You have to give a round of applause to the Confederate prisoners who were taken captive at the Battle of Gettysburg. Why? Their army has been basically destroyed, and they have most likely lost the people closest to them throughout the entire war. With all that being said, they still keep their heads high and positive even though the war has ended. Fifty years following the battle, a reunion was held for soldiers on both sides.
At this point, most of the men were in their 70s and genuinely enjoyed the day. The reunion even involved a recreation of Picket’s Charge; how cool. It’s amazing how two groups of people can come together in such a way that when the soldiers got to the Union lines, they put up their hands to let them know they surrendered. This was extremely respectful of them to do. They then shook hands and buried the hatchet for good.
How Little Round Top Saved The Union Army
Although it is not the clearest photo, the picture below is of Little Round Top. This probably sounds familiar to you because it’s where the Union soldiers were almost completely wiped out. The photo below was taken about two days following the fight. As you can see, the landscape is completely destroyed.
The Union army was extremely brave in their efforts at the end of the battle at Little Round Top. They had fought so well and so hard that they were able to save themselves from being defeated. Once General Lee had heard of their defeat, he made an impulsive decision that would lead to Pickett’s Charge.
The Biggest Artillery Barrage in North American History
The men in the picture below are firing their cannons onto the field. The Confederate army started off with 12,000 men, and the bombardment was considered the largest in the history of the continent. However, as large as it may have been, it wasn’t as effective as you may have thought.
This was good news for the Union. Lee was unaware that a shell had hit one of the ammunition stores, causing an enormous explosion. This made it seem as though all hell was breaking loose in the Union positions. As a result, Pickett would lose about half of his men. This would later be known as the “high-water mark of the Confederacy.”
Meade Was Soft, And Grant Was Unstoppable
General Meade was getting a lot of heat from the media and even President Lincoln once the Battle of Gettysburg had ended. The Army of Northern Virginia was able to withdraw in one of their wagon trails that was seventeen miles long. This enraged the president, and Meade had somehow let them ultimately escape. From an outside perspective, it is understandable why Meade may not have wanted to fight them, considering the fight his army had just gone through, but that is what President Lincoln expected of him, and he did not deliver.
It took roughly three years to come across a man to do the job, but finally, on March 10, 1864, Lincoln elected General Ulysses S. Grant. Grant is someone who you would read a lot about in history books. He completed the job of wiping out Lee’s army.
A Hospital For All
The photograph below is of Sister M. M. Joseph. She is accompanied by eight other Sisters of Mercy who worked at the Hammond Hospital, which is located in North Carolina. Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War insisted that they take on a job that was a bit different than the job of most nurses. Early on in the war, the Hammond Hospital was seized by the Union Army.
Sometime later, they revamped it and turned it into a treatment center. The purpose of this hospital was to help the soldiers who had lost a limb in the line of duty. Surgery was not conducted at this facility, as it was meant for soldiers on both sides of the army to come and recover.