This is the 150 th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, the greatest, most Homeric, most important, bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil. “The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg , Pennsylvania between Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War . The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point .” It decided the American Civil War, because the Union, under men like Hancock, Reynolds, Buford, Chamberlain, and the 1 st Minnesota held fast; the fact that they held fast means that everything  President Obama holds dear could be attempted and accomplished. The Union troops paid full measure to stem the Confederate tide of victory; and the Confederates, under men like Kemper, Armistead, Garnett, paid full measure to try to become a new nation, the Confederate States of America. There was such an abundance of heroes; the