Why was the Battle of Gettysburg a Turning Point?
(May 8, 2013
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
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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. The change in morale was a reason why the Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point. In Doc C, General Lee wrote a letter to the president; President Jefferson Davis. He describes his feelings after the tiring battle and states that he should resign from being the general because of the awful failure in Pennsylvania. In Lee’s letter, it’s obvious that his morale has been greatly diminished. This is probably because he’s won every battle, expect Gettysburg and now the Confederacy’s winning streak has ended. When Davis writes back, he tells General Lee that he’s still going to be General. In my textbook, it’s a fact that, for the first two years of the war, the North got several blows from the South. General Lee never lost one
In the Union there were 23,040 casualties, 3,155 of these men were killed, 14,530 men were wounded, During the Battle of Gettysburg 27% of the Union army had casualties. Also in the Battle of Gettysburg the Confederate army had 30% to 34% total casualties(Document B). In addition the Confederacy had 2600 to 4500 deaths, during the battle they also had 12800 wounded, and 5,250 missing men.
In the battle of Gettysburg, strategies were an important factor. Both of the sides had very good strategies. The union’s plan was to attack the confederates out of nowhere. The south’s plan was to defend using their land. There were many advantages and disadvantages for both the union and the confederacy. The unions advantages were that they had better leadership, access to supplies because of their factories, and a bigger population. Their disadvantages were that they in unknown territory, and high pressure. The confederates advantages were home court advantage, they had a skilled army, and they had good terrain to help them. Their disadvantages were that they had a smaller population and they had lots of land to cover. In this battle the union won.
bloody and costly years for both sides we come to the date of July 1,
Gettysburg casualties was a major turning point because of how many people died and how that affected their armies. As stated in the document over 48,000 people were killed in all Gettysburg. With 23,040 from Union and 20,000-25,000 from Confederate. In document B it tells you that the total army size for Union was 918,000 and for Confederate 278,000. The Confederate was hurt most by the losses because their army was smaller. According to the text there were three types of casualties , killed, wounded and missing ;The highest being wounded. Gettysburg casualties played a huge part in the total outcome.
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
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.
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 truly one of the bloodiest battles, but was a major turning point in the Civil War, which made sure of the
The Battle of Gettysburg was a short lived battle with tremendously tragic amounts of bloodshed and casualties. The physical battle, lasting the short span from July 1st to July 3rd 1863, is considered by many, the most significant and important battle of the American Civil War. Unfortunately what many consider the most significant battle of the American War was also indeed the bloodiest battle fought on American soil. Confidence can be to blame for the outset of this battle and how it began. In May of 1863, the Confederate army leader, Robert E. Lee was fortunate enough in Chancellorsville, Virginia when he and his army claimed the victory against the Army of the Potomac. Lee experienced a high of confidence from the victory, which ultimately
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 significance of the Battle of Gettysburg was the fact General Lee stepped and failed to invade the Northern theatre in a move designed to take pressure off of Virginia and possibly earn a victory that could win the Civil War. The failure of this strategy meant the South had lost the battle. The kids was demoralizing, Confederates would never again attempt to
"The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on." Ulysses S. Grant.
Gettysburg was a turning point because the North gained more confidence than they had before about winning and we’re becoming stronger. According to Document B (Battle of Gettysburg Data), the confederates had a higher percent of casualties than the North. The North was sitting at about 27% and the south was sitting at about 30% - 35%.
The Battle of Gettysburg was a huge war in a little town. It changed the course of the Civil War and can be said and supported as the “turning point” in the war as well. As the red hot Confederate troops, fresh off of seven straight victories, and the torn apart Union army, go at it in Gettysburg, the ending is unbelievable, as the Union pull away with the victory. Why was Gettysburg a turning point though? There are many great reasons, that can be supported with proof and evidence. Three main reasons stick out, though: the Union’s surprisingly less amount of casualties, the morale boost of the Union and the decrease of the Confederacy, and the Union finally changed from defense to offense at the right time. Due to these three reasons, The
It is our duty, as soon to be Second Lieutenants in the Army, to learn from history. Learning from mistakes in the past is necessary to understand the responsibilities we will soon have. The Battle of Gettysburg shows prime examples of the nine principles of war: Objective, Offensive, Mass, Economy of Force, Maneuver, Unity of Command, Security, Surprise and Simplicity. In the military today, we are overwhelmingly blessed with every asset that we have including technology and monetary resources the list could go on forever but the most invaluable asset is history. Although all nine principles of war are pertinent to success on the battlefield, only five will be discussed in this analysis.