After General Robert E. Lee's success in defeating the Union Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville, the commander continued his aggressive tactics by planning a second invasion of the North. Lee's strategy was to upset the Union's plans for their summer campaigns, relieve the besieged Confederate garrison at Vicksburg, and supply his army from the rich northern farms while giving war-ravaged Virginia a much needed rest. He also hoped to threaten the major cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington to encourage the growing peace movement in the North. His tactics in this campaign were virtually identical to those he had planned in his Maryland Campaign of the prior year.

On June 3, 1863, Lee's Army of Northern Virginia began to move from Fredericksburg, Virginia headed towards Pennsylvania.  Major General Joseph Hooker moved his army in pursuit of Lee, but as both sides moved northward, President Lincoln replaced the Army Commander with General George Meade.

The Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest in the entire war, was fought in the Eastern Theater.

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Hoping to reach Harrisburg, or better yet, Philadelphia, the Confederate forces were engaged in a number of battles before they reached Pennsylvania, including the battles at Brandy Station, Winchester, Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville, Virginia.

In the meantime, the Pennsylvania Governor was scrambling to raise regiments of volunteer militia to repel the threatened invasion. Known as the Emergency of 1863, thousands of refugees from Pennsylvania and Maryland fled northward and eastward to avoid the oncoming Confederates.

When Lee heard from his scouts that Major General George Meade was planning to make a stand at Pipe Creek,  Maryland, he decided to attack him before he reached his defensive positions. Both forces reached Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 1, 1863 in what would constitute the bloodiest battle in Civil War history with total losses equallying some 51,000 men. The Confederates were driven back and by the night of July 4th, Lee and his men were retreating south.

Both commanding generals were criticized for their conduct of the campaign—Lee for his unwarranted reliance on unseasoned commanders and his authorization of Pickett's charge; and Meade for failing to organize his forces to counterattack and pursue the fleeing enemy. The campaign marked the high point of the Confederate activity during the war; thereafter the fortunes of the South went into a marked decline.

The Gettysburg Campaign included the following battles:

• Brandy Station (June 9, 1863, Virginia)
• Winchester II (June 13-15, 1863, Virginia)
• Aldie (June 17, 1863, Virginia)
• Middleburg (June 17-19, 1863, Virginia)
• Upperville  (June 21, 1863, Virginia)
• Hanover (June 30, 1863, Pennsylvania)
• Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863, Pennsylvania)
• Williamsport (July 6-16, 1863, Maryland)
• Boonsboro (July 8, 1863, Maryland)
• Manassas Gap (July 23, 1863, Virginia)