Confederate commander General Robert E. Lee had previously attacked each flank of the Union positions at Gettysburg and on the third day launched a massive afternoon attack on the federal center with the bulk of three divisions under General George Pickett.  Facing determined artillery and infantry fire from the high ground of Cemetery Ridge, the attackers lost more than a thousand men killed outright in less than an hour and only a few units even reached the Union lines.  This defeat ended the battle in the Union's favor.  (By John Osborne)

Defending the right flank of the Union line at Culp's Hill outside Gettysburg, Maryland's Eastern Shore Volunteer Infantry, under Dickinson College graduate Colonel James Wallace, fought their only significant action of the war in helping to beat off the final Confederate attack on the morning of the third day. Their direct opponents were the Confederate First Maryland, also drawn heavily from the same part of the state. Wallace ensured after the battle that the bodies of their neighbors were buried with care. (By John Osborne)