July 1st 1863, the first day at Gettysburg, saw the Union forces pushed back*

Indeed, on seeing the frantic Union withdrawal, one Confederate officer remarked that it looked as if the end of the war had come*

But he could not see the whole battlefield.  Hard pressed Union forces were desperately clinging to the ridges West of Gettysburg*

The next day General Lee spent the entire morning trying to move his forces into a better position to attack*

This gave the Union army a chance to consolidate its hold of Cemetery Ridge, and certainly allowed many more reinforcements to arrive*

But what if Lee had not waited? He could have used his local advantage and attacked in the early hours of July 2nd*

Some military historians think this delay cost the South the War.   For this what-if? scenario the clock is turned back to 5 am, July 2nd, 1863*




