The North was led by General Mead, and the South was led by General Lee. The battle was the most deadly battle, but it only lasted three days, from July 1st-3rd. It left behind 22,000 wounded men, 8,000 dead men, and 5,000 dead horses. There are 190 houses in Gettysburg that are still around from the time of the battle. Soldiers joined a company in the army of 100 men, and a regiment of a thousand men. Disease that spread throughout the camps killed one out of two people. The soldiers would carry 30-45 pounds on their person, consisting of clothes, canteen, 40 rounds, a cartridge box, a rifle, and a bayonet. Their uniforms were wool, too, and they were unbearable in the 90 degree weather in Gettysburg in July. The average soldier was only 5'6"-5'7". One soldier, though, loomed above all the others at a whopping 6'11 1/2".
The ideal land in Gettysburg was Little Round Top, a small hill that was mostly clear of trees.
On the second day, the Northern line was shaped like a fish hook around Little Round Top. The line was three miles long. Little Round Top changed hands a few times: the first day, General Lee had it, and the second day, General Mead had it. On the second day, the fighting began on Little Round Top, and on that second day only, there were 22,000 dead. The third day, there were 14,000 dead. The third day consisted of Pickett's charge. Pickett's charge was a move by General Pickett where he marched his troops across a field that was one mile long, and the North decimated their numbers by shooting at them from the high ground. 6,000 Confederates died.
There was one civilian killed in the battle, and one civilian wounded in the battle. Jenny Wade was killed when she went into the kitchen to bake bread, and a stray bullet killed her. The civilean that was wounded was John Burns, and elderly gentleman that wanted to fight with the Union. He was wounded, but when the Confederates came by, he looked so harmless that they didn't bother with him.
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