The High Water Mark of the Confederacy

One could say many things about Pickett's charge at Gettysburg.  Certainly it represented the high water mark of the Confederacy.  It is viewed by many as a long overdue comeuppance for an overconfident Army.  I think of it as the moment when certain Pennsylvania units decided that this time, on this day, they would not break.

I wonder, too, if it could have been straight up karma for Lee's remark during the slaughter at Fredericksburg that if war weren't so terrible, we might enjoy it too much.  Indeed, Union troopers reportedly shouted "Fredericksburg!" as Pickett's men moved forward.



It was Virginia's darkest hour of the war so far, but many more dark hours lay ahead.  From this moment on, Lee was going backwards.