In June, 1863, Confederate leader Robert E. Lee led his army into Pennsylvania. General George Meade and a large force of Union soldiers were sent to stop Lee's advancing troops. On July 1, the two armies met at the small town of Gettysburg. You may have heard of the Battle of Cemetery Ridge and Culp's Hill. Thousands of men were killed and, at the end, Lee's troops were forced to retreat to Virginia. On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln dedicated part of the battlefield that was made into a national cemetery.