The Battle of Gettysburg: The Bloodiest Battle of the American Civil War

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In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States. Shortly after his election seven states seceded from the Union (United States of America) and formed a new government called the Confederate States of America. By 1861, four more states followed suit (American Civil War, n.d.). In 1861 the Civil War started between the United States (North) and Confederate States (South) governments. Before the war ended in 1865, over 2.4 million soldiers would have worn a uniform and participated in some way to the war effort (American Civil War, n.d.). This huge number of participants would lead to many bloody days and meetings during the span of the war, with the bloodiest of these meetings being the Battle of Gettysburg.
The Battle of Gettysburg kicked off in July 1863 in the town and surrounding area of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (Battle of Gettysburg, n.d.). This marked only the second time the Confederate Army crossed the Mason Dixon line to challenge the Union Army in their backyard (the first resulted in the single bloodiest day in American History) (Welch, 1993). On July 1st, 1863 around 85,000 Union Soldiers coming from the North met 75,000 Confederate Soldiers moving up from the South. Washington D.C. was the target destination of the Confederate Army (Gettysburg, n.d.). These two forces would fight tooth and nail with conventional straight on attacks and some unconventional strategy until the Confederates were defeated on July 3rd, 1863.
From the start of the battle on July 1st to the end of the battle on July 3rd, both sides suffered large numbers of casualties (casualties encompasses dead, injured, and missing). The total amount of casualties for the Union Army came to 23,049. This breaks down to 3,155 killed, anot...

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...he Battle of Gettysburg will always be remembered as the worst part of one of the darkest periods in American history.

References
American Civil War. (n.d.). In History. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from http://history.com/topics/american-civil-war
Gettysburg. (n.d). In Civil War Trust. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg.html?tab=facts
Ten Facts About Gettysburg. (n.d.). In Civil War Trust. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg/assets/ten-facts-about/ten-facts-about-gettysburg.html
The Battle of Gettysburg. (n.d). In Stone Sentinels. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from http://www.gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/Gettysburg_Facts/Gettysburg_Facts.php
Welch, R.F. (1993, July). Battle of Gettysburg. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-gettysburg

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