The Battle of Gettysburg is defined as the turning point in the Civil War and possibly the turning point of American history. After three days of battle in the heat of July, The union army came out victorious. This battle would ultimately lead the Union to win the war. Because of this battle, many Confederate soldiers were killed and the Confederate Army was dying down to its last units of men. Because of this battle, the Confederates didn’t dare to invade the North again and led to a decrease of incentive in the South. Because of this battle, Abraham Lincoln gives the famous Gettysburg Address to rally the Union troops and keep them motivated to keep fighting and win the war. The Battle of Gettysburg is a historic event that will be remembered …show more content…
At the Battle of Gettysburg, a total of 23,040 Union soldiers were either killed, wounded, or missing, and a total of 20,650-25,000 Confederate soldiers were either killed, wounded, or missing.(Document B) For the Union, that was 27% of their army with casualties, but they had more men being drafted into the army everyday to replace the men lost. However, for the Confederates, that was 30-34% of their army with casualties, and unlike the Union army, the Confederates were fighting with all they had meaning that they didn’t have more men still being drafted to replace those lives lost. Because of this, the Confederate army lost a significant amount of their army at the battle that they could not gain back leaving them at an even bigger disadvantage in future battles with the amount of men available to fight. This also led the Confederate army to make a defensive stand instead of an offensive attack in invading the …show more content…
and taken over the Union capital and win the war. But because of the amount of men lost on the Confederate side, the Confederate officials agreed to not invade the North again to avoid any more significant losses. This forced the Confederates to move back down to the South and try and set up a good defense. It was a challenge for the South to make a good defense and regain a good stand against the Union because of the number of men lost, including high ranking officers killed, wounded, or missing in action, and the lack of supplies of the soldiers. This lack of supplies was a result of the Union attacks on the European supply ships sailing towards the South for trade. As a result of these tough times, the motivation and passion to keep fighting was steadily decreasing in the South. This loss of motivation can be felt through a letter written by General Lee to the Confederate President Jefferson Davis where he tries to resign from the army as he fears it is coming to an end. (Document C) Most of the battles from then on ended up in a Union victory which led to General Lee surrendering causing the North to win the war. While the Confederates were trying to recover from the Battle of Gettysburg, this victory gave the North a huge boost in
In the aftermath, the number Civil War deaths surpassed those of the war of 1812, Revolutionary War, World War I and II combined. The south also could have won if they had the victory at the battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of war. If the north had lost historian Eric Niiler, they would lose hope after such a loss both in men and strategic positioning. The north’s best option would then be to propose a peace treaty. In essence, the possibility of a southern victory was certainly
the situation for the soldier. Overall the conditions the confederate soldiers had to thrive through was so grave that during his surrender General Lee requested that General Grant provide his men with “food and... forage” (Grant and Lee). The southern soldiers did have their own advantages: a large number of them had some military background through one means or the other and the South also had their booming cotton production. With the odds stacked against them, the Confederacy believed that they could win because of the determination they possessed and the fact the most of the battles took place in their land just like it was for the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. But unfortunately for the confederates, these advantages were not sufficient
The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was a major battle of the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863 and is studied to be the most important commitment of the American Civil War. A hamlet, whose claim to fame was the convergence of several Pennsylvania roads, was about to become the most recognized battle site in the entire world. The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the turning points in the War Between the States. This battle was very tragic and had an impact on a lot of folk’s lives. There were many confederate and union soldiers that fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and many lives were put at risk. The southern states wanted to break away from the northern states but the north did not want them to. Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general, is widely respected for being a Civil War commander. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern
The Battle of Gettysburg first began as a “gentle” time period, where the marching soldiers from both armies would stop to peacefully gather cherries from the trees they would pass. These “peaceful” events didn’t last for a long period of time before the battle let loose. This battle was between two different types of people. In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 3, 1863, the battle between North and South, Union and Confederates, had began. The South was going against the North, believing the government had too much power, which led them to secede. The Battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point during the American Civil War due to the numbers of casualties, the Gettysburg Address, and the geography of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the civil war because the union got the victory and that gave them a big advantage over the Confederate. In the late summer of 1863 Confederate general, Robert. E. Lee, had a plan to invade union territory. He explained his plan to President Jefferson Davis but, he never liked it. Even though President Jeff never agreed with him, General Lee still went with his plan to invade the north. News spread to the north of Lee’s army. This caused civilians to panic, resident of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania were running to train stations to try and get out of town. President Abraham Lincoln made a change of general , and assigned General George Meade as the new leader of
Gettysburg was the one of the bloodiest attacks in the war. Meade and Lee head to head, it took three days for the attack to end. Lee lost 28,063 men while Meade lost 23,049 men. Abraham Lincoln made a 2 minute speech for the people that fought there and honor the people who died. His speech was fascinating to the North and got them more motivated to fight in the war and also give them hope to win this war. The Gettysburg battle was a very sad day for the South and the North. Abe Lincoln wanted a new general but couldn’t find one, when he finally found one, he choose Ulysses Grant to lead the North into
The first three days of July, 1863, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War was fought. During these three days, around 51,00 soldiers were killed, wounded, missing or captured between the Union and the Confederates troops. This battle was fought because 150,000 men fought for the rights and beliefs they stood for. For the first three days of July, the town of Gettysburg would change from a small town to the most famous ballet site during the Civil War. (Background Essay) Many people classify the battle as the turning point of the Civil War. Three main reasons that people call the Battle of Gettysburg the “turning point” in the Civil War were casualties, geography, and morale.
Prior to the Battle at Gettysburg, Lee deemed his troops could defeat the Army of the Potomac. The Army of Northern Virginia, up to that point, had rarely been defeated in a strategically or tactically. In fact, we could dispute that the Confederate Army under Lee had yet to be beaten in a major battle up to July 3, 1864. Lee's army, nevertheless, firmly believed that if they confronted the allies on equal terms they would triumph. This battle, resulted in many casualties on both sides, confirmed to Lee and his army that the allied army was willing to acquire any number of losses to stop the Confederates, and this realization provided an emotional collapse to the Confederates making this a significant turning point in their belief and
The Battle of Gettysburg occurred July 1-3, 1863 in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and was one of the most significant battles of the American Civil War. Union forces of the North, commanded by Major General George G. Meade met and fought the Confederate forces of the South, commanded by General Robert E. Lee. Many historians believe the battle was a large turning point in the Civil War in favor of the Union (Woodworth, 2008). However, this is disputable. The battle was also significant because it was the bloodiest battle of the war, which resulted in the death of 51,112 Soldiers (The Battle of Gettysburg, The American Civil War, Statistics, n.d.). The Union forces defeated the Confederacy at Gettysburg resulting in the Confederate force’s retreat back to Virginia.
The battle occurred in the state of Pennsylvania during the years of the 1860’s. This battle was a destructive and atrocious battle. But it was also a turning point for Lincoln and his troops. During this battle, there were many soldiers from the Union and the Confederate States that were lost. It is said that, “The Confederates had lost 28,063 men at Gettysburg and the Federals 23,049 (Hassler, Webber).” The turning point of this battle, Lincoln made a state of the union address at the end of the war. This state of the union address was written by Lincoln and known to be the Gettysburg address. The Gettysburg address was delivered at the end of the battle, and “the president’s two-minute, 272-word speech is arguably the most famous and most quoted in United States history (Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg
Extensive efforts have gone into the study of the American Civil War. The reasons for the war and its consequences remain hotly discussed. The Battle of Gettysburg is one of the most famous turning points in history. It was the moment the union was closest to victory. Countless scenarios of alternative history have been won at Gettysburg and thus revolve around allies gaining independence.
With over 51,000 dead and wounded soldiers, the battle of Gettysburg is arguably the costliest and bloodiest battle of the Civil war. Many people have heard and maybe even memorized the Gettysburg Address by President Abraham Lincoln without truly understanding the significance of the battle. To be able to understand why the battle of Gettysburg was so important, one must understand what happened during the three day battle, what it was like for the soldiers to fight in the circumstances of the battle, and the effects of the battle on American History. The battle of Gettysburg is the most well-known and important battle in the Civil War to understand because of the monumental events leading up to and during the actual battle, the weighty significance of the events, and the address by President Lincoln.
The Civil War of the United States was one of the foundations that made this country what it is today. However, it is believed that one battle determined the outcome of this War. If this battle had gone another way, the United States that we know today would not exist as it is. This is the battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg represents a vital turning point during the Civil War because it was the battle with most casualties in the United States, it restored the faith of the Union Army and the confederates never gained back the offensive position resulting in the Union Army gaining the victory of this war.
The article “Gettysburg In The Civil War” from the site www.shmoop.com/civil-war/gettysburg-battle.html describes how Lee knew that the Battle Of Gettysburg was not going to be successful. Gen. Robert E. Lee’s first journey was to crush Northerners will to fight. Lee had planned to march from the Shenandoah Valley with his army to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Despite having a much larger army, Lee was replaced by Gen. George Meade. Furthermore, Lee decided to march into the enemy’s territory without knowing where the Union army was. Not to mention, Lee’s goal was to pick good ground to fight on, but the Union army was closer than he thought. Also, Confederate soldiers had to fight their way back to their lines, after bumping into Northern calvary.
The battle of Gettysburg took place July 1-3, 1863 and has been said to be the turning point of the American Civil War. This war was a battle between the Confederacy and the Union, two countries derived from what we now know as the United States of America. In reality, the Union was just a nickname for the United States at the time, which consisted of 20 free, non-slave states and the 5 border states that supported it. While on the other hand, the Confederacy involved 11 southern slave states that sought to secede from the Union in order to avoid the abolishment of slavery. According to CivilWar.org, the battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, with a count of 51,000 casualties. This was a huge tragedy for America, people began to lose hope and even worse, the will to fight on. Then came along Abraham Lincoln and a speech so important, so necessary, and memorable to this day, the Gettysburg Address.