Chapter 20: Day One: 3:20–4:45 PM – Confederate Lines

By around 4:30 PM, roughly 25,000 rebels, nearly half of Lee’s total army, have been engaged, with 8,000 casualties – while the 20,000 Union defenders have lost about 9,000, half as prisoners.

As Howard retreats to town, I Corps Commander James Longstreet, “Lee’s Warhorse,” arrives in advance of his 20,000 troops. The two old warriors agree that the field is dominated by the high ground directly south from Culp’s Hill along Cemetery Ridge to the heights of Little Round Top and Big Round Top. But while Lee aims to move against it immediately, “Old Pete” strongly argues in favor of shifting the entire force east of Gettysburg and setting up a defensive trap, like Fredericksburg, to destroy the Union when Meade moves to protect Washington, as he must.

This debate reflects their ongoing differences on strategy: Lee’s Napoleonic belief in the offense versus Longstreet’s forward-looking reliance on the defense.