If the first day at Gettysburg had been a near calamity for the Union, it had proved to be a time of lost opportunities for Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Lee knew that if his troops were to defeat a numerically stronger enemy, the second day's fight would require strategic enterprise and tactical boldness. Audacity in the face of extreme pressure was a hallmark of Lee's generalship, and, rising from a fitful sleep an hour before dawn, he set about implementing a daring offensive on July 2, 1863.