The Battles of Antietam, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg were very significant turning points in the American Civil War because they changed the course of the war. The union won all of those battles which would eventually led to a Union Victory and a Confederate Loss. They were also the bloodiest and costed each side tens of thousands of lives. If the Confederate had won those battles than perhaps they would have won the war. The Battle of Antietam took place in Maryland on September 17, 1862. The Union side led by George B. McClellan had 87,000 soldiers and suffered 12,401 casualties. The Confederate side led by Robert E Lee had 45,000 soldiers and suffered 10,316. The result of this battle was inconclusive and from a military stand point was seen as a draw. However, the Union was able to draw Lee’s forces from Maryland which gave Lincoln the victory to wish he would issue the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation is a very significant document in American History. It made all slaves free in the Southern rebelling states, Lincoln hoped this would cause them to rejoin the Union but they still kept on fighting. …show more content…
The Union side was led by George G. Meade and the Confederates were led by Robert E Lee. The Union side had 93,921 soldiers and suffered 23,049 casualties. The Confederate side had 71,699 soldiers and suffered 28,063 casualties. The Union won and this was the last battle to ever be fought on Union soil. The loss had a huge impact on the Confederates because they lost all hope of ever being recognized as a sovereign nation. It also had a negative impact on their economy. It put the Confederates in a defensive mode and they would never again invade the Union. If they had won this battle, they could’ve surrounded or even conquer the Union’s capital Washington
Both armies suffered about the same losses. The 3 groups that make up the total casualty numbers are the killed, wounded and missing. The North had a total of 23,040 casualties and the South had between 20,000 and 25,000 casualties(Document A). Even though the casualties were about the same, it affected the South way more because the North had a much larger supply of men to replace the casualties, the South didn’t. The North had more than 3 times the size of men as the South. At the end, both sides lost nearly the same amount of men. The North started with thousands of more troops than the South. Therefore, compared to the North, the South was very very small. This evidence shows that the numerous losses was a reason that the Battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point of the Civil War because the South couldn’t afford to take another major loss of men without knowing they were going to lose and that they would not have enough men to
Of that total loss, 12,800 were wounded, 5,250 were missing and 2,600 to 4,500 were killed. At the end, both sides lost nearly the same amount of men. The North started with thousands of more troops than the South. Therefore, compared to the North, the South was the size of a pea. This wouldn’t be a problem for the South if they had enough eligible men to serve, but their numbers, once again, were millions of men short from the North. This evidence shows that the numerous losses were a reason that the Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point because the South couldn’t afford to take another major loss of men without knowing they were going to lose and that they would not have enough men to replace.
It can be debated where exactly the Union was able to claim its victory during the War Between the States. Most people could narrow the turning point in the war to Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The battle of Gettysburg was a very tragic loss for the South, but the battle at Vicksburg was the largest victory for the North. In this lone battle, the Union created an economic problem for the South. The Union Army’s troops, helped by gunboats and river ironclads took control over the Mississippi River. This action virtually split the Confederate territory in two while also seizing control over the South 's main artery of transport. When Vicksburg fell to Union troops on July 4, 1863, the Confederacy lost its last chance to control the Mississippi River.
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
What was so important about the Battle of Gettysburg was that during the Civil War General Lee attempt to penetrate northern boundaries so he could draw the attention away from the Union defenses. He wanted to manipulate his way around the Yankees so he could have a final battle on s ground of his choosing on Northern territory. Lee's Army as well trained as he believed they were could not outdo the Union Army and their numbers.
The Civil war wasn’t going very well for the North, until the battle of Gettysburg. Up until the battle of Gettysburg, the North was slowly losing morale and men. Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest battles, but the greatest win for the North for many important reasons. Gettysburg was a turning point in many reasons, like the North gained their morale back and the South was greatly weakened by men and morale.
Gettysburg was a major victory and turning point in the Civil War for the Union because of the casualties suffered by the Confederacy, the loss of leadership for the Confederacy, and the restored hope for the Union. Gettysburg was a major victory for the Union because of the massive amount of casualties suffered by the Confederacy. “ Total Casualties At Gettysburg: Union; 23,040 , Confederacy; 20,000-25,000. Total Size of Army: Union; 918,000 , Confederacy; 278,000.” (Doc. B) Both sides suffered great losses during the battle, but the Confederacy took a harder blow.
As a result of all the casualties, the Union won the Battle of Antietam. McClellan and Burnsides knew the Confederate’s intensions. McClellan and Burnsides battle Lee to a gridlock. The Union won because they already knew The Confederacy’s plan to overtake the Union. In the Battle of Antietam, no one had an advantage, so therefore anyone could have won. The biggest mistake that was made by the north was that they allowed Lee to escape. This wasn't just like any other battle where the Union cut off the Confederate and suffocated them. This was by far the second bloodiest battle in the civil war. The Union killed 1,550 soldiers, wounded 7,750, and captured 1,020. However, the Confederate, they killed 2,100 Union soldiers, wounded 9,550, and
Confederates win the battle at Fredericksburg against the Union. The battle was December 13th , 1862. The generals were General Robert E. Lee, Ambrose Burnside, William B. Franklin, Stonewall Jackson, and General Longstreet. After the battle of Antietam, Abraham replaces General Mcclellan with General Ambrose Burnside. General Burnside’s men could not cross the Rappahannock without pontoons. This gave confederates enough time to regroup and prepare a counterattack. The confederates had time to get set up to fire upon the Union as they crossed.Longstreet’s artillery keep the Union at bay. The Union had 13,000 casualties. The confederates only had 5,000 casualties. After the battle the Union was pushed back to where it was. You could truly say
One of the first battles of the war was at Bull Run, this was eye opening for both sides, bringing to light the need to be prepared, for the North, and staying prepared after losing deserting soldiers, for the South who won the battle. The Battle of Shiloh, with the win going to the Union due to Ulysses S. Grant’s counterattack, was significant because it confirmed that the war, in the West, would not come to a quick end. The Union win at the Battle of Antietam served as the jumping-off point for the emancipation of the slaves, leading to the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. With the Confederate win at the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Union General Joseph Hooker was injured and replaced by George G. Meade, who took a stand, with his troops, on top of low ridge near Gettysburg, leading to the Battle of Gettysburg. The significance of the Battle of Gettysburg was that it was the northernmost point reached by any substantial Confederate force and was the Confederate’s last real chance of winning the war, but the win went to the Union. The Union victory at the Battle of Vicksburg led to the union control of the Mississippi and the end of foreign help to the
To begin with, the Battle Gettysburg was one of the most brutal and bloody battles in the war. The amount of casualties that both sides suffered was unreal and insanely high. These casualties cost both armies a big chunk of men for the armies but it hurt the Confederate army more. In Document B it states the total casualties for the Union army was 23,040 which was 27% of their army, while for the Confederate army it was between 20,650 and 25,000 men which was 30-34% of their army at Gettysburg. The Confederate army lost almost one-third of their army which attended Gettysburg and this would turn out to have serious consequences for them. The Union army also lost a lot of men, but it wasn't an as big percent of their army. Furthermore, in map B it compares the Gettysburg casualties to the overall troops and men avalaible for both armies. It states the casualties for the Union army which was 23,040 compared to the total size of the army, which was 918,000 and title men of military age which was 6 million. The casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg, don't seem as bad and it doesn't seem like its an as big chunk of the army. The Confederate Army on the other hand suffered major losses. The total size of their army on December, 1863 was 278,000 and that total men of military age was only 1.2 million. The Union had a little under 650,000 more troops than the Confederate
The battle of gettysburg was the turning point of the civil war because the confederates lost a major battle, including generals and soldiers. The confederates has a 30%-34% casualties in the whole army. Thats is an estimate of 20,000-25,000 soldiers dead, missing, or wounded. The battle of gettysburg was in union territory located in pennsylvania. Where there are a few hills that the soldiers could use. On the first day of battle the soldiers use Culp’s Hill. The letters sent by General Robert E. Lee after the battle in July 4th and August 8, 1863 had a tone of relief and in the next letter disappointment.
The Battle of Antietam, or The Battle of Sharpsburg as the South would call it, took place on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek. This was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. The American Civil War was beginning its second year of combat. As the Confederate States of America came close to winning the war, independence was well on its way. At first the result of the battle was controversial, as it could not be determined who won the battle and which army made the most progress towards achieving their strategic goals. The passage of time revealed that, tactically, Antietam was a draw, but that the South lost from a strategic perspective. It was one of the major turning points in the American Civil War. This was due to President Abraham Lincoln using the Union “victory” as political impetus to issue his Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. As a direct result of the Battle of Antietam, the Civil War became more about abolition than the reunification of the states, and made a peaceful reconciliation between the two combatants almost impossible. The ultimate defeat of the Confederacy occurred at the Battle of Antietam, although no one knew it at the time.
The Battle of Gettysburg was the most important battle fought in the American Civil War. This is because this battle was a major turning point in the war between the North and South. The commanding southern General Robert E. Lee was in charge of the southern forces and was slowly working his way up north to try to attack the capital of the North. Every general Lee faced along the way failed to stop him and his army, this spread panic an worry throughout the North. To stop Lee, President Lincoln assigned a new commander George Meade as head of an army to stop Lee once and for all. Both armies led by Lee and Meade were on a collision course and were soon to attack each other on Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was vicious and ferocious with both the Union and Confederate armies suffering major losses in the three day battle. On the final battle day Lee finally retreated and left the North never able to attack the North again. The reason this battle was
On September 17, 1862 a victory from the Union General, George B. McClellan, has turned the tables for the Civil War. At the Battle of Antietam many soldiers from both the Confederates and the Union had lost many. Lots of people think it was the bloodiest battle that was ever fought during the Civil War. This battle happened because as Robert E. Lee was making his way through to north he was confronted by the Union Army at Sharpsburg, Maryland. Throughout the day of September 17 three assaults by the Union Army and the loss of many soldiers had led the battle to end in a draw. However, the Confederate Army retreated giving the Union Army the victory. This battle was very important because it was the victory that President Lincoln needed before