Great Americans and their noble deeds; containing the lives of almost fifty of our nation's heroes and heroines .. . flo^ver of his army, under Gen-eral Pickett, to make that attack onCemetery Hill which has passedinto history as one of the greatestcharges on record. Five thousand veterans of theConfederate army, tried in the fireof many a desperate battle, formedon Seminary Ridge, and movedwith the precision of a machineacross the valley which lay bfccween the two armies. As the terrible can-nonade from the Union guns made gaps in their ranks, they were quicklyclosed up, and the column moved
Great Americans and their noble deeds; containing the lives of almost fifty of our nation's heroes and heroines .. . flo^ver of his army, under Gen-eral Pickett, to make that attack onCemetery Hill which has passedinto history as one of the greatestcharges on record. Five thousand veterans of theConfederate army, tried in the fireof many a desperate battle, formedon Seminary Ridge, and movedwith the precision of a machineacross the valley which lay bfccween the two armies. As the terrible can-nonade from the Union guns made gaps in their ranks, they were quicklyclosed up, and the column moved forward with swifter steps, but still inperfect order, toward the Union Centre on Cemetery Hill. The infantry defending the hill reserved their fire until the chargingcolumn was within short range; and then burst forth an awful storm ofbullets, before which the advance line of the Confederates withered. Thesecond line, undismayed, rushed forward over the bodies of their com-rades, and were close upon the Union gunners at their pieces. For atime the force of the charge seemed irresistible; but now the attacking. GENERAL GEORGE G. MEAD? GENERAl, GEORGE G. HEADER. 147 column became the centre of a fire from front and bofh flanks, whidi wasrapidly destroying them. The divisions of Wilcox and Pettigrew, whichwere supporting Pickett, had fallen back, and his column was left to meetthe deadly storm alone. It was clearly impossible to hold their position, and the order wasgiven to withdraw. Of the five thousand men who had advanced in suchperfect order, thirty-five hundred were killed, wounded, or prisoners inthe hands of the Union army. The remainder of the division fell back,shattered and broken, to the Confederate lines. The tide was had successfully defeated Lees attack, and the Confederate army,after terrible losses, commenced its retreat through Maryland and acrossthe Potomac never again to invade the North. In the campaigns before Richmond in 1864, Meade continued i
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