Gettysburg Turning Point

     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 weather on the day of battle was hot, in the mid 80’s to low 90’s, and humid. The heat had a negative effect on Union soldiers. The Union Army set out at 2 a.m. to avoid engaging in battle during the hottest part of the day. Many of these Soldiers were untrained in road marches and lacked discipline. They would break ranks to find water, rest or collect blackberries. For these reasons they reached Bull Run three hours late and consequently ended up fighting well into the day. Both sides went into the battle with high morale. They believed that over the course of a few days they would be victorious and the war would be won in this one battle. The terrain of the Battle was mostly rolling country side. Bull Run River was running through the battlefield, which is what the battle was named after. Soldiers had to

This most important Civil War Battle occurred over three summer days, July 1 - July 3 1863, around the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It began as not that big of a deal but by the time it ended, there were 160,000 Americans. Before the battle, a lot major cities in the North such as Philadelphia, Baltimore and even Washington D.C, were under threat of attack from General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia which had crossed the Potomac River and marched into Pennsylvania. The Union Army of the Potomac under its new commander, General George G. Meade, marched to intercept Lee. ( Jeffry D. Wert)

involved the largest number of casualties (around 23,049 in the Union army and around 28,063

Lee formed a consequential decision that he would invade Maryland and force the Union army to leave northern Virginia. Diminishing the pressure of the Confederate Capital along with hopefully securing the support from Great Britain and France. Lee pushed his ragged, barefoot, and famished troops north into western Maryland for those and other reasons. “ Since entering Maryland the men had lived off ripened corn and green apples. The heat, the diet, and the consequential onset illnesses had left many good men strewn along the roadside” one Confederate officer wrote.

First day, took place on July 1, 1863, on the borders of Gettysburg, which the Union army under Gen. J. Buford started fight against two Confederate divisions led by Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill, and later two Union, 1st and 11th Corps arrived for reinforcement under Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds, who was killed later. The Confederate army strongly positioned on the south and the east of the Gettysburg, as a shape of “Fishhook”. Unfortunately, “The first day's fighting came to an end after vicious back-and-forth attacks, with the Union securing its strongest defenses at a

For the Confederate side they have President Jefferson Davis, General Joseph Johnston, General Joseph Wheeler, and General John B. Hood. President Davis role was to support the South’s way of life and saw after all military operations. General Johnston was in charge of the Army of Tennessee and Polk’s Army of Mississippi, which he was the first to take contact with Sherman’s forces. General Wheeler, who fought along side Johnston, was in charge of 65,000 cavalry men. Finally, there was General Hood who took charge of Johnston’s armies when he was relieved later on.

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

A string of confederate pushes had forced the Union east to McPherson Ridge. Through out the whole day the fighting between the North and the South just continued to intensify. By the end of the day, the North had been hard fought by the South and gave up a few high grounds which meant they had to retreat to the high ground south of cemetery hill, where there was another Union division left in reserve. The second day brought on even more bloodshed. As the the fighting brought itself to Plum run valley, Meade was forced to send in 20,000 reinforcements.

This can easily be seen as the turning point of the war and was the most costly battle against General Lee. Throughout the battle on the third day they tried to take Culp Hill, but try as they might they were only beaten back and then beaten back again. A quiet then came over the battlefield as everyone regrouped and restrategized. That is when Lee’s hubris struck one final time. He demanded that General Pickett march fifteen thousand men to charge and try to take Cemetery Ridge at last. Longstreet once again found this to be completely insane and felt that this would only lead the men to slaughter, but the march to battle would go forward regardless. On the other side, some of the Union troops had been taken off of Cemetery Ridge, because they thought Lee would attack from the south and now on the ridge there were only 5,750 infantrymen stretched out along the half-mile front to face the 15,000 man Confederate

The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the most famous battles of the Civil War. The battle was fought from July 1 to July 3 near Gettysburg. The famous battle was between Robert Lee and his Northern Virginia Army and George Meade and the North's Army of the Potomac, The Union. The original leader of the Army of the Potomac was General Joseph Hooker, but President Lincoln relieved Hooker of his duties and named Meade the new General of the Army. Many soldiers died from both sides during this battle and that is the reason it is known as one of the bloodiest battles. The Battle of Gettysburg was General Robert Lee's second attempt at invading the North and there was a definite aftermath to this battle.

Did you know the Battle of Gettysburg was the biggest battle ever fought in North America? There were 160,000 men that fought in the battle. The Union Army was led by Major General Gordon Meade and had had 85,000 men. The Confederate Army was led by General Robert Lee had 75,000. men. The battle occurred the first three days in July of 1863. After the Confederate Army won the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia in May of 1863, General Lee decided to attack the Union Army in the North. This was his second attack in the North. General Lee led the Confederate Army to the North to fight to pressure Abraham Lincoln to end the war. If he could not win the war, then he wanted to form an alliance with England and France. General Lee also wanted to move the battle away from Virginia during the farmers’ growing season.

The battles of the Civil War affected the public emotionally, physically and economically. The battle of Gettysburg was a huge event which motivated the Union to finish the war. The country itself was broken. The women were mourning, the children were dying, and the

“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.

One of the most famous battle of the civil war was the battle of Gettysburg the three day battle included more the 150,000 troops and more then 50,000 casualties with the union finally winning the battle. When this battle was over president Lincoln made one of the most famous speeches in history The Gettysburg Address it was to dedicate the battlefield as a cemetery. After losing to battles to Lee the victory at Gettysburg was a turning point for the union forces. This lead to another victory for the Union when the took the city of Vicksburg a vital southern city. The south was slowly losing moral.