The Battle of Gettysburg: The Turning Point of the Civil War

The three day battle was action packed from start to finish. It all started at about 5:30 am, with a single shot fired over Marsh Creek. After a single shot, all hell broke loose. The Union suffered important losses, most notably the loss of General Reynolds. General Lee arrived on the battlefield near noon, after receiving word of the battle. A single Confederate division drove back two Union brigades, who retreated to Cemetery Hill. General Lee decided to attack the Union soldiers at Cemetery Hill to prohibit reinforcements. General Ewell declined the option to attack, and the first day of battle came to an end. Meanwhile, the Union gathered reinforcements as General Lee feared.

The Civil War, composed of the Union run by numerous generals replacing one another, and the Confederacy lead by Robert E. Lee, was and still is one of the most gruesome wars in American History, and the Battle of Gettysburg is considered by most as an incredible turning point of the war. This is due to how the Union brought down the Confederacy’s winning streak, and gave the Confederacy a huge blow to their manpower, supplies, and overall strength to win (Battle of Gettysburg, 1). Robert E. Lee, though a great general throughout the Civil War, was a failure during the Battle Gettysburg because he was not able to get his men to their jobs done in time. Another reason he was a failure was because of his plan to attack again on July 3rd which

He therefore ordered an all out assault at the heart of the Union lines hoping to break them with one massive attack. The plan was for artillery to open fire and break down the Union soldiers and then follow the barrage immediately with Pickett’s Charge. Pickett’s Charge was the name given to the frontal assault of the Union lines. After the Confederate artillery onslaught began, the Union artillery did not respond for about twenty minutes because they wanted to conserve ammunition for an anticipated assault. When the Confederates began the assault, it slowly progressed forward and finally reached the Union lines only to be stopped without any further progress.

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought by the largest number of soldiers, totaling 172,000 young men (“American Civil War”). During the Civil War, our nation was divided by the North (Union Army) and the South (Confederate Army) for opposing viewpoints on slavery and states’ rights. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought over three long, arduous days. The soldiers struggled under their respected generals in a 25 mile battle zone (“American Civil War”). This battle was a triumphant victory and a heart-wrenching loss for the troops of the Yankee North and Rebel South. The complexity of the Battle of Gettysburg brought together two fronts whose decisions and commitment would determine its outcome.

This is a brief thought of the events that came to unfold. Some say that Gettysburg was the battle that stopped the confederate advance to the north. In addition, that Lee only wanted to take the battle out the state of Virginia that had been hit rather hard by the unions Army . In this review of the Battle of Gettysburg, we will discuss the key events that people believed that allowed the Union Armies to cause the retrograde actions of the confederate forces. In addition, what each side wished to accomplish. And how the wished to accomplish these tasked the imagined

The three-day Battle of Gettysburg, starting on July 1st in 1863, would be known to be one of the most memorable and important battles in history. It would become the major outcome of the Civil War. The day of the outburst of the Battle of Gettysburg was a hot humid day on the first of July. It was between two sides. One side was the Union, which was the Army of Potomac Commanded by General George G. Meade, along with other notable commanders such as John F Reynolds, Winfield Scott Hancock, Daniel E. Sickles, George Sykes, John Sedgwick, Oliver O. Howard, Henry W. Slocum, and Alfred Pleasonton (“Battle of Gettysburg,” 2016). The other side was the Confederate Soldiers called the Army of Northern Virginia who was commanded by General Robert E. Lee, along with other notable commanders as well, which were James Longstreet, Richard S. Ewell, A. P. Hill, and J.E.B. Stuart (“Battle of Gettysburg,” 2016). Between these two sides, the Army of Potomac had a great advantage with 93,700 men and 372 guns, while the Army of Northern Virginia were outmanned and outgunned with only 70,100 men and 280 guns. The Army of Potomac’s mission was to defeat the Army of Northern Virginia as well as to make sure Washington, D.C. remained safe. It may seem like the Army of Potomac would be the clear winner at the Battle of Gettysburg yet the Army of Northern Virginia had a strategy that would help to attempt to beat the Union which was to go on the aggression and confront them. This would

The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the American Civil war. General Robert E. Lee was the commanding officer of the Confederate army. During the battle of Gettysburg Lee’s military strategy was to fight offensive. Lee’s goal during the battle was to seize the high ground and out last the union army. The Union army had outnumbered the Confederate soldiers. General Lee’s first hand man was General James Longstreet. Longstreet believes the new technology in warfare would make attacking the Union army bloody for the Confederate soldiers. Longstreet suggests to Lee that defensive warfare tactics such as using trenches and rocks for cover and concealment would be the Confederacy’s best fighting chance. Lee denies Longstreet’s ideas and continued with the plan to fight out in the open and attack the enemies head on. After three days of fighting the Confederate army lost the battle at Gettysburg. Lee’s tactical approaches that led to this lost included the lack of communication and the absence of and with General J.E.B Stuart, Lee’s continuation to pursue offensive attacks and Pickett’s charge.

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?

The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the American Civil War because the Confederate morale declined while the Union’s dramatically increased. “I have seen and heard

The confederates and the unions right flank fought two battles Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill. The second day of the three day battle was the largest and most costly. The union took the hills and made the shape of a fish hook. When the confederates marched up a hill the union would push the confederates down the hill like a door. Laurence Chamberlain led the union into the scrimmage at Little Round Top. He led the union in a bayonet charge and he almost died twice. He was a great general. That day there was over sixteen thousand casualties. That was the second day of the

July 1, 1863, the bloodiest battle on American soil was just beginning, this battle would be known as The Battle of Gettysburg. This three day battle commenced with Confederate attack led by General Robert E. Lee, on the north of the small town of Gettysburg. Union President, Abraham Lincoln had appointed George Meade as Union commander to counter coming attacks in Gettysburg. This battle would involve other Confederate attacks, ending with a final Union blow on July 3. The final attack by the Union was nicknamed as “Pickett's Charge”. This final Union charge led to a Confederate retreat, most likely because the Confederates lost many of their soldiers. This begs the question: Why Was

Throughout the Civil War, a progression of battles were fought amongst the Union and Confederate armies. The Union won battles and gained territory and the Confederates also won battles and gained territory. Throughout the war, it seemed as if the Confederate army was going to prevail, however, the Battle of Gettysburg soon changed this notion. The turning point, or when the expected outcome changes, occurred during the Battle of Gettysburg when it seemed Union troops began to prevail. The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point in the war because of the devastation to the Confederate troops, the depletion of morale in the south, and the elevation of morale in the north.

The Battle of Gettysburg's resulted in a total count of “51,000 soldiers either being killed, wounded, captured, or missing in the three-day battle” (“Gettysburg”). The battle took place in Pennsylvania because Confederate General Robert E. Lee was coming from a victory at Chancellorsville. After this win Lee wanted to invade the north in order to take pressure off of the south, threaten northern cities, and subsequently diminish the north's spirit. His invasion lead Union General George Gordon Meade to stay in between Lee and Washington thus setting the stage for the battle of Gettysburg. It was one of the biggest turning points for the Union in the Civil War because the Union managed to win due to military strategies, and inflict heavy casualties (“Gettysburg”).

The first day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War took place on July 1, 1863.

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