George+Pickett-Peter+Park

=George Pickett=



=K-W-L Paragraph= My "I am" person is George Pickett, a Confederate general who is well-known for leading the futile and bloody Pickett's Charge, a breach to the Union center on Cemetery Hill that virtually annihilated his entire division. I found Pickett interesting because the Pickett's Charge was arguably the indirect cause of the Confederates' defeat in the Civil War. The futility of the Pickett's Charge was undoubtedly the reason of the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg, which most historians agree was the turning point. In addition, the extremely heavy losses of the Pickett's Charge may have had a psychological impact on the Southern war effort, thus turning the tide of the Civil War in favor of the North. I already know that Pickett was a Confederate general who led a failed charge into the center of the Union forces on Cemetery Hill, and that over half of his men perished during the assault. Some questions that came to my mind included:
 * Which Confederate general was to blame for the failed Pickett's Charge?
 * Was the Pickett's Charge a strategic mistake that could have been evaded?
 * Did the Pickett's Charge indirectly lead to the Confederates' defeat in the Civil War?

=My primary historical question is:= Did the Pickett's Charge have a heavy, irreversible psychological impact on the Southern war effort?

=**Primary Sources**=

> [|The Heart of a Soldier, As revealed in the Intimate Letters of Genl. George E. Pickett C.S.A.] > > [|George Pickett's letters to his wife] >> " The sacrifice of life on that bloodsoaked field on the fatal 3rd was too awful for the heralding of victory, even for our victorious foe, who, I think, believe as we do, that it decided the fate of our cause. No words can picture the anguish of that roll call - the breathless waits between the responses. The "Here" of those who, by God's mercy, had miraculously escaped the awful rain of shot and shell with a sob - a gasp - a knew - for the unanswered name of his comrade called before his. >> Even now I can hear them cheering as I gave the order, "Forward"! I can feel their faith and trust in me and their love for our cause. I can feel the thrill of their joyous voices as they called out all along the line, "We'll follow you, Master George. We'll follow you, we'll follow you." Oh, how faithfully they kept their word, following me on, on to their death, and I, believing in the promised support, led them on, on, on. >> Oh, God! I can't write you a love letter today, my Sallie, for, with my great love for you and my gratitude to God for sparing my life to devote to you, comes the overpowering thought of those whose lives were sacrificed - of the brokenhearted widows and mothers and orphans. The moans of my wounded boys, the sight of the dead, upturned faces flood my soul with grief; and here am I, whom they trusted, whom they followed, leaving them on the field of carnage."
 * Documents**
 * from __Soldier of the South, General Pickett's War Letters to His Wife__
 * Example: George E. Pickett, letter to his wife after the Battle of Gettysburg (6th July, 1863)
 * [|Pickett's Charge March Sheet Music]
 * [|Pickett's Charge March Sheet Music]


 * Visual

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** [|From the Library of Congress] [|From ABC-Clio]
 * [|From the Library of Congress]


 * Quotes**


 * "Up men to your posts! Don't forget today that you are from Old Virginia." (George Pickett, Gettysburg, July 3, 1863)


 * "Well, it is all over now. The battle is lost, and many of us are prisoners, many are dead, many wounded, bleeding and dying. Your Soldier lives and mourns and but for you, my darling, he would rather, a million times rather, be back there with his dead, to sleep for all time in an unknown grave." (George Pickett, CSA, to his fiancee, July 4, 1863)


 * "I always thought the Yankees had something to do with it." (Attributed to George Pickett when asked why the Confederates were defeated at Gettysburg)

=Secondary Sources=


 * Documents**
 * [|George E. Pickett: Individual]
 * [|George Pickett Biography Page]
 * [|The Fame of Pickett's Charge]

**I Am Podcast

media type="file" key="pickett.mp4"**