July 3 1863) On the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s last attempt at breaking the Union line ends with a loss, On June 1863, following his victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, General Lee launched his second invasion of the Union in less than a year. He led his army of 75,000 soldiers from Northern Virginia across the Potomac River, through Maryland, and into Pennsylvania, trying to win a major battle in the North so that the North will lose hope after taking their land. The 90,000-strong Army of the Potomac followed the Confederates to Maryland, but General Hooker, was still upset from his defeat at Chancellorsville and did not chase Lee further. The Confederates divided their forces and investigated different targets.​