continued…  The attack on one side of the line began at 1530, the other at 1600. At 1800, fighting began at a third location. The fighting continued until nearly midnight, with 19,000 casualties in total. The signs described how copious amounts of dead bodies were strewn over the landscape and the earth was red, soaked with blood. The Confederates had again performed slightly better, but the Union had done a good job of keeping most of their ground.

Per one sign, Union commanders agreed to stay put on the high ground and maintain a defensive strategy. Per another sign, the Union army attacked the Confederates at dawn on July 3 in one spot and fought for seven hours.

It sounded like once the fighting ended in that spot, General Lee decided to attack the center of the Union line. James Longstreet, who was assigned to lead the charge, was dubious that the Confederates could win, but followed orders. That assault began at 1300, with 160 cannons firing on the Union. Nearly 100 Union cannons fired back. Some of the gunners bled from both ears from the concussion. At 1500, in 90-degree Fahrenheit (32-degrees celsius) heat, what is now referred to as Pickett’s Charge commenced. 12,000 Confederate soldiers came out of hiding in the woods, formed a nearly one-mile wide line, and marched towards the Union lines. They were shot at as they marched, and men were continuously falling. With each fall, the men would “close ranks”, meaning the men still marching would move closer together to fill the gaps left by the fallen soldiers. There were “stout rail fences” in between the Confederate and Union soldiers that “proved to be a deadly obstacle.” It took the Confederates about a half-hour to reach the Union line. They briefly broke through the line, but quickly retreated. The Union soldiers cheered at the retreat. Nearly half the Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded or captured.