The Third Day.— The battle of the third day began by a struggle of the Twelfth corps to regain their works. At 4 A.M. the corps artillery, five batteries, opened a furious fire upon Johnson, at a range of 600 to 800 yards, other batteries followed, in the midst of which Johnson attacked the left of the Twelfth corps and the right of Wadsworth's division; the combat extended to the right, was taken up by Williams' division, and for six hours the strug gle continued, at the end of which Johnson was repulsed. At 10.25 Johnson massed his forces in column of regiments and made a determined assault upon the right of Geary's division, by which, with the assistance of Shaler's brigade, he was repulsed, and driven beyond Rock Creek with a loss of nearly 2,000 killed and wounded, and three colors. At 11 o'clock the battle ceased on the Union right, with the Twelfth corps line fully re-established. There was more spectacular fighting on other parts of the field, but none more desperate and bloody than on the wooded Culp's Hill. Meanwhile Lee was preparing an attack upon the left centre of Meade's army. Pickett's division had now come up, and Longstreet was directed to form a column of assault composed of Pickett's divi sion, Pettigrew's division, and two brigades of Pender's division, under Trimble, of Hill's corps. To prevent Meade from reinforcing the threatened point, Stuart's cavalry was ordered to go around Meade's right and attack his rear; 135 guns were disposed on Seminary Ridge; and at 1 P.M. the signal-gun was fired, and the 135 guns opened fire to crush out all opposition at the point to be attacked; the fire was replied to by 85 Union guns, and for two hours the hills shook and the earth trembled. As soon as the Union fire slackened, the great column of attack moved forward, Pickett's division on the right and Pettigrew's on the left. Petti grew was supported by the two brigades of Trimble, and Pickett by the brigades of Wilcox and Perry. Pickett and Pettigrew, at the start from Seminary Ridge, covered a front of 1,600 yards. They had 1,400 yards of open ground to traverse before reaching the Union line; and the assaulting column numbered 14,000 men. As soon as it started, the Union artillery opened on it with shot and shell, tearing great gaps in the line; as it came nearer, canister did its deadly work; it was attacked on both flanks; and as it approached the Union line, held by Gibbons' and Hays' divisions of Hancock's corps, a flame of musketry burst forth before which nothing could live, and the men began to retreat; but, on the right, Armistead, com manding one of Pickett's brigades, broke the Union line, and, with less than 100 men, crossed the Union works and seized a gun; a short hand-to hand encounter ensued; Armistead was killed, and his small party killed or captured. Pickett saw the failure of his as
sault, and ordered a general retreat, after losing over 5,000 men. Wilcox's and Perry's brigades, which should have supported Pickett's right, were not prompt in starting, became separated from it and, attacking the right of the First corps, were driven back, losing many prisoners, and the battle of Gettysburg was ended. On the Union right Gregg's cavalry division, aided by Custer's brigade, defeated Stuart, after a severe fight, and thwarted his attempt on Meade's right and rear. On the left Kilpatrick, with two cavalry brigades, recklessly charged Confederate infantry in dense woods, and behind stone fences, west of Round Top, in which assault General Farnsworth, command ing one of his brigades, was killed. On the morning of 4 July Lee withdrew from his ad vanced positions, put h:s trains in motion for the rear, retreated at night and, followed and harassed by the Union cavalry, reached Wil liamsport on the 7th; but as the pontoon bridges had been destroyed and the Potomac had risen, he was unable to cross, and so en trenched. Meade followed by a circuitous route through Frederick and, after some delay, again confronted Lce on the 13th. He was about to attack when Lee recrossed the Potomac on the night of the 14th, his rear-guard, under General Pettigrew, being attacked by Kilpatrick, during which fight Pettigrew was mortally wounded and many prisoners were taken.
From first to last the Union forces on the field numbered about 88,000 effective men; the Confederate forces on the field numbered about 73,000 men. As officially reported, the Union loss was 3,072 killed, 14,497 wounded and 5,434 missing; aggregate of 23,003; the Confederate loss 2,592 killed, 12,709 wounded and 5,150 missing; an aggregate of 20,451.
Bibliography.— Alexander,
Mem oirs of a Confederate' (New York 1907); Bach;
of Gen. George Gordon Meade' (Philadelphia 1897) ; Bates, (Battle of Gettys burg' ; Comte de Paris, (The Battle of Gettys burg> (Philadelphia 1912) ; Doubleday, 'Chan cellorsville and Gettysburg' (New York 1882); Drake,
of Gettysburg' (Boston 1891); Goodnow,
Battle of Gettysburg' (Wash ington 1896) ; Johnson and Buel, (Battles and Leaders of the Civil War' (New York 1897); Long, (Memoirs of Robert E. Lee' (New York 1886) ; Longstreet, (From Manassas to Appo mattox' (Philadelphia 1896) ; Nicolay and Hay, 'Abraham Lincoln' (New York 1890) ; (Offi cial Records' (Vol. 27) ; Pennypacker,
eral Meade' (New York 1901) ; Powell, (His tory of the Fifth Army Corps' ; Ropes, 'The Story of the Civil War' (New York 1913); Steele, ( American Campaigns' (Washington 1909) ; Swinton,
Decisive Battles of the War' (New York 1867); Walker,