There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad-free.

Listen with Wondry Plus in the Wondry app.

As a member of NoisorPlus at noisor.com or in Apple Podcasts,

or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoHistory.com. It's late June 1863 in Gettysburg, a town in southern Pennsylvania.

A teenage girl named Tilly talks with a group of friends in a classroom at the young

ladies' seminary, a finishing school near the center of town.

As her teacher brings the class to order, the girl's mind begins to wander to a rumor she's

just heard. The rebels might be advancing. America is riven with civil strife. The war between

the states, as it's sometimes called, began in April of 1861 after decades of simmering tensions between

northern and southern states, primarily over the issue of slavery. And over the past year,

the Union has suffered a series of crushing defeats. Now the rumor is that the Confederate Army

wishes to press the attack and invade the North. And as if to confirm the rumor, Tilly

hears a man cry out in the street. The rebels are coming. Tilly and the rest of her students

run to the front door and step out onto the portico. In the distance, Tilly sees a dark, dense

mass of men advancing into town. The teacher tells her students to run home as quickly as they can. Tilly sees a dark, dense mass of men advancing into town. The teacher tells her students to run home as quickly as they can.

Tilly doesn't need to be told twice.

When she reaches the front door of her house,

rebels on horseback begin to flood the streets.

Tilly slams the door just as gunshots begin to ring out.

Soon, the town square is filled with Confederate soldiers.

As the rebels ransack homes and businesses and seize the town's supplies,

they meet little resistance. But in a short time, union troops will march out to meet them.

...