The United States of America Volume 3 ; a pictorial history of the American nation from the earliest discoveries and settlements to the present time

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 Excerpt: ...Culp's Hill, in the rear of the town. Hancock saw that this was the place where the decisive struggle between the northern and southern armies must take place and he sent word to Meade, fifteen miles away, to hurry up all his forces. Meade followed the suggestion, and some of them arrived that night, others the next morning, and in the afternoon Sedgwick's corps reached the field after a march of thirty-five miles. Lee had stopped all operations until he could bring up his whole army. General Hancock formed his line along Cemetery Hill to the south and west of Gettysburg. The position was of great strength and General Lee, after carefully examining it through his glass, decided to make no attack upon it until the arrival of Longstreet and the rest of Ewcll's corps. Lee's failure to storm the height was a fatal blunder. No doubt so able a chieftain had the best of reasons, as the circumstances looked at that time, for declining the risk, but later events proved that the oversight was disastrous to the confederates. The life and death struggle of the Confederacy was to take place in that obscure little town of Pennsylvania; hence, you should try to understand the most terrific battle of modern times. Gettysburg lies in the middle of a small valley formed by several ranges of hills. To the north, the country is not very rugged, but to the south, east and west the hills are steep and high. About a mile to the westward is a ridge fringing the east bank of Willoughby's Run; a quarter of a mile distant, is another elevation called Seminary Ridge. The opening battle took place between these ridges on the 1st of July. South of the town and running due north and south at a distance of a quarter of a mile is Cemetery Ridge. Just outside the limits of Gettysburg, this ...