Study Materials and Questions

Events of the Battle of Gettysburg

June 30th - July 3rd, 1863

© by Elyse Cregar

Standards: American History: Civil War, 1861- 1865

These questions generally follow the sequence of events of the mainly three-day battle, Most are specific to the history of the Battle of Gettysburg. Some questions will require more in-depth research than others; some ask for an opinion or a thoughtful judgment.

1. Draw a map of Gettysburg showing the roads leading into it. (Refer to helpful links below.) Label the roads. How did the geography of Gettysburg contribute to the two opposing armies converging in Gettysburg? What is the irony involved as to the directions these armies were coming from?

2. Why was Confederate money considered to be worthless in the North?

3. Why was it necessary for the local Gettysburg militia to defend the town on June 26, 1863? What was happening on that day?

4. Why was the Union Calvary gathering west of Gettysburg on June 30? Where was the bulk of General Robert E. Lee’s Army on June 30? Where was General Lee?

5. What is the Mason-Dixon Line? Draw a map showing where it is located.

6. Why would Gettysburg townspeople be suspicious of each other? (Hint: Look at the map.)

7. Why did President Lincoln replace “Fighting Joe” Hooker with General George Meade? When did this order take place? How many commanders of the Army of the Potomac had Lincoln appointed by July, 1863?

8. What was the punishment for desertion? Why? Do you think the punishment was too severe? Why or why not?

9. What did the Confederates generally mean by the term “contraband”? Were formerly enslaved residents in Gettysburg actually captured in July of 1863?

10. What was happening west of Gettysburg on the morning of July 1?

11. Who was the brilliant Union general who was killed the morning of July 1? Why was his loss so devastating to the Union side? What Union Corps was under his command?

12. Where was General Meade and most of the Union Army on the evening of July 1?

13. Draw a map showing the position of the two armies in and around Gettysburg on the night of July 1, 1863.

14. Do you think the Confederates would have forced the local families to provide food? What if they had refused?

15. Locate Culp’s Hill on your map. Why was it so critical to the outcome of the battle?

16. What does the word “secession” mean? How was this concept applied in 1861?

17. When did Great Britain outlaw its slave trade (The Slave Trade Act)? When did Britain outlaw slavery in its territories (The Slavery Abolition Act)? What was the difference between these two British laws? What law in the United States ended slavery in this country? On what date was it passed?

18. Draw a map showing the major placement of both armies on the morning of July 2, 1863. Where were the reinforcements coming from for both the Union and Confederate forces? It can be helpful to use red and blue arrows to show troop movement.

19. Several books have been written about the hospitals of the Civil War. Describe the most critical problems faced by local citizens after a battle of this magnitude.

20. Explain why the regimental flags were so important.

21. Draw a map with arrows indicating the troop movements and placement of the two armies on the night of July 2.

22. What has been determined by researchers to be the cause of death of the many trees that died after the battle on Culp’s Hill?

23.  Describe how the Underground Railroad system worked. Was it an actual railroad? Was - or is - McAllister's Mill an actual building?

24.  Where was Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart's Cavalry on July 1 and most of July 2, 1863? How did Stuart's whereabouts affect the outcome of the battle?

25.  On the afternoon of July 2, a major event took place near the Peach Orchard on the Emmitsburg Road. Can you name the Union general who began this attack without direct orders from General Meade? Draw a map of this area with arrows showing the details of this part of the battlefield.

26.  Draw a map showing the movement of General John Sedgwick's Sixth Corps. How long did it take these men to reach the battle from their position on July 1?

27. Slow-to-load muskets were commonly used in the mid eighteen-hundreds. When were repeating rifles invented? By whom? Why was here a time lag between the patent date and the common use of these rifles? How would this invention affect the outcome of the Civil War?

Union Flag displaying 34 stars.

The 35th star was added on July 4, 1863, following the admission of West Virginia into the Union on June 20, 1863.

In-depth Study Questions

28. What do you think were the major issues that caused the Civil War?

29. How many casualties have been estimated from the three day Battle of Gettysburg? (numbers of men killed, wounded, missing) How many wounded men were left behind by both armies? In what ways were the townspeople of Gettysburg affected? What organizations arrived in the town to help with the battle's aftermath?

30. On July 1, 1863, the Union forces retreated from the town of Gettysburg as Confederate forces from the west drove the heavily outnumbered Union troops back. Where did the Union forces gather on the evening of July 1? What general made the decision to relocate to these areas near town? Was General Meade present when this decision was made? How did the location of Union troops on the night of July 1 affect the outcome of the battle?

31. Union General John Sedgwick’s Sixth Corps began arriving during the afternoon of July 2 from a heroic forced running march of thirty-six miles in twelve hours! to support the Union lines along Cemetery Ridge.

General Robert E. Lee heard the cheers of greeting a mile away from his vantage point on Seminary Ridge. He was confused as to the reason for the commotion, since he had not yet heard from his Cavalry leader, J.E.B. Stuart. Lee’s missing cavalry― the eyes and ears of the infantry ―arrived late afternoon of July 2, after causing havoc in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, far from the Union Army. By the time Stuart finally arrived, General Lee knew he was fighting the entire Army of the Potomac. Can you find out what Lee's words were to Stuart when he finally arrived at Lee's Headquarters? Draw a map showing General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry troop movements of July 1, 2 and 3 of 1863. Was the Confederate Cavalry important to the outcome of the July 3 battle? Why or why not?

32. The cannonade preceding Pickett’s Charge on the third day (July 3) lasted for almost two hours and was heard nearly two hundred miles away in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During this time an average of eleven Confederate shells fell every second on the Union center and the Union wounded and field hospitals to the east of Cemetery Ridge. Union guns answered, but not as intensely. The Confederate artillery units had barely enough ammunition left to support the ensuing infantry charge. Pickett’s Charge, comprising about eleven thousand men walking across a mile of open fields, lasted less than an hour.  What was General Robert E. Lee's plan of attack for July 3? Can you find out what Confederate General Longstreet, Lee's First Corps General, said to General Lee before this famous charge took place? How did Longstreet feel about ordering this charge?

33. On July 4 the rains arrived with pelting force. The line of Confederate wagons carrying wounded men stretched for seventeen miles as it wound its way west from Gettysburg. Did General Lee and his army escape capture? Why or why not? What did Union General George Meade say about the wisdom of pursuing Lee's army immediately after the third day of battle at Gettysburg? Where and how did Lee's army and lines of wounded leave Pennsylvania?

34. The Battle of Gettysburg proved later to be a turning point in the Civil War, although few people realized that at the time. The Southern forces in rebellion continued their struggle against the North for nearly two more years. President Lincoln was angry with General Meade for not bringing the war to an end that July of 1863. What would you have done if you were General George Meade? What factors did he have to take into consideration on the evening of July 3? (Hint: Would General Meade have known when the Confederate forces departed the Gettysburg area?)

35. What would you have done if you were General Lee?  What factors would he have to take into consideration on the evening of July 3, 1863? (Hint: How long would it take Gen. Lee to assess the damages to his army: numbers of wounded, missing and killed? Supplies? Ammunition?)

36. On July 3, 1863, as the remnants of Confederate soldiers stumbled away from their tragic attempt to break the Union center, General Lee ordered one of his generals to reorganize his division for a new attack.  This Confederate officer replied to General Lee, "General, I have no division."  What was this general's name?