advance the battle clearly marked the arrival of the Union Cavalry as a form able Foe for Stuart and his Horsemen this was the beginning of a summer of hard fighting they could no longer win battles on reputation alone for Robert E Lee it was the moment of no return after Brandy Station Lee instructed Ule and the second core to cross the Blue Ridge Mountains through Manasses Gap Le's other two cores under Long Street and finally under AP Hill move up behind Ule and Lee's original intentions are that long Street and Hill should remain east of the Blue Ridge to be a credible threat against Washington and the army of the pomac but when uul becomes embroiled in fighting around Winchester in June 13th 14th and 15th Long Street crosses the mountains to support him and that has the effect of drawing Lee's entire Army west of the Blue Ridge into the shenendoa valley by June 15th the army of Northern Virginia was spread out nearly 100 miles from cul pepper to the pomac river near Williamsport while Le's columns Advanced Jeb Stewart and the Confederate Cavalry continued the vital task of screening the Army's movement from federal probes on the 16th as U's troops crossed the pomac river at Williamsport Port hooker moved the body of his army toward Manasses Junction he also ordered Pleasanton to continue probing the Confederate screen this effort was met by Stuart on the 17th over the next few days Confederate Cavalry engaged Federal Horsemen at Aldi middleberg and upperville despite the heavy tactical fighting Stewart basically managed to contain the Yankees and prevent the federal Horsemen from reaching and crossing the Blue Ridge and observing the Confederate infantry in the Shen andoa Valley on the 18th long Street's core and Lee himself crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains through Ashby's Gap at the same time news of U's Confederate troops on Union soil threw Panic into the north at this moment Jeb Stewart came to Lee with a a plan to cause more havoc on Union soil he wanted to take three brigades of Cavalry to the east flank the union rear then cross the pomac between the Union Army and Washington D.C once in the north Stuart would rendevu with Lee's Main Army in Maryland or join Ule near carile Pennsylvania in effect Stuart wanted to ride around the Union Army for a third time on June 23rd Robert elely approved the plan and wrote orders for Jeb Stewart the Commanding General suggested that the Cavalry crossed the river at Shepherd's toown west of the Blue Ridge but he gave Stuart a choice he gave Stuart a fair amount of free reign because he had a high degree of confidence in Stuart to raid behind the Union Army to scout deep into Northern Territory uh Stuart took that as permission to go off on a major raid the next day Lee crossed the pomac at Shephard's toown and Stuart left Salem Virginia riding East with his three best brigades we need to bear in mind that Stewart was not engaged in a vain glorious raid or attempt to seek personal attention he was carrying out the strategy that Lee had intended for him to pursue unfortunately Stewart had to move farther east than he had intended in order to avoid Federal columns which were marching northward as the Yankees were shifting their forces to confront the Confederate Advance Stewart's delay was in fact caused by the trailing elements of the main body of the army of the pomac hooker for all the criticism moved with alacrity to cross the river but at this juncture hooker's days in command were numbered he had quarreled with Lincoln about reinforcing the army of the pomac with the Garrison at Harbor's Ferry Joe hooker issued an ultimatum he says either give me the reinforcement or I will resign and Washington takes him up on his offer and relieves him of command and then promptly adds The Garrison of Harper fairy to the overall uh responsibility of the commander of the army of the pomac on Saturday night June 27th as Robert El Le's Army marched into Pennsylvania Abraham Lincoln replaced Joe hooker with Major General George Gordon me here is a general who's totally without ambition he didn't want the job in fact when the curer from Washington arrived in the middle of the night and walked into his tent and awakened him he thought he was being placed under arrest W for something and then was told that he was being named to command the army of the BAC me was not Lincoln's first choice the president wanted Major General John Reynolds to take the post but Reynolds declined so Lincoln went with a hunch me was a Pennsylvania man it was his home the following night James Long Street general of the first Corp of the army of Northern Virginia was camped near Chambersburg there he received some intelligence from a spy General Long Street had uh a scout in his employee a man named Harrison uh who had been operating behind Union lines and who discovered that the Union Army and the Vanguard of the Union Army was um across the pomac river and heading this way as a consequence Lee who wasn't quite sure about the accuracy of this information but could not afford to ignore it sends out word to the scattered divisions of his own Army most of them are at Chambersburg but all of 's division is either in York or in the vicinity of Harrisburg to concentrate in the direction of cashtown or Gettysburg soon as possible Long Street spy also told about Lincoln's new General Lee was circumspect about this news it made him believe the whole report me he knew was a good Commander he will make no mistakes in my front Lee was said to have uttered from that point on Lee will not have the war his own way anymore now Lee must begin to respond to me me is not moving forward rashly he is moving his three Wings forward cautiously but he is advancing strategically and now both sides must fight to see who can retain the Strategic initiative the Yankees begin moving on June 29th and already by the 30th of June there will be preliminary skirmishing and starting July 1st the issue will be put to the test on the field of Gettysburg by Friday June 26th 1863 the citizens of Gettys ber Pennsylvania were excited worried apprehensive and scared you lived in gettsburg in the first place you were scared because you were hearing all these things the newspaper was reporting about the Confederates over in the Cumberland Valley in Chambersburg and then you were hearing about them around carile and they were up near Harrisburg it was beginning to become only a matter of time before they're going to come to gettsburg that morning a battalion of Rebel Horsemen came thundering into town it was the 35th Virginia Cavalry commanded by Lieutenant Colonel EV white the rebel Cavalry was followed by a brigade of infantry they were part of Confederate general jubel early's division from ul's second core the rebels requisitioned food and supplies from the citizens of Gettysburg in a surprisingly polite fashion they even paid with confederate scrip the Confederates were really well discipled when they got into town the men didn't start running into the stores and looting things and taking stuff it was a very well organized taking what you needed from the town because early gave the people a list of what he wanted and then they produced as much as they possibly could and then once early was satisfied he left and uh marched onto the next town towards York while early raided Gettysburg the rest of U's core was moving toward carile Pennsylvania on the road from chambers B behind them were Long Street Hill and Robert El Le by Sunday June 28th the army of Northern Virginia was fully entrenched in the north but split in three distinct locations Chambersburg carile and York the main body was in Chambersburg where Long Street told Lee that the Union Army had already crossed the pomac river Lee had to react and quickly that day the confederate general ordered his entire Army to concentrate around cashtown Pennsylvania by this order Lee turned his army and set off a chain of events that resulted in the bloodiest battle of the Civil [Music] War in the Union Army of the pomac word spread of the many developing events the Army had a new commanding General and George me and the men knew of the Rebel Invasion the men in the army of the bomac as they marched toward the battlefield at Gettysburg I think believed that in many instances they had not been given a chance to win battles uh their leaders had let them down I think morale was quite high in the Army I think the men were imbued with a special sense of purpose because they were going to be fighting on United States soil for a change uh rather than on Confederate soil leading the union Advance was the leftwing of the army commanded by Major General John Reynolds at age 42 Reynolds was regarded as one of the brightest and most competent officers in the US Army his command consisted of the first third and 11th core of the army of the pomac along with a division of Cavalry the Union Cavalry was General John buford's division about 4,000 cavalrymen and buer was looking for the Confederates that's basically what his job was he was he was prowling around on the left in the front of the army of the pomac in the morning on June 30th as the Union Army massed around Frederick Maryland John buford's Cavalry galloped into Gettysburg they were greeted as Heroes saviors of the town but Buford didn't feel like a hero buford's arrival in Gettysburg coincided almost simultaneously with the appearance of a brigade of Rebel infantry advancing toward the town from the west down the cashtown road the Confederate troops were commanded by Brigadier General James Johnston pettigru petr's Brigade was part of Heath's division in Hill's third core when he Advanced on Gettysburg he did so with discretionary orders from his commanders pedre's division Commander was uh Major General Henry Heath and according to Heath's account he had read in a Chambersburg newspaper about some alleged supply of shoes in Gettysburg what the nature of it was we don't really know because there wasn't any supply of shoes here and that may have been Heath bad memory he may have been forgetting what he ordered pedig to do but pedre's orders were to march to gettsburg on June 30th in search the town for supplies particularly shoes but under no circumstances was he to bring on an engagement as he's marching to gettsburg at on two separate occasions residents of the gettsburg area sympathetic to the Confederates came riding out and warned him that there was Union Cavalry approaching the town from the south the second guy who warned him may have been the Spy Harrison and he tells pedig that it's buford's division approaching Gettysburg so pedigree is going to March up to the Lutheran Seminary that's as far as he goes and then he sees the Cavalry coming into town and he's going to leave and March back to cash town and Report what he sees when pedig reported to heathan Hill both were skeptical they thought pettigru might be exaggerating because he was not a professional Soldier but Hill relayed the information to Lee Buford filed his own reports I have the honor to State the following facts AP Hills core is masked back a cash Town 9 miles from this place his pickets composed of infantry and artillery are inside of mine there is a road from cash town running through mummasburg to York which is terribly infested with roving detachments of Cavalry rumor says Ule is coming over the mountains from Carlile when will The Reserve be relieved John Buford Brigadier General buford's greatest concern was that the Confederate Army was advancing on mass his C Cavalry division was the first line of defense he knew he could not stop this advance but could he delay it this was buford's decision Buford surveyed the local terrain from the Cupa of the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg from its perch he saw ground that offered a good defensive position there were subtle ridg lines to the west and High Ground directly south of town Buford decided to stay in fight he dismounted his two brigades of Cavalry setting picket lines on The Ridges west of town then Buford waited for the next [Music] move that evening June 30th 1863 Robert E Lee believed the Union Army of the pomac was 20 mil south of the Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg but he wasn't sure because he had no reli able intelligence only the word of Long Street spy Lee hadn't seen or heard from Jeb Stewart for days almost a week the eyes of his army were improperly absent Lee's reputation in the Civil War was that of audacity personified but on this occasion he chose caution he gave tacit orders to AP Hill Advanced the Third cor at dawn and flushed the Union force out of Gettysburg he was on the prowl but not for a fight Lee knew the cycle of the moon he had marched down the shanoa valley by its waxing light and he knew this moon in July 1863 shined on a decisive moment in history he knew the significance of the date the 87th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence was just days away away Lee's father lighthorse Harry Lee had sided with rebellion in 1776 and fought bravely for the new nation now Lee was leading another rebellious Army facing his father's Army Lee knew he had brought these armies to this place he had a meeting engagement with [Music] history the night to the 30th was busy for the division by daylight on July 1st I had gained positive information of the enemy's position and movements and my arrangements were made for entertaining him until General Reynolds could reach the scene Brigadier General John Buford there are two major decisions that will be made early on Wednesday July 1st which will affect the course of the operations one is the decision by the responsible Union Officers Buford Reynolds and Hancock that Gettysburg is the place to fight the battle buford's decision was made easier by the flexibility of his command Cavalry could Retreat quickly even when dismounted if Reynolds had said hey Buford we're pulling you back there may never have been a battle of Gettysburg the other key decision made on the morning of Wednesday July 1 is the decision by General Henry Heath commanding the leading Confederate division to precipitate battle with his two Frontline brigades before the rest of his Division and before the other divisions of AP Hills Corps can get up Henry Heath's March began at dawn with two brigades under the command of General pettigru heading down the cashtown road 4 miles west of Gettysburg they reached buford's outer Skirmish line the popular impression is that Buford fights like a Little Big Horn Alamo type battle on the morning of July the 1st the reality is all he's doing is harassing the Confederates and he's trying to slow them up confuse them make them cautious and buying time for the Infantry to reach the field and at work to Perfection the Confederates to begin with commit their forces only peace meal because they think there's no one in town but the Union Cavalry which had been spotted there the previous day the Confederates Advanced cautiously because of Lee's directive to avoid a general engagement I don't think Heath and I don't think Robert E Lee and anticipated they were going to bring on a major battle then they're going to run into Buford buford's going to fight them delay them Heath's going to get a little bit carried away and try to press Buford back when he does so Reynolds has come on the field and Reynolds makes one of the crucial decisions of the battle he decides to fight here about 9:30 a.m. just as Heath prepared to overrun buford's line John Reynolds commander of the leftwing of the army of the pomac arrived red on the scene the native of Lancaster Pennsylvania was personally leading two brigades of infantry from wadsworth's division first up with Reynolds was Cutler's Brigade after surveying the ground Reynolds placed it to the north of the cashtown road along McPherson's Ridge to meet Heath's [Music] Advance they were immediately engaged the famed iron Brigade came up next and joined the battle Reynolds put them in the woods south of cashtown road coming up willoughby's run the iron Brigade slammed into Heath's exposed right flank for the moment Heath was repulsed that initial clash between Heath's Division and wadsworth's division of the first core is crucial because it buys time time for the rest of the first core and the 11th Corp to come onto the battlefield and fight a delaying action on July 1st they're going to buy time with their lives shortly after 10:00 a.m. Reynolds was on his horse actively positioning troops in the woods when a Confederate shell hit him in the back of his neck Reynolds tumbled from his horse and died instantly he was 42 years old when the union Wing Commander fell the Confederates counterattacked against Cutler forcing his Retreat across the railroad cut into the woods along Seminary Ridge amidst this Major General Abner doubled day commander of the first core of the Union Army took control of the field quickly double day reestablished the union line along McPherson's Ridge and then ordered a flanking Counterattack soon after Major General o oh Howard arrived with the 11th Corp immediately he reinforced the Union right Howard was informed pretty promptly that he was in command of the field now the problem though is that um next to Dan sickles Howard was the one soldier that me least wanted in a command position so as soon as me learned that Howard was in command and Reynolds was dead he immediately summoned Winfield Hancock to his headquarters and ordered Hancock to go to Gettysburg to take command and Hancock of course said uh well there's a problem here because Howard ranks me fortunately me had prepared for such a contingency and had received permission from the war department that in an emergency such as a battle he could ignore seniority and do whatever he saw fit so he tells Hancock I know that I know he's senior to you I want you to assume command me is going to act pretty decisively he orders the whole Army of the Bic to march to gettsburg and decides that that's going to be the place that he's going to fight the battle against the army of Northern Virginia by midday the remainder of Heath's division had arrived along with support from Major General William D Pender's division then part of U's command appeared from the north led by Major General Robert roads they immediately joined the battle blindly slamming into the Union right just north of town here along Oak Ridge some of the day's fiercest fighting occurred standing on the northeast corner of Oak Ridge and here's where the Infantry fighting of the three days of Gettysburg really began up here on this High Ground coming in from the north was the division commanded by Robert E rhods his first real opport as a full-time division commander and unfortunately when he sent Iverson's North Carolinians forward they walked into one of the most thorough and deadly ambuscades of the whole War because the federals just beyond the Beyond The Crest up there and behind a stone wall were waiting for them and when the federals rose up and delivered their volleys at close range to these unsuspecting foe they just slaughtered them and the result was probably the most one-sided single encounter Brigade to Brigade during the Battle of Gettysburg but that Union Advantage didn't last long to the South AP Hills Corps launched a crushing assault against double day's position opening huge seams in the tenuous Union line despite the federal success Confederate Superior Manpower would eventually take its toll in late afternoon as Keith's other two brigades and the divisions of dorsy Pender and jubil early arrived on the battlefield on both flanks and in the center the union defensive line that had fought so bravely and had bought so much time for most of the day was at last defeated and sent withdrawing often streaming back in considerable disorder through the streets of town to The High Ground just to the South suddenly the saviors of Gettysburg were just as scared as the people who lived there the battle was [Music] joined midday on July 1 the Confederates had created what it seems to me and some of my colleagues quarrel with me about it but it seems to me was the point of almost every military affair during the Civil War and that was to open a seam to rip open the lining uh to unhinge someone's position to get them to get the Bulge on them to use the homely phrase of the of the civil war soldier to get the advantage on them and to start running them roads and then early in the rest had just come in at exactly the right Point had unhinged the federal line had torn it open the federals were fleeing in route through the town the scene in the streets of Gettysburg was chaotic Union troops ran for their lives through the center of town they headed for The High Ground to the South behind them came the advancing Rebels caught in the middle were the people of Gettysburg the citizens of Gettysburg just found themselves in in the worst hornet nest that they could ever have imagined this this huge battle descended upon them at this critical moment Major General Winfield s Hancock arrived on the battlefield he assumed the overall command of the Union Army hanock arrives right about the point where everybody's retreating and you know it's it's kind of a chaotic situation and he and Howard pitched in and started to rally the troops when the union troops begin to retreat it's General Winfield Scott Hancock along with General Otis oh Howard the man on the Statue behind me who recognized this hill as the place to rally and reform the lines and they working together would do so Hancock immediately placed what was left of the first and 11th Corp in a defensive position he created a semicircular line at top the small hills south of town with a natural extension to the South along a subtle Ridge as reinforcements arrived from the south they joined and extended the position soon Hancock's battle line resembled a fish hook within an hour of his arrival Hancock sent a report to General me who was still coming [Music] up July 1st 1863 5:25 p.m. when I arrived here an hour since I found that our troops had given up the front of Gettysburg in the town we have now taken up a position in the cemetery and cannot well be taken it is a position however easily turned we have as yet no troops on the left the battle is quiet now I think we will be all right until night when Night Comes it can be told better what it best be done Winfield s Hancock Major General commanding [Music] core as Hancock filed his report Robert E Lee was also present surveying the situation from the center of town there was no doubt in his mind that he had won the day's fight yet he couldn't help but admire the federal position General Lee had arrived by that time and seeing the advantage before him felt that Cemetery Hill might have been taken he gave a very controversial order at that point to Yu saying take the hill if you think it's practicable but try to avoid a general engagement now was the time in which general uul fresh to core command would face an important decision should he move ahead to exploit his Victory and storm this last Federal position his men had been fighting all day they were worn out his third division The Stonewall division was only coming up at the end of the day you will felt that there was not time or opportunity to press the attack late on Wednesday I don't think any Confederate Assa on this hill was a sure thing is some histories tell us uh though defeated the Union forces had begun to Rally rather rapidly and had already positioned artillery on the hill this is an excellent artillery platform it can control large parts of the battlefield and so the opportunity passed and that would prove to be one of the pivotal decisions of the battle not to exploit the first day's Victory we cannot know what would have happened if Ule would have attempted to assault the final Federal position what we do know is that he did not make the attempt the position remained in federal hands and the battle would continue on into Thursday July 2nd the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg was a decisive Confederate Victory but that night Robert E le remained stoic if he was to win this battle he knew that he had to remove the federals from their position on the that hill with the moon rising over this scene full as a Chinese gong Robert E le spoke with his trusted Lieutenant General James Long Street the commander of the Army's first core had his own opinion about what to do next but Lee was Resolute if he is there tomorrow I will attack [Music] him [Music] [Music]