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Pennsylvania witnessed several important battles during the Civil War, most notably the three-day long Battle of Gettysburg, a turning point in the war for a Union victory.
A fight with no winner, the Battle of Hanover was critical in delaying Confederate soldiers from advancing to Gettysburg in time to join their fellow units for the major battle.
More men fought and died in this decisive battle than in any other battle on American soil. A strong victory for the Union delivered a severe blow to the morale of the Confederacy.
Though thousands of men were battling just four miles away in Gettysburg, it wasn’t the only town to witness fighting on those first fateful days in July of 1863.
More than 200 Union soldiers were left dead or wounded in this disastrous encounter between armies at a crossroads in Fairfield.
Once darkness set in and rain poured from the skies on this Independence Day, Union soldiers charged up the steep Blue Ridge Mountains to destroy hundreds of Confederate wagons and take thousands prisoner.
Information for this section was contributed by Timothy Orr, The Pennsylvania State University.
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