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The Battle of Gettysburg, fought on July 1–3, 1863, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is often consideredas the war's turning point. Fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the Battle of Gettysburg saw 165,000 Union and Confederate soldiers clash in a three day battle that resulted in more than 51,000 casualties. On the third day of the battle, Confederate soldiers in an attack called Pickett's Charge reached the copse of trees near The Angle (a corner in a low stone wall) on Cemetery Ridge; this represented the farthest point north that Robert E. Lee's forces reached during the Civil War. For this reason the copse of trees is often referred to as the High Water Mark of the Confederacy.
Pickett's Charge was a disaster for the Confederate forces and ended Robert E. Lee's plan to move his forces north to Harrisburg Pennsylvania and on to Washington DC. While the Civil War continued on for two more years, the Battle of Gettysburg changed the dynamics of the war and General Lee was never truly on the offensive again.
A partnership between the National Park Service and the Gettysburg Foundation, based on the 1999 General Management Plan for Gettysburg National Military Park, has resulted in the construction of a new Museum and Visitor Center located at Gettysburg National Military Park. Newly opened in 2008, the center has information to orient visitors to the park and Gettysburg, hosts a museum on the Civil War from beginning to dramatic end featuring items from the massive museum collection of Civil War and Gettysburg artifacts, and houses the fully restored Gettysburg Cyclorama. The $135 million dollar project was funded through donations of corporations and individuals alike.
