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Gettysburg Dbq Research Paper

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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

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