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T
he name Gettysburg is synonymous with the Civil War itself—no other campaign so captures the high drama and terrible tragedy of America’s darkest chapter. Fought over the course of three days—July 1, 2 & 3, 1863—it cost Union casualties of 17,684 killed or wounded, while the Confederates lost the even greater number of 22,638 killed or wounded. This epic battle represented the highwater mark of Southern advancement into Northern territory, and it marked the beginning of a long and painful Confederate withdrawal which led to the South’s ultimate defeat in 1865.
The commemorative half dollar which honors this battle and those who served in it shares with the Delaware-Swedish Tercentenary coin a distinctive history: Both were authorized and dated 1936, both were minted in 1937 and both commemorate celebrations which took place in 1938. Fittingly, they were likewise approved within weeks of one another at a time when commemorative coins were the hottest area of the coin collecting market.
The principal opponents whose armies met near the little town of Gettysburg in south-central Pennsylvania were General George G. Meade, commanding the United States Army of the Potomac, and General Robert E. Lee, leader of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Sorely missed by Lee during the first two days of battle was the fabled cavalry unit commanded by General J. E.B. “Jeb” Stuart; off on a diversionary mission to harass the Union capital at Washington, D.C., Stuart arrived too late to turn the tide of battle. When it was all over, Lee and his troops withdrew to the safety of Virginia, while the exhausted Meade lost his opportunity to end the war once and for all when he failed to immediately give chase.
Months later, on November 19, 1863, President of the United States Abraham Lincoln dedicated a national cemetery on the outskirts of the little town of Gettysburg. The featured speaker that day was famed orator Edward Everett, who gave a formal speech lasting some two hours. After he finished, Mr. Lincoln stepped up to read a few words which he had jotted down during the train ride to Pennsylvania. Today, it is his Gettysburg Address which is remembered as the great summation of war’s immeasurable sacrifice.
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