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1863 Battle of Gettysburg begins in Pennsylvania, Union forces halt Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia

For anyone who has never been, you should go. It was such a pivotal battle and standing there realizing how many men (and one woman) died there for what they believed in is moving.

My three-great uncle (great-great-grandfather's brother) died there on July 3, 1863 defending Culps Hill as part of the 73 Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He is buried in the Ohio section of the Cemetery that was dedicated by a short speech by Abraham Lincoln:

History will little note nor long remember what we say here but it can never forget what they did here . . .

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 

First Wal-Mart Store Opens in Rogers, Arkansas (1962)
Now the world's largest corporation, the Walmart chain of superstores was founded by Sam Walton, a former US Army Captain with an economics degree. Walton owned and ran a chain of five-and-dime stores in Arkansas before he opened his first Wal-Mart store in 1962. In the 50 years since, the company, which sells brand-name goods in high volume at low prices, has flourished. It now has 8,500 stores operating in over a dozen countries. What was the last US state to get a Walmart?

me too - well maybe not that hard, Target isn't that expensive
hell, I don't buy much crap.  Haven't been to a Target in years

Gettysburg Battle Day 1 Witness Tree in Brady Photograph ID'd
General John Reynolds was fatally shot near here at around 10 A.M. on July 1, 1863, just as the battle was beginning.

For those who aren't well versed in CW History, this was a tremendous loss for the Union.  General Reynolds is widely regarded as one of the better Generals to serve in the Union Army and it is possible that, had he survived, it would have been him rather than Grant who ultimately took command.  In fact, Reynolds met privately with Lincoln not long before the battle and before Lincoln named Meade to command the Army of the Potomac.  It is believed that Lincoln offered the command to Reynolds and that Reynolds turned it down for reasons of political interference in the operations of the Army.  

At the time he was killed he was effectively in command of the battle because no more senior Union Generals had arrived yet.  Interestingly, Reynolds was born, lived, and was buried in Lancaster, Pennsylvania which isn't far from Gettysburg.  

1881 US President James Garfield shot by Charles Guiteau a disappointed office-seeker; Garfield dies 79 days later

1901 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid rob a train of $40,000 in Wagner, Montana

1903 National League MLB batting champion Ed Delahanty, disappears after being removed intoxicated from a train by force; found dead at bottom of Niagara Falls 2 weeks later

1932 FDR delivers the first acceptance speech at a presidential nominating convention

1933 NY Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell works 18 innings of shutout ball without a walk to beat St Louis Cardinals, 1-0

1937 Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan disappear flying over the Pacific Ocean en route to Howland Island. Noonan is declared dead the following year, and Earhart is declared the year after (1939)

1944 German Field Marshal Günther von Kluge replaces General von Rundstedt

1950 Cleveland Indians' pitcher Bob Feller wins his 200th MLB game, 5-3 over Detroit Tigers

1961 Author Ernest Hemingway (The Old Man and the Sea, Nobel Prize for Literature - 1954), dies from suicide at 61

1961 Amidst 5 NY Yankee homers v Washington, Roger Maris hits 29th and 30th en route to 61 for the season

1962 Sam Walton opens his first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas

1963 SF Giants legend Willie Mays breaks up Juan Marichal vs Warren Spahn pitching classic, homering in 16th inning off Spahn for 1-0 win vs Milwaukee Braves


1973 Betty Grable stage and screen actress, pin-up girl, dancer, and singer, dies of lung cancer at 56

1980 Comedy film "Airplane!" written and directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and starring Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty premieres


1993 Fred Gwynne, American actor (Car 54 Where Are You, Munsters), dies of pancreatic cancer at 66

1997 Jimmy Stewart actor (It's a Wonderful Life; Mr Smith Goes to Washington; Vertigo), dies of a pulmonary embolism at 89

2019 Lee Iacocca, American automotive executive (CEO of Chrysler Corp), dies at 94