The Leaders: Men Who Led the Battle Through

Next Page

I think the title basically gives you the whole idea. Heh.

Union:                                                                                      Confederacy:

General George G. Meade
George Gordon Meade was born on December 31, 1815 in Cadiz, Spain to American parents. His father was financially ruined as a merchant by supporting Spain during the Napoleonic War. George Meade graduated nineteenth in a class of fifty-six from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1835. General Meade was in command of the victorious Union Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Gettysburg. He had replaced General Hooker only two days before the battle. He did an excellent job of shuffling troops during the battle to meet Confederate attacks. He was later severely criticized by the press for letting the defeated Confederate Army escape after the battle. Although Henry W. Halleck reported that President Lincoln was also dissatisfied with General Meade, he was rewarded for the victory with an appointment to the position of brigadier general in the regular army. During the six months following the victory, his army participated in the indecisive Bristoe Station and Mine Run Campaigns.

General Robert E. Lee
The idol of the South to this day, a series of early victories against overwhelming odds made Lee one of the most famous and beloved of all the Confederate Generals.        Virginian Robert E. Lee had some difficulty in adjusting to the new form of warfare that unfolded with the Civil war, but this did not prevent him from keeping the Union armies in Virginia at bay for almost three years. The son of Revolutionary War hero "Light Horse" Harry Lee-who fell into disrepute in his later years attended West Point and graduated second in his class. During his four years at the military academy he did not earn a single demerit and served as the cadet corps' adjutant. Upon his 1829 graduation he was posted to the engineers. Launching his second invasion of the North, he lost at Gettysburg. On the third day of the battle he displayed one of his major faults when at Malvern Hill and on other fields-he ordered a massed infantry assault across a wide plain, not recognizing that the rifle, which had come into use since the Mexican War, put the charging troops under fire for too long a period. Another problem was his issuance of general orders to be executed by his subordinates.

G.K. Warren
Gen. G. K. Warren, Meade's Chief of Engineers, saved 'Little Round Top' during the Battle of Gettysburg. Gouverneur K. Warren, a brilliant student at West Point and a topographical engineer, earned early acclaim for his explorations of the Nebraska Territory and the Black Hills in the 1850s. With the start of the Civil War, Warren moved from teacher at West Point to lieutenant colonel of a New York regiment and was soon a rising star in the Army of the Potomac. His fast action at Little Round Top, bringing Federal troops to an undefended position before the Confederates could seize it, helped to save the day at Gettysburg. For his service at Bristoe Station and Mine Run, he was awarded command of the Fifth Corps for the 1864 Virginia campaign.

George E. Pickett
Born in 1825, George Edward Pickett was a native Virginian. Even as a young man he was considered to be a "dandy of a fellow" who always had a flair for doing things in a big way. He enrolled at the US Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 1846. His first service was during the War with Mexico in 1847-48 where he received honors for gallantry in action. He later served on the Texas frontier and on the Pacific Coast. When the Civil War broke out, Pickett resigned his commission with the United States Army and offered his services to Virginia. He was given the rank of colonel and later promoted to brigadier general in charge of a brigade of Virginia troops. Wounded at the Battle of Gaines' Mill, Pickett survived to rejoin the army after the Maryland Campaign in 1862. On July 3, 1863, General Pickett's division lined up on Seminary Ridge to participate in the grand assault on the Union center. His 5,000 Virginians charged upon the Union line on Cemetery Ridge and briefly broke through, but were thrown back after desperate fighting. Pickett lost nearly one-half of his division including all three of his brigadier generals- Garnett, Kemper, and Armistead. His command in shambles, the general's spirit was nearly crushed. It was a terrible defeat for he and his men, but a special event that would ever after be known as "Pickett's Charge" and the High Water Mark of the Rebellion. Famous for his troops' doomed charge at Gettysburg. General George E. Pickett, the man synonymous with "Pickett's Charge." Pickett was a fine division commander, but he never recovered from that fateful assault, July 3, 1863. To his dying day, he never forgave General Lee for ordering the attack. "That old man destroyed my division."

General James Longstreet
One of Lee's primary generals. James Longstreet was a thoughtful career soldier, whose thoughts sometimes caused controversy. Born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, January 8, 1821, the son of a farmer, Longstreet spent his early years in Augusta, Georgia. On the death of his father he went with his mother to Somerville, Alabama. Corps commander James Longstreet made three mistakes that have denied him his deserved place in Southern posterity: He argued with Lee at Gettysburg, he was right, and he became a Republican. He entered West Point from Alabama, graduated in 1842, and was wounded at Chapultepec in Mexico. With two brevets and the staff rank of major he resigned his commission on June 1, 1861, and joined the Confederacy.    By now promoted to be the Confederacy's senior lieutenant general, he led an independent expedition into southeastern Virginia where he displayed a lack of ability on his own. Rejoining Lee, he opposed attacking at Gettysburg in favor of maneuvering Meade out of his position. Longstreet, who had come to believe in the strategic offense and the tactical defense, was proven right when the Confederate attacks on the second and third days were repulsed.

R.S. Ewell
Led a division under Jackson and, although he lost his leg, he returned to service by having himself strapped into his saddle. Most well known for failing to take an important position at Gettysburg. Ewell, Richard Stoddert, 1817–72, Confederate general, b. Georgetown, D.C., grad. West Point, 1840. Ewell rose rapidly in the Confederate army, becoming a major general by Oct., 1861. In 1862 he fought under T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley campaign, playing a decisive role at Winchester, Cross Keys, and Port Republic. He continued in Stonewall's command through the Seven Days battles and Lee's subsequent advance on Pope but lost his leg in the second battle of Bull Run (Aug., 1862). Upon his return to duty, Ewell succeeded the late Stonewall Jackson as commander of the 2d Corps and led Lee's advance in the Gettysburg campaign. During the Wilderness campaign (1864) he sustained further injury and was forced to retire from the field but commanded the defenses of Richmond until the city fell in Apr., 1865.

The Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln had a big part in this too. How about his 'Gettysburg Address', eh?

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on his continent, a new nation, coneived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here,but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.

Previous Page
Next Page

General George G. Meade George Gordon Meade was born on December 31, 1815 in Cadiz, Spain to American parents. His father was financially ruined as a merchant by supporting Spain during the Napoleonic War. George Meade graduated nineteenth in a class of fifty-six from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1835. General Meade was in command of the victorious Union Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Gettysburg. He had replaced General Hooker only two days before the battle. He did an excellent job of shuffling troops during the battle to meet Confederate attacks. He was later severely criticized by the press for letting the defeated Confederate Army escape after the battle. Although Henry W. Halleck reported that President Lincoln was also dissatisfied with General Meade, he was rewarded for the victory with an appointment to the position of brigadier general in the regular army. During the six months following the victory, his army participated in the indecisive Bristoe Station and Mine Run Campaigns.		General Robert E. Lee The idol of the South to this day, a series of early victories against overwhelming odds made Lee one of the most famous and beloved of all the Confederate Generals. Virginian Robert E. Lee had some difficulty in adjusting to the new form of warfare that unfolded with the Civil war, but this did not prevent him from keeping the Union armies in Virginia at bay for almost three years. The son of Revolutionary War hero "Light Horse" Harry Lee-who fell into disrepute in his later years attended West Point and graduated second in his class. During his four years at the military academy he did not earn a single demerit and served as the cadet corps' adjutant. Upon his 1829 graduation he was posted to the engineers. Launching his second invasion of the North, he lost at Gettysburg. On the third day of the battle he displayed one of his major faults when at Malvern Hill and on other fields-he ordered a massed infantry assault across a wide plain, not recognizing that the rifle, which had come into use since the Mexican War, put the charging troops under fire for too long a period. Another problem was his issuance of general orders to be executed by his subordinates.
G.K. Warren Gen. G. K. Warren, Meade's Chief of Engineers, saved 'Little Round Top' during the Battle of Gettysburg. Gouverneur K. Warren, a brilliant student at West Point and a topographical engineer, earned early acclaim for his explorations of the Nebraska Territory and the Black Hills in the 1850s. With the start of the Civil War, Warren moved from teacher at West Point to lieutenant colonel of a New York regiment and was soon a rising star in the Army of the Potomac. His fast action at Little Round Top, bringing Federal troops to an undefended position before the Confederates could seize it, helped to save the day at Gettysburg. For his service at Bristoe Station and Mine Run, he was awarded command of the Fifth Corps for the 1864 Virginia campaign.		George E. Pickett Born in 1825, George Edward Pickett was a native Virginian. Even as a young man he was considered to be a "dandy of a fellow" who always had a flair for doing things in a big way. He enrolled at the US Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 1846. His first service was during the War with Mexico in 1847-48 where he received honors for gallantry in action. He later served on the Texas frontier and on the Pacific Coast. When the Civil War broke out, Pickett resigned his commission with the United States Army and offered his services to Virginia. He was given the rank of colonel and later promoted to brigadier general in charge of a brigade of Virginia troops. Wounded at the Battle of Gaines' Mill, Pickett survived to rejoin the army after the Maryland Campaign in 1862. On July 3, 1863, General Pickett's division lined up on Seminary Ridge to participate in the grand assault on the Union center. His 5,000 Virginians charged upon the Union line on Cemetery Ridge and briefly broke through, but were thrown back after desperate fighting. Pickett lost nearly one-half of his division including all three of his brigadier generals- Garnett, Kemper, and Armistead. His command in shambles, the general's spirit was nearly crushed. It was a terrible defeat for he and his men, but a special event that would ever after be known as "Pickett's Charge" and the High Water Mark of the Rebellion. Famous for his troops' doomed charge at Gettysburg. General George E. Pickett, the man synonymous with "Pickett's Charge." Pickett was a fine division commander, but he never recovered from that fateful assault, July 3, 1863. To his dying day, he never forgave General Lee for ordering the attack. "That old man destroyed my division."
		General James Longstreet One of Lee's primary generals. James Longstreet was a thoughtful career soldier, whose thoughts sometimes caused controversy. Born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, January 8, 1821, the son of a farmer, Longstreet spent his early years in Augusta, Georgia. On the death of his father he went with his mother to Somerville, Alabama. Corps commander James Longstreet made three mistakes that have denied him his deserved place in Southern posterity: He argued with Lee at Gettysburg, he was right, and he became a Republican. He entered West Point from Alabama, graduated in 1842, and was wounded at Chapultepec in Mexico. With two brevets and the staff rank of major he resigned his commission on June 1, 1861, and joined the Confederacy. By now promoted to be the Confederacy's senior lieutenant general, he led an independent expedition into southeastern Virginia where he displayed a lack of ability on his own. Rejoining Lee, he opposed attacking at Gettysburg in favor of maneuvering Meade out of his position. Longstreet, who had come to believe in the strategic offense and the tactical defense, was proven right when the Confederate attacks on the second and third days were repulsed.
		R.S. Ewell Led a division under Jackson and, although he lost his leg, he returned to service by having himself strapped into his saddle. Most well known for failing to take an important position at Gettysburg. Ewell, Richard Stoddert, 1817–72, Confederate general, b. Georgetown, D.C., grad. West Point, 1840. Ewell rose rapidly in the Confederate army, becoming a major general by Oct., 1861. In 1862 he fought under T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley campaign, playing a decisive role at Winchester, Cross Keys, and Port Republic. He continued in Stonewall's command through the Seven Days battles and Lee's subsequent advance on Pope but lost his leg in the second battle of Bull Run (Aug., 1862). Upon his return to duty, Ewell succeeded the late Stonewall Jackson as commander of the 2d Corps and led Lee's advance in the Gettysburg campaign. During the Wilderness campaign (1864) he sustained further injury and was forced to retire from the field but commanded the defenses of Richmond until the city fell in Apr., 1865.