18631776 Club
Lee turns south on July 4; his wagon train of wounded stretches twenty miles through the rain
More than 20,000 casualties and an empty magazine behind him, the Army of Northern Virginia quits Pennsylvania soil and heads for the Potomac.
By the night of July 4, 1863, Robert E. Lee's army had spent its ammunition and its momentum. With more than 20,000 casualties behind him and no way to resupply on Northern soil, Lee began pulling the Army of Northern Virginia south, its wagon train of wounded and supplies stretching fifteen to twenty miles through the rain toward the Potomac. Swollen river waters and a destroyed pontoon bridge trapped the Confederates for days at Williamsport, but Lee's men dug in, held off Meade's cautious pursuit, and escaped across hastily built fords on the night of July 13. The campaign that began with an invasion of Pennsylvania ended in a soaked, bleeding column limping back into Virginia…
