Confederate veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913 reenact Pickett's Charge; upon reaching the high-water mark of the Confederacy they are met by the outstretched hands of friendship from Union survivors.
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or the South, was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States from 1861 to 1865. It comprised eleven U.S. states that declared secession: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These states fought against the United States during the American Civil War.
1913 Gettysburg reunion
The 1913 Gettysburg reunion was a Gettysburg Battlefield encampment of American Civil War veterans for the Battle of Gettysburg's 50th anniversary. The June 29 – July 4 gathering of 53,407 veterans was the largest Civil War veteran reunion. All honorably-discharged veterans in the Grand Army of the Republic and the United Confederate Veterans were invited, and veterans from 46 of the 48 states attended.
American Civil War reenactment
American Civil War reenactment is an effort to recreate the appearance of a particular battle or other event associated with the American Civil War by hobbyists known as Civil War reenactors, or living historians.
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault on July 3, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg. It was ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee as part of his plan to break through Union lines and achieve a decisive victory in the North. The charge was named after Major General George Pickett, one of the Confederate Army's division commanders. The assault was aimed at the center of the Union Army's position on Cemetery Ridge, which was believed to be a vulnerable point in the Union defenses. As the Confederate troops marched across nearly a mile of open ground, they came under heavy artillery and rifle fire from entrenched Union forces. The open terrain offered little cover, making the Confederate soldiers easy targets, and their ranks were quickly decimated. Although a small number of the Confederate soldiers managed to reach the Union lines and engage in hand-to-hand combat, they were ultimately overwhelmed.