On July 3, 1863, roughly 12,500 Confederate soldiers stepped out of the trees and marched across nearly three-quarters of a mile of open Pennsylvania farmland directly toward a Union army waiting behind cannon and rifles.

This was Pickett’s Charge.

But the charge didn’t happen in isolation.

Three days earlier, the armies had collided almost by accident in the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg. What followed became one of the most consequential battles of the American Civil War.

In this documentary, we follow the battle from the first fighting on July 1st through Buford’s gamble, the desperate defense of Little Round Top, the fighting at Culp’s Hill, and finally the devastating assault that became known as Pickett’s Charge.

We’ll follow how the Union army secured the high ground, why Robert E. Lee ordered the attack on the Union center, and what happened when thousands of Confederate soldiers crossed the open field.

By the end of the battle, between 46,000 and 51,000 men had been killed, wounded, captured, or reported missing.

Gettysburg was over.

But the American Civil War still had almost two years left to fight.

This is the story of the three days that changed the course of the war.



📌 CHAPTERS

00:00 — Pickett’s Charge
01:20 — An Invasion Looking for Shoes
02:04 — Buford’s Gamble
02:45 — The Fight for the Flanks
03:18 — The Hill That Had to Hold
04:30 — Culp’s Hill and a Missed Opportunity
05:45 — Pickett’s Charge
07:10 — “It Is All My Fault”
07:50 — The Aftermath

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💬 QUESTION: For the next Gettysburg video, would you rather see a deeper breakdown of Little Round Top or Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address?

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