UNION OFFICERS
[The number following an individual's name indicates his age at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg.]

Maj. Gen. George G. Meade - 47, from Pennsylvania, graduated West Point Class of 1845. Found himself in command of the Union Army of the Potomac only three days before the Battle of Gettysburg. His success at Gettysburg would be later marred by critics who felt that he was too slow in chasing Lee back into Virginia. He died November 6, 1872.

Brig. Gen. John Buford - 37, from Kentucky and Illinois, graduated West Point, Class of 1848. His cavalry division held back superior numbers of Confederates until Union infantry arrived. His troops encountered the head of a Confederate column on June 30th near Gettysburg. It was Buford who decided to stay in the area overnight and wait for the Confederates to return the following day. His choice would set the stage for the Battle of Gettysburg that began the following day. Died of Typhoid fever on December 16, 1863.

Brig. Gen. Henry J. Hunt - Graduated West Point, Class of 1839. He was the chief of artillery of the Army of the Potomac and looked at war with an unblinking eye. He had reduced it to a basic element - massed cannon spewing forth hot iron into human flesh. In its fearful starkness, it was a philosophy of manmade fury against the bodies and souls of men. Hunt could create hell on a battlefield unlike any other warrior at Gettysburg. Hunt seemed to be everywhere along the Union line during July 2. He issued orders, posted batteries, and witnessed the loss of the number of guns, their crews overrun by the Confederate attackers.

Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock - 39, from Pennsylvania, graduated West Point, Class of 1844. Inspiring, bold, and daring, he proved to be an outstanding officer and field commander. At Gettysburg, he reached a pinnacle when Meade sent Hancock as his representative to the battlefield on July 1, where Hancock took command of the field. The general was everywhere the action was on July 2 and played a prominent role in sending troops to threatened areas. He nearly lost his life while directing troops against Pickett's Virginians on July 3. Died February 9, 1886.

Maj. Gen. Abner Doubleday - 43, from New York, graduated West Point, Class of 1842. On the first day, Doubleday led the Union troops in their repulse of the Confederate army until reinforcements arrived. Doubleday's top commander, Gen. George G. Meade, was not, however, aware of all of the facts concerning Doubleday's meritorious service and Doubleday's division's credit for the ultimate Union victory on the third day of Gettysburg. Therefore, Doubleday did not earn the permanent command of his division; instead it was given to former West Point classmate John Newton, and Doubleday was returned to a lesser command. He died January 26, 1893.

Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles - 43, from New York, was a lawyer and politician. His advance of the III Corps in to an exosed position on July 2, 1863, is still a controversial subject. He lost most of his corps and a leg at Gettysburg, but was compensated for his loss with the Congressional Medal of Honor. As a congressman in 1894, Sickles would sponsor a bill to make the battle a national park. He died May 3, 1914.