Battle of Gettysburg

After Confederate attacks on both Union flanks had failed the day and night before, Lee was determined to strike the Union center on the third day. On the night of July 2, General Meade correctly predicted at a council of war that Lee would try an attack on his lines in the center the following morning.

The infantry assault was preceded by a massive artillery bombardment that was meant to soften up the Union defense and silence its artillery, but it was largely ineffective. Approximately 12,500 men in nine infantry brigades advanced over open fields for three quarters of a mile under heavy Union artillery and rifle fire. Although some Confederates were able to breach the stone wall that shielded many of the Union defenders, they could not maintain their hold and were repulsed with over 50% casualties, ending the battle and Lee's campaign into Pennsylvania. When asked, years afterward, why his charge at Gettysburg failed, General Pickett said: "I've always thought the Yankees had something to do with it."

Johnny Reb has also been viewed as a personification of the Confederate States of America. As the country only existed for a few years, during the American Civil War of the 1860s, the image of Johnny Reb was not as formalized and stylized as that of Uncle Sam, another well-known national personification. As some people feel that the Confederate States of America was never recognized as a legitimate country, they dispute the characterization of Johnny Reb as a "national personification".