Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, halting Lee's invasion of the North.
Evander M. Law
In 1863, Law accompanied Longstreet's Corps to Suffolk, Virginia, which prevented his participation in the Battle of Chancellorsville. However, the corps returned to the Army of Northern Virginia in time for the Gettysburg Campaign. At the Battle of Gettysburg, Law's brigade fought in the unsuccessful assault on the Union left on July 2, 1863, on Little Round Top and the Devil's Den. He assumed temporary division command after John Bell Hood was wounded. Some historians have criticized Law for the lack of coordination that existed in Hood's division while he served as a temporary commander. Gettysburg historian Harry W. Pfanz suggested that Law's "control of the division as a whole that afternoon was not very active and strong." He did not appoint his own successor at brigade command until after the fighting was over for the day, leaving his regiments without direction. None of Hood's other brigade commanders reported receiving any commands from Law during the battle.