On July 1st - 3rd of 1863 approximately 160,000 men were involved in the largest battle of the Civil War and the largest battle ever fought in North America in a small town in Pennsylvania, Gettysburg. Of the 160,000 men the 85,000 northerners outnumbered the 75,000 strong southerners. The battle is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War and a turning point in favor of the north. After the fighting had ended, the Union in total had 23,049 casualties and the Confederacy had 28,063, a great Union victory. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee, invaded the north for the second time where they laid assault after assault against the Union’s line. The Union’s Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, with a hard fought defensive all across their lines and Meade’s strategic actions, held off the Confederate attacks one after another. In the height of the Civil War during late June, Gen. Robert E. Lee commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia won a great victory over the Army of the Potomac in May against then commander Joseph Hooker at Chancellorsville, Virginia. Brimming with confidence and looking to seize his advantage Lee invaded the northern states for the second time, just a year after his first unsuccessful attempt. Marching his army across Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania in late June. Lee had hoped that by doing this he would divert Union troops and gain recognition