ysburg. Many battles were fought during this period. They were Shiloh, Seven Pines, The Seven Days, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredricksburg, Stones River, and Chancellorsville. In theses battles the outcome was either indecisive or a victory for the South. After these major battles, Lee decided to move his army north into Pennsylvania with the thought of encircling Washington. This danger was clear to the Union and they moved their army out to stop Lee's northward movements. This set the stage for the Battle of Gettysburg.
             II. BOTH ARMIES MOVE TOWARDS GETTYSBURG
             "Hooker began the movement of the north, conforming to the pattern set by Lee, but maintaining what Lincoln called "inside track." This meant that he was required to keep between the Confederates and the capital in its rear. Patrols of the two armies first sighted each other west of the small town of Gettysburg on the afternoon of June 30, 1863" 2.
             Ten roads in southern Pennsylvania connected in Gettysburg including a road from Washington D.C. Gettysburg had no military significance, but it was a transportation center and therefore it was a natural place for the armies to come together and fight. If the South were victorious in Gettysburg then they would have a direct route to Washington D.C.
             Both Lee and Meade were many miles away when the battle began and could exert no early influence on its course. Neither commander wanted to fight at Gettysburg, but since it stood at the junction of ten roads, it was the only option so they quickly poured troops into the area.
             "From the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Lee was ignorant of the opposition's movements, because Major General Jeb Stuart's cavalry was out of touch with him" 3. Until June 28, when a spy told him that the Union Army was just 25 miles southeast at Fredricksburg, Maryland, Lee thought that Hooker was still south of the Potomac. Lee a...