James Pettit returned to the 64th in December 1862. He was promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant of Company "C" on December 30, 1862. In February he became an adjutant, assisting the commanding officer of his regiment with administrative affairs. His letters during this period are written on the official army forms he used in performing his daily duties.

After McClellan was fired, Lincoln gave General Burnside the task of leading the Army of the Potomac against the talented R.E. Lee. But the defeat at Fredericksburg (December 13-15, 1862) forced Lincoln to change Generals once more and place "Fighting Joe" Hooker in command. Unforntunately Fighting Joe lost his nerve at Chancellorsville ( May 1-4 1863)where Lee once again deafeated the Union forces. Of Chancellorsville James writes:

The third day of battles has pafsed and I am still unharmed. Shortly after I last wrote you quite a heavy battle commenced about the center of our line, our forces making the attack and giving some ground but not accomplishing the object intended ... The slaughter was awful. READ LETTER

In the summer, Lee marched north into Pennsylvania in search of shoes and other provisions for his Army of Nothern Virginia. The Army of the Potomac under General Meade clashed with the rebels in a three day battle at Gettysburg (July 1-3 1863). This move north by Lee, often referred to as the Confederate High Tide, resulted in a defeat for his army and signaled the beginning of the end for the Confederacy.

James fought on July 2 in the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard and on Plum Road. He was wounded, placed in an overburdened field hospital and then sent on a long trek with thousands of other wounded men to a railroad station miles away. Later he wrote a long narrative describing this pivital moment in his life. His tragic account vividly conveys the horrors of war and the experience of the wounded men on both sides of the conflict (see sidebar).