Gettysburg (CG 64) - Naval Cruise Book

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GETTYSBURG ADDRESS President Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 19 NGV 1863 l Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this con a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. p y p i Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether? that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can lO1'1gq'Q11dl,lI6f,lVV6'21I'C met r on a great battle-field of that war. We have come, to adcdvicatciq portion of that field, as a final resting place, for those who herergavei their lives that nation might live. lt is altogether fitting andrpropcif this. l r s r i s A y g i But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate--we can not hallow-f-this ground, The brave men, struggled here, havefconsecrated fit, far above our detract. The world will little note, nor long i but it cannever forget what they here. It is be dedicated hereto the aunfinishepdworkwhicha i thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to great taskremaining before us that fromthese' increased devotion to that cause forwhich they gaverthe of devotion - that we here highly resolve that not died in vam -- that this nation, under God, shall 0 p freedom - and that govemment of the people,'by people, shall not perish from the earth. i , he eg A r 4

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forces rlong Semin try Ridge facing east toward Union positions. By dawn both armies were deployed along a three mile line running south from Gettysburg On the moming of 7 July General Lee, observing the disposition of Union forces along Cemetery Ridge, decided to use General James Longstreet s Infantry Corps to attack the left side of the Union line that was on a small hill known locally as Little Round Top. Lee was convinced that the best chance of success lay in surprising the Union forces on Little Round Top and allowed Longstreet to spend most of the day trying to L maneuver his corps into position for the attack while remaining concealed behind a low ridge. This effort at , conce rlment was ultimately unsuccessful and cost the Confederates the better part of the day. The Confederate attack on Little Round Top finally got underway toward themiddle of the aftenroon on 2 July. The Confederates advanced on the Union positions on a rocky outcropping known as Devil's Den that was at the base of Little Round Top The fighting was fierce and casualties wereheavy on both sides. As this attack took place General Longstreet continued to try to convince Lee to stop the attack and move around the Union flank. As the light faded the Confederates repeatedly charged up through the rocks and woods of Little Round A Top s slopes, and were continuously driven back. . The 20th Maine Regiment commanded by Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain held the extreme left end of the ' y Union position on Little Round Top. As the 'Confederates continued to make repeated attacks, Colonel p aChamberlain's men ran out of ammunition. Knowing the importance of his position and determined not to let Confederates overrun it, Chamberlain had his menffix bayonets and charge down the hill. This action A and overwhelmed the Confederates and they retreated in dismay. This brought the battle for Little 1. Top to a dramatic conclusion. 0. 0 .ett Q' , p . V A y f , f A the night, Longstreet tried to convince Lee to maneuver into a more favorable position but Lee .decided . , . x Z L T x ' W . . D ' 9 ' I 1 7 . , t . ' rv K . . . . ' 9 f L . r 1 v 1 . , . . . 1 . 9 I press the attack with a bold infantry attackon the center of the Union line. Lee's plan was to use three o .. D divisions in a frontal assault on the Union center and split the Union line in halfg Longstreet was T A pen fields toward Union positions thatwere well established by this time - but Longstreet duly began A A the attack. A s J f ' p - . I On the moming of 3 July the Confederate artillery opened up on the Union center and continued their barrage: for almost an hour. J General Meade avoided the temptation to use his artillery in a counter-barrage and held of his cannon in reserve for the Confederate infantry attack he knew would follow. At the conclusion of , the cannonade, some 15,000 Confederate infantrymen began advancing toward the Union position on Cemetery Ridge. s V , y T This attack has become known as Pickett's Charge after General George Pickett, one of the more colorful' p r Confederate generals whose division participated in the attack. The Confederate troops advanced bravely despite murderous tire from Union cannons and infantrymen. The Confederate troops wet abgle tlp break' D rn through the first line of Union defenses but could do nothing else. Exhausted and outnum ere , t e remain g Confederate troops fell back. The Confederate troops suffered almost 70'Za casualties. The farthest pomt up Cemetery Ridge that the Confederates were able to advance has become known as the high water mark of the Confederacy. ' t . With Pickett's char e the Battle of Gettysburg came to a dramatic conclusion. Although the Confederates S , organized their troops to oppose an expected Union counterattack, General Meade ordered no such attack. On the evening of 4 J uly, General Lee made the decision to withdraw. Q - In the three da s of fighting, the two armies suffered more than 50.000 casualties tkrlled. wounded and y . missingi. Although it was immediately apparent that Gettysburg had been a Confederate' defeat, it was not until later in the war that the real significance of the battle was appreciated. Today. the battle is widely recognized as - ' '- ' 1 f l ' ' the reservation the tuming point of the Civil War and a milestone in our country s history, ultimate y ensuring p of the American Republic. 1- W-, Y y -5-sung ' - .3..g--.-as-1-..-,....,..,--....-..... .. ,...... .vp . ' -av-v ' that this attack had littlechance of success - the troops would have to move more than a mile ,across rr,.'q 1

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mill' COAT OF ARMS SHIELD: Dark blue and gold are the traditional Navy colors. The shield, divided dark blue and gray, refers to the colors of the Union and Confederate Armies and a country split by war. White expresses peace optimism and red is a reminder of the immeasurable valor and blood shed at the epic of Gettysburg. The three pheons represent the number of days of this intense the Union and Confederate assault lines. The pheons point up RG's vertical launch capabilities. Their number also reflects missions, anti-air, anti-surface, and antisubmarine warfare. The arch Ridge, Culp's Hill and Little Roundtop, critical positions on the The nc or symbolizes sea prowess and the ties with the ship's two stars r present the twolpreviousships named US5 cneswf ational of the Gettysburg battle ground, mo The scroll with a drop of blood dead shall not have diegbln Y. vain. President Lincolnlafnclgths sivictocy and 559254. the Glllfifls action , ' 'I'