Monday, December 9, 2013

The Battle of Gettysburg

As the name suggests it the Battle of Gettysburg took place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during July 1, 1863 till July 3,1863. The battle took place during the American Civil War, General Robert E. Lee let the Confederate forces while General George G. Meade led Union forces. It was on July 1 when both forces made contact and Confederates took the lead with Union defenders backed from Gettysburg to Cemetery Hill. The second day, Lee attacked the sides of the Union military formation which resulted in severe fighting. The area included Devil's Den, East Cemetery Hill, Little Round Top, Culp's Hill, the Wheatfield, and Peach Orchard. The Southerners were able to gain land but were unable to remove the Union army. On the third day the Union regained lost ground at Culp's Hill. After Lee's failed attempt he commanded a massive artillery bombardment then fired cannons in which the Union did not respond to the attack until several minutes later.  Lee attacked Cemetery Ridge, the Union center, but was left with only losses known as Pickett's Charge. After failed attempts to attack the flanks Meade predicted he would attack the center. Lee failed in his second attempt to invade the North. This resulted in a Union victory. Union casualties were 23,000 while Confederate casualties where 28,000. The battle can be described to be in the East because it was near the Atlantic Ocean.

The Union reacted to the victory enthusiastically; however, that soon disappeared as they realized Lee's army escaped destruction and the war would continue. In the South, the Confederates had lost both politically and militarily. With the Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln honored the fallen and refined the purpose of the war. The Battle of Gettysburg became known as one of the bloodies battles of the Civil War because of its number of casualties. This battle became known as the turning point because the North had gained advantage over the Confederate States.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTcaRk0ZRJ4
 



 

8 comments:

  1. Even though one of the Confederate states' advantage was strong leaders such as Robert E. Lee, not even his leadership was able to lead them to win this battle. However, they were able to escape while the Union celebrated.

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  2. There was many men that had died in this battle; however, this was a turning point for the North due to the fact that they had gained land and resources over the Confederate States (South).

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  3. Due to the fact that General Lee's second attempt to invade the North failed, the Union turned out to get the victory.

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  4. The Battle of Antietam was also a battle against Lee, and he lost as well.

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  5. The Battle of Gettysburg is by far the costliest battle of the Civil War but not necessarily the largest.

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  6. The Battle of Gettysburg is by far the costliest battle of the Civil War but not necessarily the largest.

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  7. There were about 50,000 casualties from both the Union and Confederate sides in such a short period.

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  8. THis battle demons why this war was such a deadly war.

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