After Gettysburg, Lee retreated back toward which state?

After Gettysburg, Lee retreated back toward Virginia. His Army of Northern Virginia withdrew from Pennsylvania after the Confederate defeat and began moving south toward the Potomac River and its home territory.

The retreat started on July 4, 1863, while Union and Confederate forces still faced one another around Gettysburg. Lee sent much of his wagon train and wounded men along a longer route through Cashtown and Greencastle toward Williamsport, Maryland. The fighting portion of the army used a more direct route through Fairfield.

The retreat was difficult. Heavy rain caused the Potomac River to rise, and the destruction of a pontoon bridge at Falling Waters delayed the Confederate crossing. Union cavalry pursued Lee’s columns, including at Monterey Pass and near Williamsport, but the Army of Northern Virginia eventually crossed into Virginia on July 13–14.

Maryland was part of the route, not Lee’s destination. Tennessee and North Carolina were Confederate states but lay far from the army’s immediate line of retreat after Gettysburg.