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Essay On Why Was The Gettysburg A Turning Point

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Why Was Gettysburg Considered a Turning Point in the Civil War?

Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest battles ever fought in American history. A total of over 46,000 soldiers were lost in this battle. Confederate General Robert E. Lee had beaten a Union force twice the size of his at the Battle of Chancellorsville earlier that year in the spring of 1863. But soon after this battle, he went off the radar. This was until rumors began to emerge that he and his army were marching into Pennsylvania. This caused a major panic. At this time, Union President Abraham Lincoln appointed General George Meade as head of the Union army. Meade had little time to prepare, as it was June 27th, just four days from the battle (he did not know this.) The Union Army had been forced to march for the last two …show more content…

The two sides are distinguished by solid and dotted lines, The Confederacy being dotted and the Union being solid. One Confederate line shows the route that General Robert E. Lee took to breach Union territory. This map provides support for the fact that Lee was going on the offensive. This proves that Gettysburg as a turning point in the war by showing Lee broke through to Union …show more content…

Both of these letters were written by Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. But they were written on different dates. The first one was written on July 4th, 1863 and the second one on August 8th, 1863. The first one highlights the losses that Lee suffered at Gettysburg. In the second, Lee requests that President Davis “supply his place.” By this General Lee means that he thinks President Davis should replace him after his terrible loss. These letters suggest that Gettysburg was a turning point in the war because General Robert E. Lee lost his foothold in Union

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