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The Battle of Gettysburg at a Glance T Photo by Eric Schroder Crews at Gettysburg National Military Park strengthen the easement along Hoffman Road, just south of General Meade's headquarters. Several narrow roads in the park are being prepared for the expected crowds honoring the sesquicentennial of the battle. Photo provided by Gettysburg National Military Park Photo provided by Gettysburg National Military Park 1868 and 1872, as well as other maps developed by the War Department and the National Park Service (NPS) that document conditions at various times. Each set of information gathered was mapped on base maps at a common scale, and the maps were then digitized. By comparing the maps, it was possible to see how the battlefield landscape features had changed, and estimate the extent of the changes. The next step was to determine which of the natural, manmade and topographic features were significant to the outcome of the battle. "Using military terrain analysis, the entire battlefield was examined for characteristics such as key terrain, observation and fields of fire, cover and concealment, obstacles (both natural and manmade), and avenues of approach," said Lawhon. According to Lawhon, it was then a matter of determining which features were significant to the fighting of the battle.The battle action for each day of the battle was studied by reviewing official maps,War Department he first steps toward the Battle of Gettysburg started in June 1863. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's soldiers crossed the Potomac River in Virginia and began to march toward the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, with thoughts that a victory in the North would erode the Union's will to continue the fight. The Battle of Gettysburg started on July 1, 1863, when Gen. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Union General George G. Meade, met at Gettysburg by chance and engaged in battle. During the three-day battle, about 165,000 soldiers clashed in and around the small town of Gettysburg (battle-era population: 2,400). The first shot of the Battle of Gettysburg was fired early in the morning of July 1, when fighting broke out north and west of town. During the day, Confederate troops forced Union troops southeast through Gettysburg, where the Union took up a position on Cemetery Hill, Cemetery Ridge and Culp's Hill. On July 2, the fighting centered on the southern end of the Union position, near locations such as Little Round Top, Devil's Den, the Wheatfield and the Peach Orchard. Union troops held their position, and the Battle of Gettysburg continued for one more fateful day. On July 3, Confederate troops attacked the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. After a cannonade raged for about two hours, Gen. Lee ordered his Confederate infantry to attack. More than 14,000 Confederate troops advanced across the field toward Cemetery Ridge; a deluge of artillery shot and shell raked their lines. Those who moved on toward the ridge advanced under a hail of fire. Of those who made it to the Union line, many fell or were captured in the fighting at the Angle, near the Copse of Trees. The attack that became known to history as Pickett's Charge concluded with a Confederate defeat and also ended the Battle of Gettysburg. When the Battle of Gettysburg was over on July 3, 51,000 soldiers were casualties (killed, wounded, captured or missing) in what remains the largest battle ever fought in North America. It proved impossible for the war-stressed economy of the Confederacy to replace the extensive losses suffered during the Battle of Gettysburg by Gen. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. On July 4, as smoke still lingered from the Battle of Gettysburg, the besieged city of Vicksburg, Miss., surrendered to Union soldiers, restoring Union control of the Mississippi River. Twenty-one months later, Gen. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, signaling the end of the Civil War. — Sidebar information provided by Gettysburg National Military Park and the National Park Service. " www.arborage.com For the official map of Gettysburg National Military Park, visit www.nps.gov/gett/planyourvisit/upload/GETT%20brochure.pdf The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. " — Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address Arbor Age / May/June 2013 17