Battle Of Gettysburg: Haunting Photos Depict The Horror Of Bloodiest Battle Of American Civil War

The battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the American Civil War. In 1863 Confederate Army Gen. Robert E. Lee decided to invade the North after a victory at Chancellorsville, to move the war out of Virginia into Pennsylvania and have his men take supplies from the bountiful farms of the North for a change. Lee sought to force the Lincoln administration into peace talks on his terms. Union Cavalry was in near the town of Gettysburg led by General George Meade.

Initially, Lee ordered his army to not engage with Unions until all the army was together, but circumstances abandoned such strategies, and the battle was started on July 1, 1863. Both sides had incomplete forces; however, Confederate forces outnumbered the Union troops on the first day. They were still reforming, and the confederate army led by Lee fought well and brought Union forces in a defensive position. As more and more troops from Union reinforcements began to arrive, the Union soldiers on the second day outnumbered the Confederates, and they established a strong position from Culp’s Hill to Cemetery Ridge. Union numbers had swelled to 94,000 against 72,000 of Confederate army. Lee rejected the advice of his second-in-command, James Longstreet and launched a furious attack against the Unions where they stood. The attack was delayed because Longstreet did not get his men into position until 4 P.M. Both sides suffered heavy losses but Union forces withstood. On the third and final day Lee made another bold move and sent an army of 12,500 men under the command of General Pickett to attack the Union defensive lines. The attack was failed, and Union army pushed back the confederates and gained a strong position. Pickett’s men were caught from all sides and lost two-thirds of its men. After the failed assault Lee and his army retreated back to the defensive line. Lee waited for a Union counterattack, but the Union General Meade decided against pursuing Lee’s army. This convinced Lee of the futility of effort and Lee withdrew his decimated army toward Virginia. The Union eventually won the Battle of Gettysburg. President Lincoln was disappointed by Meade’s decision and criticized for not pursuing the confederates after Gettysburg.

There were between 46,000 and 51,000 casualties. Union casualties numbered over 23,000, including 3,200 killed, 14,500 wounded, and 54,00 captured or missing. While the confederates suffered over 28,000 losses, including 4,700 killed, 12,700 wounded, and 5,900 captured or missing.

Here below are some horrible photos that document the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.

#1 The Battle of Gettysburg headquarters of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, a private group that aided sick and wounded Union soldiers during the Civil War.

3 Points

Upvote Downvote

#2 John L. Burns recovers from his wounds. July 1863.

3 Points

Upvote Downvote

#3 Two survivors of the Battle of Gettysburg at the 50th anniversary reunion, July 1913.

3 Points

Upvote Downvote

#4 Veterans of the American Civil War during a reunion commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

3 Points

Upvote Downvote

#5 Two Union soldiers rest behind defensive fortifications during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Such fortifications were known as breastworks and they played a notable role in the Battle of Gettysburg.

2 Points

Upvote Downvote

#6 John L. Burns, a civilian who fought alongside the Union at the Battle of Gettysburg, poses for a photo with his musket.

Burns became famous for fighting despite being 69 at the time.

2 Points

Upvote Downvote

#7 Gen. George G. Meade of the Union.

Meade was only given command of the Army of the Potomac three days before the Battle of Gettysburg and didn't arrive at the battle until the end of the first day, after which time he was able to organize the Union's victory over the next two days.

2 Points

Upvote Downvote

#8 Three Confederate Army prisoners relax after the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#9 The bodies of several Union soldiers lie on the battlefield. This photo is known as “Harvest of Death.”

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#10 Dead horses surround the Trostle House, which Union Major General Daniel Sickles used as his headquarters, and which was the scene of fierce fighting during the Battle of Gettysburg, in early July, 1863

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#11 A Confederate sharp-shooter, who had been killed by a shell at battle of Gettysburg, James F. Gibson,1863

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#12 The exhumation of a Union soldier who died in Hanover, Pennsylvania, 1864. The soldier’s remains were to be relocated to Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#13 The place where the Union III Corps was devoured by Confederate General Longstreet’s advancing forces.

Union General Meade sent over 20,000 men into the gap, where they launched one desperate charge after another, only to be beaten back. However, Longstreet's charge ended soon after at the nearby hill, Little Round Top.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#14 A surgeon performs an amputation on a wounded man as others stand by to assist.

At the time, the number of trained, competent surgeons on both sides numbered only in the dozens and amputations saw a mortality rate of greater than one in four.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#15 A Union soldier who was torn apart by artillery lies dead on the ground.

Most historians agree that the largest artillery bombardments of the entire Civil War took place during the Battle of Gettysburg.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#16 Several men stand near a battlefield hospital.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#17 Confederate bodies lie dead in the area known as the “devil’s den.”

A hotspot for artillery and sharpshooters, "devil's den" marked one of the battle's bloodiest sites.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#18 The damaged surrounding forest in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#19 Private George W. Warner, wounded at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, photographed in 1868

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#20 Men examine the bodies of two dead sharpshooters.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#21 Scene in the woods at foot of Round Top at Battle of Gettysburg. – Title from negative sleeve. July 1863

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#22 Cannons sit abandoned after the first day of Battle of Gettysburg.

Cannons played a critical role in the battle, especially on the third day when Confederate forces mistakenly believed that Union cannons had been knocked out but were then devastated on their ensuing offensive.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#23 The bodies of a group of Confederate soldiers wait to be buried.

Some 8,000 soldiers were killed outright on the battlefield.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#24 The headquarters of the Army of the Potomac during the Battle of Gettysburg.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#25 Confederate soldiers who were on the receiving end of a Union shelling.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#26 A field is strewn with the bodies of Confederates.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#27 Dead Confederates lie in the area known as the “slaughter pen” near Little Round Top.

One of two rocky hills at the south end of the battle zone, this area saw some of the conflict's fiercest fighting.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#28 Four soldiers lie dead in the woods near Gettysburg.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#29 The body of a Confederate sharpshooter is left lying where he was shot.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#30 The bodies of Confederate dead are gathered for burial.

Quick burial, though tough under the battlefield conditions, became important as the bodies baked under the hot summer sun.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#31 Several bodies lined up for burial.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#32 Brigadier General (Promoted to Major General on his Deathbed in 1863) John Buford, Prominent in the Battle of Gettysburg

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#33 Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Brevet Major General during the American Civil War, and was a college professor both before, and after the war – received a Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg, 1865

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#34 Portrait of Union color bearer Alex Rogers of the 83rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment posing with a battle-shredded battle flag after the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863.

Rogers was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5, 1864.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#35 Abraham Lincoln (identified by red arrow) stands among the crowd before delivering the Gettysburg Address.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#36 Crowds gather for the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery (when Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address) in Gettysburg on Nov. 19, 1863.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#37 Union entrenchments on Little Round Top, a hill near the southern end of where the Battle of Gettysburg was fought.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#38 A bridge at nearby Hanover Junction that was burned by the Confederates prior to the Battle of Gettysburg.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#39 People stand in front of the Battle of Gettysburg tents belonging to the U.S. Christian Commission, a group that provided supplies and services to Union troops.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#40 Gen. George Pickett of the Confederacy.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#41 Lt. Gen. James Longstreet of the Confederacy.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#42 Gen. Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy.

Lee was ultimately the senior commander of all Confederate military forces.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#43 At the 50th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, Union and Confederate veterans shake hands. 1913

0 Points

Upvote Downvote