After the “Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble Charge” Lee told Pickett he needed to look after his division. Pickett responded “General Lee, I have no division”.
Thanks for the correction, was just thinking about that earlier.
Also, in my post #22 listing of four elements of Lee's July 3 plan, I forgot element #5: Porter Alexander's artillery barrage against Union lines, perhaps the greatest such in history to that time.
It was even claimed that Lee's cannons could be heard as far away as Harrisburg.
So, they should have done terrible harm to Union forces.
But, in the end, as with Lee's other assaults on July 3, his artillery barrage failed to do serious damage.
Bottom line: there were five elements to Lee's plan of attack on July 3.
Had the others succeeded, then "Pickett's charge" would have a very different outcome.
Curiously, until it was all over, Union General Mead expected Lee to succeed, and was busy in the rear organizing his army's retreat!