Essay On The Battle Of Gettysburg

Did you know that ten roads led into Gettysburg? Which is the main reason that the battle was fought there. ("Battle of Gettysburg Facts." Battle of Gettysburg Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.) The Battle of Gettysburg was a significant battle in the Civil War. On July 3rd, 1863 in Gettysburg Pennsylvania, the Battle of Gettysburg began. The battle was between the Confederacy and the Union, they were fighting North against South. The South left the states because they felt that the government was too powerful and that the states didn't have enough power. The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the war because of the geography, casualties, and the Gettysburg Address.

bloody and costly years for both sides we come to the date of July 1,

     On the third and final day of the battle, General Lee needed a Confederate victory.

The Battle of Gettysburg was truly one of the bloodiest battles, but was a major turning point in the Civil War, which made sure of the

General Lee’s Army had been in mainly defensive positions and he wanted to surround Washington, because he believed if he could capture it then he could end the war. General Lee had also begun reorganizing his Army and in doing so, he gave a great unbalance to the experience in his command positions. Of the forty-nine command positions 14 on them were in experienced in the position in which they held. The planning required at the corps level was remarkable different from the planning required at the division level. In addition, the planning at the

Lee had outlined his whole strategy and told of the troubles the confederacy was having in Special Order 191, he copied and sent it out to all commanders. Lee also sent these orders to one of his division commanders that had been detached. On September 13, 1862 a Union corporal found these orders wrapped in three cigars at an abandoned Confederate camp near Frederick. These orders were quickly delivered to McClellan and this gave him a unique opportunity. Despite this knowledge McClellan still believed that Lee’s troops outnumbered his own. Word of this reached Lee and he dispatched the long street corps to perform damage control at south mountain. Lee ordered the remainder of his troops to concentrate near the Potomac on a little crossroads on Antietam Creek, In the town of Sharpsburg#.

The Battle of Gettysburg was the most important battle of the civil war. The Battle of Gettysburg would become the climatic conclusion for the Confederated that fought in the Civil War. What transpired in the three days of this battle has significantly influenced today’s society. Because of this battle, the Union gained their lead on the Confederate forces and won the civil war, which protected the county from falling apart and completing their ultimate goal. This goal was to preserve the Union. As Abe Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. What if the following events either did not happen or were twisted into different outcomes? Would our country be as it is today?

Lee formed a consequential decision that he would invade Maryland and force the Union army to leave northern Virginia. Diminishing the pressure of the Confederate Capital along with hopefully securing the support from Great Britain and France. Lee pushed his ragged, barefoot, and famished troops north into western Maryland for those and other reasons. “ Since entering Maryland the men had lived off ripened corn and green apples. The heat, the diet, and the consequential onset illnesses had left many good men strewn along the roadside” one Confederate officer wrote.

Lee's Army was not very prepared for the battle with two of its three Corps having new commanders appointed. Lee did not do much to prepare these new commanders as they were

The significance of the Battle of Gettysburg was the fact General Lee stepped and failed to invade the Northern theatre in a move designed to take pressure off of Virginia and possibly earn a victory that could win the Civil War. The failure of this strategy meant the South had lost the battle. The kids was demoralizing, Confederates would never again attempt to

Several times during the course of the war, Jackson presented this plan to Lee and Davis, but each time the letter came back saying he was to defend Richmond. Lee's plan was once again one for glory, seeming to know that men would die, he chose to thrust himself into the spotlight and attack the Union on their own soil. Jackson's plan was one of strategy, he wanted to force the opponents hand and make them give in.

Although Lee was mistaken in his assessment of the tactical leader of Union forces on July 1, he understood the operational leader, McClellan, very well. Throughout the entire Peninsular Campaign, McClellan had been easily fooled into believing that the Confederate army was considerably larger than its actual size. Throughout the Seven Days Campaign, he had been repeatedly driven back, from the threshold of the Confederate capital to the coast of Virginia, despite any substantial victories by the Southern forces. He would fight a battle to a standstill or even a Confederate defeat but would fall back once the battle was complete. (Longstreet, 398) In short, he was intimidated by Lee's aggressiveness.

74). The Confederate troops had taken significant casualties, specifically in the officer ranks, and Lee sought to motivate them as he took command. He reminded them to “maintain the ancient fame of the Army of Northern Virginia and the reputation of its general and to conquer or die in the approaching contest” (Davis, 1956, p. 77). It was his actions here, and subsequent victories in June, that later became known as the Seven Days. Due to his ferocity in leadership, and several hard won battles, he routed the Union and drove their troops back towards Washington, firmly establishing his reputation among Union leadership as a fierce opponent (Rhea, 1994, p.

In late June 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia passed through western Maryland and invaded Pennsylvania. General Lee believed that by invading the North, he could draw the Union Army of the Potomac away from their defenses and force them to come after him. He also assumed the people of the North would be so demoralized if the Union were to lose another major battle, especially if it was fought on Northern soil, that President Abraham Lincoln would be forced to negotiate a settlement of the Civil War. On 01 July 1863, then Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, and his 20th Maine received word to begin movement to

An interesting turn of events would soon favor the Federal Army as General J.E.B. Stuart and his cavalry were north and east of Gettysburg causing a lot of fear in the North but consequently were not performing adequate reconnaissance, the result was that General Lee did not know where General Meade and the Army of the Potomac were or what their strength was (Freeman, 147). When Confederate General Henry Heth moved into