After his astounding victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville,
Virginia, in May 1863, Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern
Virginia in its second invasion of the North—the Gettysburg
Campaign. With his army in high spirits, Lee intended to collect
supplies in the abundant Pennsylvania farmland and take the
fighting away from war-ravaged Virginia. He wanted to threaten
Northern cities, weaken the North's appetite for war and,
especially, win a major battle on Northern soil and strengthen
the peace movement in the North. Prodded by President Abraham
Lincoln, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker moved his Union Army of the
Potomac in pursuit, but was relieved of command just three days
before the battle. Hooker's successor, Maj. Gen. George Gordon
Meade moved northward, keeping his army between Lee and
Washington, D.C. When Lee learned that Meade was in
Pennsylvania, Lee concentrated his army around Gettysburg.
Elements of the two armies collided west and north of the town
on July 1, 1863. Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. J