The Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point in the American Civil War, was fought during the first three days of July 1863. A key battle charge that saved the Union Army occurred earlier in the battle, and it was led by Patrick Henry O’Rorke. West Point was in reality a secular temple of engineering and "the art of war." There were other unsung Irish heroes at Gettysburg even more significant than O'Rorke. The game of military chess had been played many times in the classrooms and Napoleon Seminar at West Point.