Introduction
George Pickett (1825-1875) was a U.S. military officer and later a Confederate major general during the Civil War (1861-65). A hero of the Mexican-American War (1846-48), Pickett entered the Civil War in 1861 and served as a brigade commander at the Battles of Seven Pines and Williamsburg before being wounded at the Battle of Gaines’ Mill. Pickett is best known for his participation in the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, when his division was decimated during a massive frontal assault that became known as “Pickett’s Charge.” After Gettysburg, Pickett commanded troops in North Carolina and later participated in the defense of Petersburg. Pickett’s humiliating defeat at the Battle of Five Forks in April 1865 triggered a Confederate retreat that led to Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. A controversial figure during and after the Civil War, Pickett lived his later life as a farmer and insurance agent. He died in 1875 at the age of 50.