Instant Alert: GETTYSBURG: Here's how the Civil War's most important battle was fought

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   GETTYSBURG: Here's how the Civil War's most important battle was fought by Daniel Brown on Jul 3, 2017, 1:33 PM Advertisement The three-day Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, and one that tipped the scales in favor of the Union, ended 154 years ago today. The Union fielded 90,000 troops in the battle, and the Confederacy 75,000, according to historian James McPherson. Eleven thousand died, 29,000 more were wounded and 10,000 were missing or captured. The hallowed grounds of Gettysburg, as McPherson described them, witnessed nearly 10 times more casualties than the D-Day invasion.  There were many engagements over three days of combat — such as Devil's Den, the Slaughter Pen and Valley of Death — but some were more consequential to the battle, and therefore the war itself, than others.  Here's how the battle unfolded. SEE ALSO: Trump said Andrew Jackson could have prevented the Civil War — but the 7th president has an ugly history Here is a shot of Gettysburg from Cemetery Hill, which was taken in July 1863. The battle started, some historians say, because both armies were looking for shoes in the town. McPherson claims that this story cannot be proved or disproved, but whatever the case, it was a "meeting engagement" or "encounter engagement." The first day of the Battle of Gettysburg was a skirmish compared to the last two days, as troops from both sides were still filing into the area. Still, as night fell, "three thousand dead and dying soldiers and the moans of many of the additional seven or eight thousand wounded" could be seen and heard on the field, McPherson said. Below is a photo of dead Union soldiers after the first day's fighting. Despite not capturing Cemetery and Culp's Hill by the end of the day, the prospect of the battle still appeared promising for Robert E. Lee and the Rebel Army. John L. Burns, who is pictured below, is one of the more colorful people to take part in the battle. On the first day of the battle, the 69-year-old Gettysburg resident grabbed his musket and joined the Union ranks, much to the confusion of the Northern officers, when he saw the battle materializing on the first day. He was deployed to the woods, and picked off a number of Confederate troops before getting shot in his arm and leg. When the Rebel Army found him wounded and wearing civilian clothes, after the Union soldiers had retreated from the area, he told them that he was just a lost old man who had gotten caught in the crossfire. This picture, taken by famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady, was shot shortly after the battle. See the rest of the story at Business Insider   Share the latest business news with your network:    Email sent to:   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011