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Background Music: A patriotic march plays softly in the background for the duration. Narrative: Looking through the midst of intervening years, historians say that the Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War. Within that savage, smoky battle, it can be argued that the bloody turning point was Pickett's Charge. Video: Troops on foot and horseback gather for battle.
Narrative: For the Confederates, everything hinged on General Longstreet breaching the Union forces on Cemetery Ridge. While Longstreet was initially against attacking, General Lee was determined to make the assault. Video: Troop sit to discuss strategy in a field.
Narrative: Lee singled out General George Pickett to coordinate and lead the charge. In the Union lines, General Lee suspected that a major onslaught was coming. He made sure his leaders knew that July 3 would end with a crucial engagement. Video: Men on foot and horseback ready for battle in a field.
Narrative: A Confederate artillery barrage began just as the Union commanders were finishing their lunch. The furious bombardment was intended to pave the way for the charge to come. As the Union forces countered with their big guns, the earth shook as the shrapnel ripped through the cemetery and choked the woods with smoke. Video: Cannons and guns go off as gun smoke fills the battlefield.
Narrative: Although many Confederate shells overshot the Union line and exploded behind the troops, rebel cannons still claimed many victims. Video: Bodies lie dead and injured in a smoky battlefield.
Narrative: The Union artillery inflicted heavy damages on the Confederate infantry as they waited in the woods for the signal to move forward. Both sides were using ammunition at a staggering rate. However, the Confederates didn't have the reserves of long-range ammunition available to the Yankees. So far from home, the Confederate supply lines were sparse. Even the Union commanders with their more plentiful armaments were careful to conserve. Video: Union forces stand by during battle. Cannons fire. Men load and fire cannons
Narrative: When an hour or more of continuous shelling from both sides had passed, the federal guns slowed and fell silent. General Lee knew a formidable attack was coming. He wanted to both conserve ammunition and draw the enemy out into farmlands in front of his protected lines. Video: Smoke begins to lift from the battlefield. Troops begin to gather and advance.
Narrative: The strategy worked. Pickett ordered his men to begin the charge. The ranks of individual man and officers believed that the Confederate guns had disemated the Union line. As the three divisions of 13,000 men advanced they closed ranks and marched almost as a machine bristling with machines and bayonets. Video: Men shout and advance across a field. Men march shoulder-to-shoulder carrying guns.
Narrative: Then, death rained down on the rebels as the Union muskets opened fire. Still, on and on the soldiers marched toward the crest. As ranks of men fell, another wave came forward. At times, entire groups of men were slaughtered with a single exploding shock. Video: Men engage in battle. Troops continue to march into battle.
Narrative: At only one spot did the men of Pickett's Charge crack the Union line, but the moment they reached the wall they were killed or captured. Finally, the Southern soldiers started to lose momentum. Video: The battle slows as men lay wounded and dying in the battlefield.
Narrative: There were no longer enough men to support the front ranks nor was there enough ammunition to fire into the Union batteries. Bodies piled up grotesquely. Many fled in disorder and chaos. Others surrendered and were taken prisoner. Video: Wounded men straggle through the emptying field. Soldiers hold up their arms in sign of surrender.
Narrative: The failure of Pickett's Charge was a devastating blow to the Confederate cause. Whole brigades were wiped out. The infantry divisions lost half of those who closed ranks and marched that afternoon. Video: A Confederate flag waves above a clearing battlefield.
Narrative: At the end of the day it was obvious that invading the North was a dashed hope. General Lee gathered his remaining troops in a spirit of retreat. It's been said that the Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest of the Civil War. The carnage of Pickett's Charge may have been the turning point for the Union, but it extracted a terrible price in lost lives. Video: Men walk somberly on the battlefield. A wounded man stumbles and falls to the earth.
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