Battle of Gettysburg
The nature of the result of the Battle of Gettysburg has been the subject of controversy for years. Although not seen as overwhelmingly significant at the time, particularly since the war continued for almost two years, in retrospect it has often been cited as the "turning point", usually in combination with the fall of Vicksburg the following day. This is based on the observation that after Gettysburg Lee's army conducted no more strategic offensives—his army merely reacted to the initiative of Ulysses S. Grant in 1864 and 1865—and by the speculative viewpoint of the Lost Cause writers that a Confederate victory at Gettysburg might have resulted in the end of the war.
It is currently a widely held view that Gettysburg was a decisive victory for the Union, but the term is considered imprecise. It is inarguable that Lee's offensive on July 3 was turned back decisively and his campaign in Pennsylvania was terminated prematurely (although the Confederates at the time argued that this was a temporary setback and that the goals of the campaign were largely met). However, when the more common definition of "decisive victory" is intended—an indisputable military victory of a battle that determines or significantly influences the ultimate result of a conflict—historians are divided. For example, David J. Eicher called Gettysburg a "strategic loss for the Confederacy" and James M. McPherson wrote that "Lee and his men would go on to earn further laurels. But they never again possessed the power and reputation they carried into Pennsylvania those palmy summer days of 1863."
Joseph W. Latimer
When Andrews was wounded at the Battle of Stephenson's Depot, Latimer took command of the artillery battalion for the Gettysburg Campaign. During the Battle of Gettysburg, on the afternoon of July 2, 1863, Latimer was commanding the artillery battalion, which was located on Benner's Hill, a small rise located about 1,400 yards northeast of Cemetery Hill. The Confederate guns engaged in a duel with their Federal counterparts while attempting to support the attack on Culp's and Cemetery Hills. The position on Benner's Hill was open and exposed, and the Confederate guns found themselves at a severe disadvantage. Latimer requested that he be allowed to move the guns to a more favorable position. "Such an admission by so stubborn a fighter did not have to be verified," as historian Douglas Southall Freeman put it, and Latimer was allowed to begin withdrawing the guns. He was wounded after he returned to the hill to direct the fire of his remaining four guns. An exploding shell severely wounded his arm and killed his horse, which fell on him and pinned him to the ground. Division commander Allegheny Johnson noted in his official battle report that, "Major J.W. Latimer, of Andrews' battalion, the "boy major," whose chivalrous bearing on so many fields had won for him a reputation to be envied by his seniors, received a severe wound on the evening of the 2d, from the effects of which he has since died." Cpt Charles I. Raine took charge of the battalion after Latimer was wounded.