Gettysburg, the largest, bloodiest, and most celebrated battle of the Civil war, is said by many to be the turning point of the war that killed 618,000 Americans. Gettysburg the movie was four hours long, which is about 68 hours less than it actually took for the battle to come and go. The first shots were fired no long after daylight, so to be exact, it was 04:30 hours, on the morning of July 1st, (49 Nofi). Bullets flew from the rifles of Union Calvary men on picket duty along the
             Chambersburg Pike. It was in response to the advancing of Confederates, a skirmish line of 2,500 led by Henry Keith, a General that graduated last in his class at West Point (104 Clark).
             The battle took place in the grassy country just south of Gettysburg. The Confederate headquarters was located East of the union at Seminary Ridge. Seminary Ridge was composed largely of flat fields with patches of forests. Federal forces however, were set along Culpshill, Cemetery Hill, and Cemetery Ridge, which made the Federals line form a hook. The Federal ground was all elevated considerably over the surrounding land. General Stuart and his Calvary had been sent by Lee on an observation mission to locate union forces. Fortunately for the Virginian army, General Longstreet had hired a spy known only as Harrison, to do the same job. This Harrison was an actor and because General Stuart returned late, it was by his word that the entire Southern army made it's move (181 Coddington). On July 1st, Confederate forces soon found themselves face to face with brigade General John Buford who was uphill and eventually gained the upper hand as he received reinforcements from Major General John Reynolds. Bufords own brigade sustained many casualties and after the 1st, was reassigned to guarding the supply train for the remainder of the battle, (movie).
             July 1st was the same day that the Potomac army found itself replacing General Hooker with General Mead...