des we come to the date of July 1, 1863.
             Before the battle, major cities in the North such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and even Washington, were under threat of attack from General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia which had crossed the Potomac River and marched into Pennsylvania.
             On Tuesday morning, June 30, an infantry brigade of Confederate soldiers searching for shoes headed toward Gettysburg. "The Confederate commander looked through his field glasses and spotted a long column of Federal Cavalry heading toward the town. He withdrew his brigade and informed his superior, General Henry Heth, who in turn told his superior, A.P. Hill, he would go back the following morning for shoes that were desperately needed"(Clark 35)
             The battle began on July 1, 1863, when some of General Ambrose Powell Hill's advance brigades entered the town of Gettysburg Pennsylvania looking for shoes. Because of General Stuart's failure to complete his mission of tracking the Union army, Hill's troops encountered a Union cavalry division commanded by Major General John Buford. "During battle, in front of Cemetery Hill, General Hill was faced with stubborn resistance from the Union forces trying to ho
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