Editing Battle of Gettysburg (section)

===Confederate retreat===
{{further|Retreat from Gettysburg}}
[[File:Gettysburg Campaign Retreat.png|thumb|The [[Gettysburg campaign]] of the [[American Civil War]], which lasted from July 5, 1863, until July 14, 1863]]
On the morning of July 4, with Lee's army still present, Meade ordered his cavalry to get to the rear of Lee's army.<ref>Starr, p. 443.</ref> In a heavy rain, the armies stared at one another across the bloody fields, on the same day that, some {{convert|920|mi}} away, the [[Battle of Vicksburg|Vicksburg]] garrison surrendered to Major General [[Ulysses S. Grant]]. Lee had reformed his lines into a defensive position on Seminary Ridge the night of July{{nbsp}}3, evacuating the town of Gettysburg. The Confederates remained on the battlefield's west side, hoping that Meade would attack, but the cautious Union commander decided against the risk, a decision for which he would later be criticized. Both armies began to collect their remaining wounded and bury some of the dead. A proposal by Lee for a prisoner exchange was rejected by Meade.<ref>Eicher, p. 550; Coddington, pp. 539–544; Clark, pp. 146–147; Sears, p. 469; Wert, p. 300.</ref>

Late in the rainy afternoon, Lee started moving the non-fighting portion of his army back to Virginia. Cavalry under Brigadier General [[John D. Imboden]] was entrusted to escort the seventeen-mile long wagon train of supplies and wounded men, using a long route through [[Cashtown, Pennsylvania|Cashtown]] and [[Greencastle, Pennsylvania|Greencastle]] to [[Williamsport, Maryland]]. After sunset, the fighting portion of Lee's army began its retreat to Virginia using a more direct (but more mountainous) route that began on the road to [[Fairfield, Pennsylvania|Fairfield]].<ref>Coddington, p. 538.</ref> Although Lee knew exactly what he needed to do, Meade's situation was different. Meade needed to remain at Gettysburg until he was certain Lee was gone. If Meade left first, he could possibly leave an opening for Lee to get to Washington or Baltimore. In addition, the army that left the battlefield first was often considered the defeated army.<ref>Coddington, p. 539.</ref>

{{Quote box
|align=right
|width=30%;background-color:#E6F2FF"
|quote="Now, if General Meade can complete his work so gloriously prosecuted thus far, by the literal or substantial destruction of Lee's army, the rebellion will be over."
|source=Abraham Lincoln<ref>Coddington, p. 564.</ref>
}}
Union cavalry had some minor successes pursuing Lee's army. The first major encounter took place in the mountains at [[Fight at Monterey Pass|Monterey Pass]] on July{{nbsp}}4, where Kilpatrick's cavalry division captured 150 to 300 wagons and took 1,300 to 1,500 prisoners.<ref>Starr, pp. 447-450.</ref> Beginning July 6, additional cavalry fighting took place closer to the Potomac River in Maryland's [[Battle of Williamsport|Williamsport-Hagerstown area]].<ref>Sears, pp. 481-484, Eicher, p.552.</ref> Lee's army was trapped and delayed from crossing the Potomac River because rainy weather had caused the river to swell, and the [[pontoon bridge]] at [[Falling Waters, West Virginia|Falling Waters]] had been destroyed.{{#tag:ref|Lee had left intact a pontoon bridge located at Falling Waters. This bridge had originally been used during the movement north into Maryland and Pennsylvania. Union cavalry under the command of Brigadier General [[William H. French]] destroyed the bridge on July 4. Lee's options for crossing the Potomac River were either a ferry at Williamsport that could handle only two wagons per crossing, or the Falling Waters location {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} downstream.<ref>Sears, p. 481.</ref>|group=fn}} Meade's infantry did not fully pursue Lee until July{{nbsp}}7, and despite repeated pleas from Lincoln and Halleck, was not aggressive enough to destroy Lee's army.<ref>Coddington, pp. 552, 564.</ref> A new pontoon bridge was constructed at Falling Waters, and lower water levels allowed the Confederates to begin crossing after dark on July{{nbsp}}13.<ref>Sears, p. 490.</ref> Although Meade's infantry had reached the area on July 12, it was his cavalry that attacked the Confederate rear guard on the morning of July{{nbsp}}14. Union cavalry took 500 prisoners, and Confederate Brigadier General Pettigrew was mortally wounded, but Lee's army completed its Potomac crossing.<ref>Eicher, p. 552.</ref> The campaign continued south of the Potomac until the [[Battle of Manassas Gap]] on July{{nbsp}}23, when Lee escaped and Meade abandoned the pursuit.<ref>Coddington, pp. 535–574; Sears, pp. 496–497; Eicher, p. 596; Wittenberg et al., ''One Continuous Fight'', pp. 345–346.</ref>