Who had the best military position at the start of the battle of Gettysburg and why was this positoin a good one?

Answer 1

At the very start of the Battle, on the first day, the Confederates probably had overall the best strategic position. The fighting on this day was mostly on the west and northwest side of town. The Rebels were coming in from the west, on the Cashtown Pike, which crossed several ridges as it neared the town. Union troops used these ridges to full advantage as defensive positions. But to begin with there were only Union cavalry on the field, and cavalry generally could not contend for very long with infantry. Though there were not a large number of these Union cavalry troopers, they were armed with repeating rifles, and so were able to give a good account of themselves, and slow down the numerically superior Rebels, who were forced to deploy into long lines, overlapping the ends of the shorter line the available Union men could form. But Union infantry was hastening to the scene, and just as their cavalry was about to have to give way they arrived, so more and bitter fighting ensued on the ridges west of Gettysburg. Though the Union infantry was eventually dislodged from these ridges the Rebels paid a terrific price to move them. At this juncture the strategic edge the Rebels enjoyed became factor. One entire corps of Lee's army had been on the banks of the Susquehanna River that morning, looking across at Harrisburg, the capital city of Pennsylvania. Summoned back to Gettysburg they marched by the direct route from where they were, and this brought them into Gettysburg from the northeast, or on the right flank and right rear of the Yankee force stubbornly contesting passage of the Cashtown Pike on the western edge of town. The Yankee front collapsed and the men fled through the town, ending up on Cemetery Ridge just south of the town. This became the Union position for the second and third day of the battle, and was definitely a strong position. The Rebels ended up holding the town and facing the Yankees south of town from Seminary Ridge, about a mile west of Cemetery Ridge. This was also a strong position, but that really was not helpful because the Rebels were constrained to continue to attack, situated as they were deep in enemy territory. They had to win the battle quickly, if they were to win it at all, so they had to take the initiative, which meant they had to attack the strong Union lines on the second and third days, and so got no advantage from possessing Seminary Ridge.