<Tr> <Td> Cavalry Corps </Td> <Td> 380 (66 / 174 / 140) </Td> </Tr> <P> Bruce Catton wrote, "The town of Gettysburg looked as if some universal moving day had been interrupted by catastrophe ." But there was only one documented civilian death during the battle: Ginnie Wade (also widely known as Jennie), 20 years old, was hit by a stray bullet that passed through her kitchen in town while she was making bread . Another notable civilian casualty was John L. Burns, a 69 - year old veteran of the War of 1812 who walked to the front lines on the first day of battle and participated in heavy combat as a volunteer, receiving numerous wounds in the process . Despite his age and injuries, Burns survived the battle and lived until 1872 . Nearly 8,000 had been killed outright; these bodies, lying in the hot summer sun, needed to be buried quickly . Over 3,000 horse carcasses were burned in a series of piles south of town; townsfolk became violently ill from the stench . Meanwhile, the town of Gettysburg, with its population of just 2,400, found itself tasked with taking care of 14,000 wounded Union troops and an additional 8,000 Confederate prisoners . </P> <P> The armies stared at one another in a heavy rain across the bloody fields on July 4, the same day that the Vicksburg garrison surrendered to Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant . Lee had reformed his lines into a defensive position on Seminary Ridge the night of July 3, evacuating the town of Gettysburg . The Confederates remained on the battlefield, hoping that Meade would attack, but the cautious Union commander decided against the risk, a decision for which he would later be criticized . Both armies began to collect their remaining wounded and bury some of the dead . A proposal by Lee for a prisoner exchange was rejected by Meade . </P> <P> Lee started his Army of Northern Virginia in motion late the evening of July 4 towards Fairfield and Chambersburg . Cavalry under Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden was entrusted to escort the miles - long wagon train of supplies and wounded men that Lee wanted to take back to Virginia with him, using the route through Cashtown and Hagerstown to Williamsport, Maryland . Meade's army followed, although the pursuit was half - spirited . The recently rain - swollen Potomac trapped Lee's army on the north bank of the river for a time, but when the Union troops finally caught up, the Confederates had forded the river . The rear - guard action at Falling Waters on July 14 added some more names to the long casualty lists, including General Pettigrew, who was mortally wounded . General James Kemper, severely wounded during Pickett's charge, was captured during Lee's retreat . </P>

After the battle of gettysburg the south did what