Gettysburg campaign

Significance

The Gettysburg campaign marked the first full-scale Confederate invasion of a free state, as Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863. The Union Army of the Potomac, commanded successively by Hooker and then Meade, achieved a decisive victory over three days of fighting at Gettysburg, though at heavy cost to both sides. Lee withdrew the bulk of his army back to Virginia, preserving his force but failing to achieve the strategic aims of the invasion. The campaign is recognized as a turning point in the American Civil War: following Gettysburg, Lee was increasingly pressed back toward Richmond and did not again mount a comparable offensive into Union territory, a trajectory that continued until his surrender in April 1865.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)