The Confederate assaults on July 2 were uncoordinated and disjointed. The usual skill of generalship in the Army of Northern Virginia was lacking this day. On the Union side, by contrast, officers from Meade down to regimental colonels acted with initiative and coolness. They moved troops to the right spots and counterattacked at the right times. As a result, when night fell the Union line remained firm except for the loss of Sickles’s salient. Each side had suffered 9,000 or more casualties, bringing the two-day totals for both armies to nearly 35,000. It was the heaviest single-battle toll
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