Todayâs Highlight in History: On July 3, 1775, Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts. On this date: In 1863, the three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops failed to breach Union positions during an assault known as Pickettâs Charge. In 1913, during a 50th anniversary reunion at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Civil War veterans re-enacted Pickettâs Charge, which ended with embraces and handshakes between the former enemies. In 1944, during World War II, Soviet forces recaptured Minsk from the Germans. In 1950, the first carrier strikes of the Korean War took place as the USS Valley Forge and the HMS Triumph sent fighter planes against North Korean targets.