Gettysburg was the high-water mark of the Rebellion, and Pickett’s charge was the high-water mark of Gettysburg. In that terrific engagement of the third day the advance of the Confederates into northern territory was effectually checked, and the question of the Confederacy maintaining a position in northern territory was settled. Lee turned south with his defeated and broken forces, and as the booming of the guns of Gettysburg died down, the Confederate cause ebbed away. When the battle started, more than two hundred cannon hurled shot and shell across a lovely green valley with yellowing grain fields. The carnage and the roar and smoke of guns continued until the Confederate gunners began to run short of ammunition; then, on the third day, came a lull. It was an ominous silence. Down from the one hill surged a line of gray, and another, and another. The Confederate forces charged on across the valley, and still the Federal batteries reserved their fire. The supreme moment was at hand. North and South hung upon the issue with drawn breath. Then as the gray army mounted the opposite hill, rifles and cannon thundered again, line after line broke and fell; but still the charging body of the Confederates kept on. They captured the first Federal outworks, and staggered on toward the second. But the Union fire had been too deadly. No human bravery could withstand such losses. The gray lines fell back, leaving most of their men dead on the field. Thus with the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg over, the climax of the war was past. The little town round which the battle raged was settled about 1740, and in 1800 it became the county seat. It holds the oldest Lutheran college in America, and likewise the oldest Lutheran theological seminary. Today the valley is a beautiful national park, with the lines of battle marked by six hundred monuments, five hundred iron tablets, one thousand markers, and hundreds of cannon. Observation towers enable the visitor to see the surrounding country. It is a curious fact that neither side had intended to fight at Gettysburg, General Meade having determined to make a stand at Pipes Creek, fifteen miles distant. But Lee’s troops, coming into contact with a body of Union cavalry near Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, precipitated the battle, and both armies hurried to the scene. The Federal troops were forced back, retreating through the village, and took position on Cemetery Hill, just beyond. At one time in his march toward Gettysburg, General Lee was within a few miles of the main ammunition stores of the Federal army, which, had he known it, he could easily have captured.