Gettysburg: Turning Point Of The War Essay

The challenges that the Union and the Confederacy faced during the Civil War were very different. Critical weaknesses that seemed unfit for war, plagued the opposing American forces, and would serve to be a continuous obstacle that would need to be conquered by patriotism of the people, for their opposing views. To allow for both sides to be competitive, the efforts put forth had to mold to the varied needs of the armies by both the civilian population and their militaries. To the people in the south the similarity to the colonists in the Revolutionary War, was assimilated to their separatist cause in the Civil War and would be their drive to compete with the dominating Northern states. This mindset started the Confederacy in the Civil

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

Despite the lack of economic and political power, the South was also at a loss of collective will. Certainly the course of the war, the military events, had a lot to do with the loss of will. The Southerners hoped that they would win spectacular victories on Northern soil, and that they would be able to exhaust the will of the Northern people, and they failed to do so. The battle of Gettysburg with the largest number of casualties is often described as the war’s turning point. The Union defeated attacks lead by Confederate General Robert E. Lee, ending Lee's invasion of the North. With regard to military turning points, the outcome of the war also became inevitable in November 1864 with the reelection of Lincoln and the utter determination to see the things through, and the finding of leader U.S. Grant, the man to

     The Battle of Gettysburg was the most decisive battle for the North, and it lasted for a total of three days. It began on July 1 and ended on July 3, 1863. The Confederacy was going on the offensive and was beginning to venture into Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington D.C. They encountered Union troops as they advanced towards Harrisburg where they planned to cut off Union supply lines and to steal provisions that they needed. The Battle of Gettysburg became the bloodiest multi-day battle ever fought in United States history. At the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union claimed victory, and they would use this psychological advantage throughout the rest of the Civil War.

What comes to mind when you hear the words “The Battle of Gettysburg”? To me, I think of the event itself. The United States was two years into the Civil War, when the bloody battle in Pennsylvania broke out. General Lee, also known as the general of the Confederate army, plotted an attack at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle started on July 1st, 1863 and continued on for 3 straight days. In just those 3 days, it turned the Civil War around. A turning point is an action or event that alters the outcome of a situation. Why was the Battle of Gettysburg a turning point? The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point for three reasons; geographic advantage, the many losses and

The Gettysburg Battle was known as the bloodiest battle during the Civil War, as millions of lives were lost on both sides of the nation. In 1863 the Confederate and Union armies, both with 75,000 men, marched to face each other. General Robert E. Lee was the General who commanded the Confederate Army, and George Meade was appointed on June 27 as the new Union army general. On June 30, the Union and the Confederate army readied themselves for the battle ahead.(Background Essay) Geography, casualties, and the morales aided to the belief that then Battle of Gettysburg was a time when the tide shifted in favor of the North.

     The battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the bloody war between the states in favor of the north. The battle over states rights, mainly the right to keep slaves, had finally peaked in July of 1863.

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?

“Death created the modern American union, not just by ensuring national survival, but by shaping enduring national structures and commitments. The work of death was Civil War America 's most fundamental and most demanding undertaking”— Drew Gilpin Faust. Death in the Civil War was indeed a principle in creating the America we know and love today. This was the bloodiest war in United States military history. Within the war was the Battle of Gettysburg, a battle that was engulfed in massive suffering and loss of life. July first through the third 1863, A rural town in the eastern United States, Gettysburg Pennsylvania, is host to the largest, most fierce, battle ever to occur on American soil. At the start, Rumors were circulating that Lee was marching his army over the Potomac river and into southern Pennsylvania. Eventually, solid military intelligence confirmed this, and with an equally sized army, under the command of Gen. George G. Meade, the Union began on a collision course with the confederate army, and so began the Battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg was a turning point because, the south’s morale declined while the north’s increased; northern casualties were lower than the south’s; and the north gained a geographical advantage from the battle.

Jim Murphy wrote a book called the Long Road To Gettysburg. It is a nonfiction book. It has 109 pages. The two main characters are General Robert E. Lee for the South and General Meade for the North. Other minor characters include General Joseph Hooker of the North and General John Dooley of the South. This book teaches you the Horrors of Gettysburg. The theme is violence is never the answer.

Gettysburg was a major victory for the Union because of the amount of Confederate losses. “20,000 - 25,000” (Document B). This was a major victory for the Union because the Confederacy had so many deaths compared to the Union’s 23,040 deaths. This took a toll on the South because they don’t have as many people to draft into the war as the North does. Therefore, they can’t replenish their troops as fast as the Union can.

The Confederates began with a rough start anyways, their army was way smaller than the Union and percentage wise, the Confederates had more casualties than the Union. (Doc B) In that same letter from General Lee to President Davis, Lee says, “General Barksdale is killed. Generals Garnett and Armistead are missing… Generals Pender and Trimble are wounded in the leg, General Hood in the arm, and General Heth slightly in the head. General Kemper, it is feared, is mortally wounded. Our losses embrace many other valuable officers and men.” (Doc C) This shows that many high ranked people, such as generals, were lost in the Confederate Army which makes it even harder to fight. (Doc C) Finally, the Confederates had taken a very big risk when they invaded the Union. In Document A, it shows that the Confederates were far into Union territory and due to these facts, it would be hard to retreat from an enemy’s territory after such a severe battle. The Union army could risk losing more men, while the Confederate Army had weakened, the Union Army was determined to finish this war, once and for all, and bring the nation back

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

The Battle of Gettysburg, within the writings of Michael Shaara, is written in a narrative form retelling the events of the battle giving the reader the ability to visualize each scene as it unfolded in the past. The Battle of Gettysburg can be defined as the turning event during the Civil War. One of the bloodiest battles fought on American soil, Shaara explains the Battle of Gettysburg through the brutality the war brought. The Confederates fought on the offensive side and the Union defended the high ground. The foretelling of these events is told through the eyes and minds of the Generals, Colonels, and soldiers. In The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara explains in detail the plans, the execution of those plans, and how the soldiers reacted during each day. Shaara explains the means to which men will justify their actions during war to use tactics that show glory and how the idea of winning leads to a blindness towards other possibilities. He justifies this claim by giving an insight into the feelings and justification for the actions between the Union and the Confederates, the emotions of the Generals and Colonels to emphasize the reality of war, and the impact an offensive assault from the Confederates had on the morale of the Confederate and Union armies.

Gettysburg was fought during the Civil War between the Union Army of the Potomac led by General Meade, and the Confederate Army commanded by General R.E. Lee. The battle only was waged over the course of three days, but it would prove to be the most costly of the entire Civil War. In this paper, we will show how the Confederacy failed to identify certain principles of war, which lead them to incorrectly conduct a center of gravity and critical vulnerability analysis on the Union. Because of this failure, the Confederacy opened the door for the Union to score a decisive victory.