Gettysburg,Readdressed - NYTimes.com The Battle of Gettysburg, a turning point in the Civil War, was fought in July 1863 over three days of unrelenting heat, smoke and death. "The ground was soaked with the blood of as brave men as ever fell on the red field of battle," a Confederate colonel recalled. This month, 150 years later, thousands gathered to watch re-enactments of the battle, including Pickett's Charge, a disastrous move for the Confederates, seen on the following pages. Allen Baldwin, who played the role of the Union commander, says everything was carefully scripted and rehearsed. The characters who "died" were chosen in advance, some based on their birth month, and had to stay dead for the battle's duration, sometimes as long as an hour. Re-enactments are intense experiences, Baldwin says. Guys are paying honor to their ancestors, and there's a lot of emotion. Visitors to Gettysburg For the sesquicentennial celebration in July: 55,000 Soldiers Who fought in Gettysburg in 1863: 160,000 Casualties: 51,000 Re-Enactors: 11,000