The Battle of Gettyburg
In the Spring of 1863, Robert E. Lee, his Army of Northern Virginia, and the Confederates had one a major battle at Chancellorsville. Lee had bested General Joseph Hooker, a former commander of the Army of the Potomac, with a force half the size of Hooker's. The Confederates felt that they were very close to international recognition as a nation from both France and Britain. Lee felt that it was time to act bold and invade the North, something Lee had not done all war.
Lee had sent General Jeb Stuart, and his cavalry ahead of the main army to flank the much bigger Union Army. The Confederates totaled around 75,000 men.
The Confederate States of America; The Rebel Army
Lee had bested every Union general up to the Battle of Gettysburg displaying a cunning and daring rivaled by only the best military strategists in histroy. However, his decision to slipt his army would turn out to be a fatal error.