More than 150 Confederate artillery pieces thundered for hours, a bombardment heard 70 miles away in Washington, DC.
It was July 3, 1863 in Gettysburg PA, and while the South had won most of the Civil War battles, they were losing the war. General Lee headed north to fix that.
The guns quit, and General George Pickett led thousands of men into history... and defeat.
A major factor was that, unseen in the smoke, many of the artillery shells landed long, behind Union lines. The Yankee troops were alerted to the impending charge, AND they were mightily irritated.