The Battle of Gettysburg was a pivotal three-day battle that took place July 1-3, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania between Union and Confederate forces. It involved over 160,000 soldiers and resulted in over 50,000 casualties, marking a turning point in the Civil War toward eventual victory for the North. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia invaded Pennsylvania hoping to turn the tide of the war but was stopped at Gettysburg by Union General George Meade's Army of the Potomac in a series of intense clashes over the three summer days that ended with Lee's retreat back to Virginia.