Battle of Gettysburg

30 Facts about the Battle of Gettysburg
The following fact sheet provides 30 interesting facts and information about the Battle of Gettysburg

Civil War for Kids: Battle of Gettysburg Fact Sheet
30 Facts for Kids	Facts and Information
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 1	Who were the leaders? The leaders of the Battle of Gettysburg were General Robert E. Lee for the Confederacy who opposed General George G. Meade and John F. Reynolds for the Union
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 2	When did it start and where was it fought? The date of the conflict was July 1-3 1863 and was fought at Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 3	Who won? It was a Union victory, but the number of losses and both sides were truly horrific. The Battle of Gettysburg stopped the Confederate invasion of the North and forced General Robert E. Lee to withdraw to Virginia.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 4	How many troops were engaged in the Battle? There were approximately 94,000 Union soldiers and 72,000 Confederates
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 5	Where is Gettysburg? It's a small town in southern Pennsylvania, southwest of Harrisburg. It only had a population of 2000.  It was the center point of many roads feeding from all different directions
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 6	How many casualties were there in the Battle of Gettysburg? It is estimated that there were 23,186 Union losses and 31,621 Confederate casualties
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 7	The areas of conflict during the Battle of Gettysburg were Brandy Station, Middleburg, Upperville, Hanover, Gettysburg and Carlisle
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 8	The Battle of Gettysburg involved the largest number of casualties in the Civil War
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 9	There were approximately 72,000 horses present. Over 5000 mules and horses were killed during the battle. The Cavalry were engaged in classic mounted charges on July 3.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 10	Nearly one-third of the total forces engaged at Gettysburg became casualties.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 11	Women, disguised as soldiers, fought in the horrific battle. One Southern woman is known to have lost a leg during the charge up Cemetery Ridge.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 12	There were relief organizations to help the families of the dead, there were few adequate federal hospitals, there were no dog tags to help identify the dead and there were no federal provisions for burying the dead.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 13	Casualty Lists were unreliable but people clamored for details of the 'Killed, Wounded and Missing' following the horrific Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 14	Every large building in Gettysburg, even the churches were used as hospitals. There were few doctors, nurses or medical supplies. Limbs were amputated without the use of anesthetics
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 15	The soldiers made pacts with each other to tell their families what had had happened to them. A soldier in the Civil War had about a 1 in 4 chance of survival.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 16	The work of burying thousands upon thousands of dead soldiers fell to the Union forces who held the battleground. Bodies were black, bloated and gruesome. The work was so bad that some officers arranged for their men to drink hard liquor before they started their hideous work
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 17	There were 120 generals present at Gettysburg of which 9 were killed or mortally wounded during the battle.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 18	General  George Meade took over the Army of the Potomac just 3 days before the Battle of Gettysburg when General Joseph Hooker abruptly resigned.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 19	The Union Blockade had created many shortages in the South and many of the Confederate soldiers were badly equipped. This led rise to the legend that the battle took place because the Confederates moved into Gettysburg looking for shoes. However, there never was a shoe factory or warehouse in the town. Refer to Union Soldiers Uniforms and Confederate Soldiers Uniforms
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 20	After the horrific battle, a Confederate wagon train of wounded taking casualties back to Virginia was 17 miles long
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 21	The bloody battlefield was a chaotic mess, bodies were strewn for miles. After the battle nearly 40,000 rifles were collected of which 24,000 were still loaded.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 22	The armies were organized with 3-5 regiments forming a brigade, 2-4 brigades forming a division, and 2-3 divisions forming a corps.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 23	Artillery: The Union army had 360 cannons and the Confederate army had 270 cannons. Most of the guns were breech-loading rifles and small arms.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 24	Battle lines emerged based on muskets with a range less than 100 yards. For details of all the weapons used during the conflict refer to Civil War Weapons
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 25	Just before the conflict started, Confederate general Robert E. Lee had a heart attack, a reason given for the notoriously costly Pickett’s Charge.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 26	General George Armstrong Custer, the same General who was killed at Little Big Horn, was a Union officer who fought during the conflict
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 27	63 union solders were awarded the Medal of Honor after the conflict
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 28	The borough of Gettysburg is located on the site of the former farmstead that was once owned by Samuel Gettys. The word 'burg' derives from an old English term meaning town or borough
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 29	The 3 day conflict is considered to be the turning point of the Civil War. Gen. Robert E. Lee's defeat by the Army of the Potomac forced his Confederate forces to retreat and they never recovered.
Battle of Gettysburg Fact 30	The Gettysburg Address was the name of the 2 minute speech, consisting of 272 words, given by President Lincoln on November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg to dedicate the Soldiers' National Cemetery
30 Facts for Kids	Facts and Information: Battle of Gettysburg Fact Sheet
Civil War for Kids: Battle of Gettysburg Fact Sheet

Battle of Gettysburg - President Abraham Lincoln Video
The article on the Battle of Gettysburg provides an overview of one of the major battlefields of the Civil War. The following Abraham Lincoln video will give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 16th American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865.