You see here a portion of the greatest battle field in the United States. On these Pennsylvania hills was fought the great battle of Gettysburg--the battle that proved to be the turning point of the Civil War. In the summer of 1863 the people of the North were discontented at the progress which the Union troops had made. So far, Grant had failed to take Vicksburg in the west. Lee had out-generaled the Northern troops time and again, and had scored many victories over them. The Southern leaders thought it a proper time to invade the North. They believed that if they marched through Maryland, thousands of Southern sympathizers would join them. They thought it was possible to strike at Harrisburg--and even at Washington itself. Lee marched northward through the Shenandoah Valley into Pennsylvania. General Meade was at the head of the army of

the Potomac on the northern side. The Union army took up its position on Cemetery Ridge, shaped like a reversed question mark. The upper part of this question mark is the portion here shown--Culp's Hill. Directly opposite, on Seminary Ridge, the Confederates gathered. The battle began on the morning of July 1st. The day was filled with heavy skirmishing. On the second day of battle, the Confederates gained some advantages. One the third day they made their heavy attack. Thousands of men in gray crossed the valley from Seminary Ridge and started up Cemetery Ridge. Union guns mowed them down. Some of them reached the heights only to get bayoneted. Night fell and the Confederate army quietly stole away. This battle field is now a national cemetery. It was at its dedication on November 19, 1863, that Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg address.