It all began when Federal troops under Major General Howard battled Major General Henry Heth of the Confederates near McPherson's Ridge around 10:30 a.m. Heth was then forced back into Herr Ridge. During the battle General John F. Reynolds was killed and Howard took over control in his absence. The Federals left corps at the west and north side of Gettysburg to defend the town. I Corps at the North side, and IX were situated at the West side.

Later that day General Robert E. Lee arrived for the Confederates. There was no intention of fighting on that day in him. However, a division of Ewell's head up by Rodes met Yankee troops placed to defend the western side of Gettysburg in a skirmish. Soon after first contact Heth's men rejoined the rest of the Confederates in their attack on the western front. After 3:00 p.m. Jubal Early's division of Confederate soldiers joined in and flanked the Union's XI corps on the North side. Simultaneously, Major General Pender's division took over for Heth's men and took cover along

Lee heard of Ewell's engagement and went to check on Longstreet's accomplishments. Apparently Longstreet got confused by Lee's orders, for he did not attack. Now Lee had to change his plans to accommodate those who did not understand what he was trying to do. He then planned an attack on Cemetery Ridge, the middle of the Federal lines. Longstreet was to head up this battle. The plans were to start artillery fire with about 140 cannons. After the firing calmed down, the infantry of Pickett, Pettigrew, and Trimble's divisions were to charge the Federal line. The attack would make up about twelve thousand Confederate soldiers. While preparing for the last fight of the day that would later become known as Pickett's Charge, Ewell's men were repulsed from Culp's Hill and forced to retreat at about 11:00 a.m.

The first shots rang in the morning when Meade ordered the XII Corps to advance on the Rebels positioned in the taken Federal trenches. The cannons shot first then the infantry battled it out with rifles. The fighting on the last day of the

The casualties were about 9,000 men on each side. The Confederates had once again taken more ground, but the Union had been successful at keeping their much needed high ground.

With great losses and not much headway made, Lee was unfazed. He gave orders to Longstreet to once again engage in his attack on the Federal's left flank. At the same time, Ewell would attack Culp's Hill. Stuart and his cavalry were to

Some common words found in the essay are:
Culp's Hill, Round Top, Robert Lee, Ridge Yankees, Cemetery Ridge, Ewell's Yankees, Army Potomac, Battle Gettysburg, Despite Meade's, XII Corps, culp's hill, little round top, artillery fire, pickett's charge, confederate soldiers, cemetery ridge, little round, round top, corps north, federal line, peach orchard, american civil war,
Approximate Word count = 997
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)