Many things to think about today on the eve of our nation’s independence, but if you’re looking for a great example of all that is right about America, here is one young man who 156 years ago this afternoon—led by example, who wouldn’t quit, and who sacrificed himself at a place called “The Angle,” near a weed-choked corpse of trees on Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

His name is 1st Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing. He was 22 years-old and an experienced veteran of numerous battles. At Gettysburg, he commanded Battery A, 4th United States Artillery. He died defending a vital part of the Union line against Pickett's Charge, and although mortally wounded would not leave his post. Grasping his intestines with one hand and the lanyard of his gun with the other, he shouted above the chaos of the battle to his Sergeant, Frederick Fuger standing beside him, "I’ll give them one more shot!" Seconds later a Confederate bullet struck him through the mouth, killing him instantly. His lifel...

By the afternoon of July 2, 1863, all of General George Meade's seven infantry corps had arrived and occupied defensive positions on the hills and ridges south of Gettysburg. As each Union Corps took up their positions, the Federal line took on the shape of a fishhook. This configuration allowed Meade to take advantage of interior lines to move his troops freely.

General Robert E. Lee's plan was to test both the right flank and the left flank of the Union line, and wanted Longstreet to lead a major attack against the Union's southernmost flank--the tail of the fishhook. Longstreet did so, but reluctantly, taking hours longer than anticipated.

While Longstreet's countermarch has been described as a measure to confuse the Union forces, it was more due to a flawed reconnaissance by Lee's topographical engineer, Captain Samuel Johnston. Working against the Army of Northern Virginia, was the the sheer exhaustion of the rapid countermarches in scorching hot temperatures, without suf...