The battle of Gettysburg

This week represents the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle - arguably the most important of the American Civil War - began when the Union and Confederate armies accidentally ran into each other.

No one on either side planned to fight that battle. But it happened. And history was changed forever.

There are many heroes on both sides in that battle, but my personal favorite is Brigadier General John Buford, Jr. Here is a short description of Buford's role in the Battle of Gettysburg:

On July 1, 1863, Buford, now commanding the 1st Division of the Cavalry Corps, ran into parts of the Army of Northern Virginia outside of Gettysburg. Having only enough strength to post one man per yard of ground, Buford instructed one of his brigades, under Colonel William Gamble, to dismount to impede the advance of A.P. Hill’s Confederate III Corps along the road from Cashtown. Buford’s skillful defensive troops alignments along with the bravery, dedication, and the skill of his men, gave the Union First Corps, under Major General John F. Reynolds, the time it needed to deploy to meet the Confederates outside of Gettysburg, thus maintaining a Union foothold on the strategically important positions that would become the backbone of the Union defensive positions for the remainder of the battle.

A few weeks later Buford contracted typhoid fever and died. His quick thinking at Gettysburg may very well have kept the Union from suffering a huge defeat. If the Confederacy had won at Gettysburg, they probably would have marched on Washington - and imposed a cease fire on President Abraham Lincoln and the Union. America would have been permanently split, and slavery might never have been abolished.

For a readable account of the Battle of Gettysburg, check out Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Killer Angels.