Lee's invasion of the north in 1863 was a gamble to win the war.
If his Army of Northern Virginia could draw the union Army of the Potomac into
Pennsylvania and defeat it there, the South might win the war. Without the main army to
protect it, Washington would lay open to Lee. So would the other main cities of the North.
The South had prepared a diplomatic initiative to end the war after the Lee’s
victory.
As the movie opens, a Confederate scout, Henry Harrison, is recording
the Yankee movements. He spots Federal cavalry and infantry converging on the little town
of Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania. This is vital information and he reports it, first
to General Longstreet and then to General Lee. It is particularly important to Lee since
his cavalry commander, J.E.B. Stewart, has been out of touch with them for a week. Lee
orders the Army of Northern Virginia to converge on Gettysburg.
On
the Union side, the various units are also heading there. The 20th Maine Regiment,
commanded by Col. Joshua Chamberlain, is assigned a hundred and twenty men who have
mutinied. He appeals to their sense of duty as his unit prepares to move out toward
Gettysburg. Meanwhile, in the town, Union Brigadier General John Buford, in command of two
brigades of cavalry, prepares to defend the town. He correctly sees that if he can defend
long enough the Union army can occupy the best ground along Cemetery Ridge to the south of
Gettysburg. If he can't, Lee will have that ground and Meade will break the Army of the
Potomac attacking him.
It
was of very near thing that first day of July. Buford’s cavalry defended with
everything they had. Just as more and more units from the Army of Northern Virginia put
unbearable pressure on them, the Union I Corps arrived. As their commander, General
Reynolds, was deploying them, a Confederate marksman killed him.
But they did their job. At the end of the day the Union army holds
Cemetery Ridge. General Ewell was ordered by Lee to take Culp's Hill but failed to carry
it out. There was a significant disagreement between General Longstreet and General Lee.
Longstreet wanted to maneuver between the Yankees and Washington and make Meade attack
them. Lee disagreed. He said, "The enemy is here -- the fight is here." and
planned for another attack the next day.
As the second day of the battle opens, the two armies are deployed
about mile apart. The Army of Northern Virginia is in place along Seminary Ridge. The Army
of the Potomac is dug in along the Cemetery Ridge in a fishhook shape. The barb of the
hook would be Culp's Hill, the bend at Cemetery Hill, the shank along the Ridge and
‘eye’ of the hook at Little Round Top and Big Round Top -- two hills at the end
of the line that looked down on the entire federal position.
In the afternoon, Longstreet's attack got underway. The fighting
was among the most intense of the entire war. He swept the Federals from the Peach
Orchard, and it was hand-to-hand in Devil's Den and on Little Round Top. That hill had
been left unoccupied most of the day. Finally (and just in time), Federal units were
ordered up to defend the hill. The 20th Maine was the last unit in the entire Federal
line. Chamberlain was ordered to defend to the last. If they broke, the entire line would
break.
It
couldn’t have been any closer. They arrived and set in with 15 minutes to spare. The
Confederate units came up through the steep woods and attacked time again. As the fighting
wore on, the Rebels tried to move around past the end of the line. Chamberlain extended
his front to meet the threat. Finally, nearly exhausted and almost out of ammunition,
Chamberlain ordered his men to fix bayonets. As the rebels came up that last time, the
20th Maine counter-attacked downhill and drove the Confederate's back.
The Army of the Potomac had taken everything Lee could throw at them
and they still held the ridge. But they were close to breaking, Lee thought. Tomorrow
would be the telling day.
