During the battle of gettysburg, why was pickett's charge unsuccessful? a. the soldiers in the south greatly outnumbered those in the north. b. the south had more weapons and ammunition than the south. c. the southern soldiers were suffering from an outbreak of smallpox that spread throughout the army. d. the southern soldiers had to travel over a mile of open ground.

D is the closest to the correct (or all encompassing) reason for the failure of Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Rebel soldiers had to travel across a field that had a variety of fences (think farmland) on it. This meant that there were a number of funnel points where the Union soldiers could direct the fire, creating kill zones.

Additionally, the Rebel artillery was not very good and did not soften the Union lines to enable the Rebel soldiers to break through upon making it across the farm fields.

is this supposed to be a question

b. the american revolution