IN-PERSON Battle Brief - The Union Army and the First Day at Gettysburg
In-Person Battle Brief
Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 12 p.m. ET
July 1, 1863, may have been the most chaotic day in the history of Union Army forces in the Civil War's Eastern Theater. The Army of the Potomac had a new commander; its most capable corps commander had been killed early that day in the fighting west of Gettysburg, and not all of the Army's troops were on the battlefield by evening. And yet, even with scanty intelligence on Confederate forces and movements, and suffering a sound defeat that day, Union forces commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade barely held on east of the crossroads town. Learn from historian and museum educator John Maass how the beleaguered Federal troops averted disaster on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Dr. John R. Maass is an education specialist and historian at the National Museum of the United States Army. He received a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in early U.S. history and military history. His most recent book is "From Trenton to Yorktown: Turning Points of the Revolutionary War”(2025).
