The Battle of Gettysburg
General William T. Sherman put it best when he said "War is Hell"( Foote 1 ). The Civil War was the largest war fought on American soil. Over a million lives were lost and millions more were affected. Billions of dollars were spent by the United States and billions were spent by the Confederate States to fund this war.
Three days were spent in the month of July of 1863 in pure "hell." The largest battle of the Civil War was fought near a small town in Pennsylvania. Over 50,000 lives were lost on battle grounds like Round Top, Little Round Top, the Peach Orchard, and the Devil's Den. Cannons volleyed shots from Cemetery Ridge to Seminary Ridge and back to Cemetery Ridge. It would be here, near this little Pennsylvania town, which the turning point war and was a great defeat for the Confederates in one of the most decisive battles of the Civil War. This paper is to tell of the inaccurate approaches to war by the Confederates and why they lost the battle.
Two months earlier, the Confederates, with the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee, were victorious at the battle of Chancellorsville over the Army of the Potomac under Major General Joseph Hooker. The Federals outnumbered the Confederates two to one. The Army of the Potomac was heading toward the capital of the Confederacy which at this time was Richmond, Virginia. The Confederates turned the Federals around toward the North. Yet this was not a great win for the rebels. Major General Stonewall Jackson was shot and killed by one of his own men by mistake and Lee was still outnumbered by the Federals.
But the situation...
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In 1863, the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was awoken to the beginning of what was to be the turning point of the Civil War for the Union. It began as a small skirmish, but by its end it involved so many Americans to which would become one of the bloodiest battles ever taken place on Unites States soil. The Battle of Gettysburg was not only a turning point in the war.
The famous Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1 to July 3 of 1863 in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle proved to show the most casualties of the entire war and resulted in a crushing defeat of the Confederates. The Battle of Gettysburg is generally considered to be the turning point of the American Civil War. This paper will demonstrate the various reasons as to why the Confederates, led by General Robert E. Lee, were unsuccessful in the Battle of Gettysburg during their invasion of the north. General Lee’s over-confidence, the confederate army’s disorganization and failed coordination, and the shift of intelligence all contributed to the crushing defeat of the confederates at Gettysburg. Following his “flawless” battle at Chancellorsville, General Lee was instilled with absolute confidence in his men and failed to see any deficiencies in his army’s offensive capabilities. Lee was not only over-confident, but also knew less than his opponent during the most crucial stages of the battle. The final contributing factor as to why the confederates were defeated was Alexander’s failure to provide effective artillery bombardment and his failure to advise General Pickett not to make the charge after the ineffective bombardment.
The famous Battle of Gettysburg was a major part of the Civil War. Before the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate army had the advantage. Although the casualty tolls of both armies were relatively close in numbers, the North and the South’s attitudes towards the war completely differed after the Battle of Gettysburg. The events occurring in the months following the historic battle were what gave the Union Troops the greatest advantage leading to their victory at the end of the Civil War.
In the next pages I will explain why Fredericksburg was such a tragedy. Why it was a big morale booster for the South, but a disappointment for the North?
The great success of the raid was however, in forcing Pemberston to detach troops to follow him. Grant also detached a division of Sherman troops to feint an attack North of the city. This causes Pemberston to send troops guarding the Southern approaches to the North. Thus when Grant crossed with all of his forces he was not opposed. Once across instead of attacking Vicksburg, Grant moved eastward towards Jackson the state capital. There, Confederate General Johnson was putting together a forces to oppose Grant. Grant's forces quickly overwhelmed the confederates in Jackson. In four additional battles Grants forces totally decimated Confederate forces. After defeating all of the field armies that he faced, Grant then attacked Vicksburg itself on May 19th.
Some of the causes from the civil war were that the North was more experienced than the South, they also had more resources to fight in battle. The civil war started when Southern states seceded from the Union after the election with Abraham Lincoln. The battle of Gettysburg had a huge impact on the civil war because it was a three-day battle, making it the bloodiest battle from the American Civil War. Also, the south’s Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania enetered in late June 1863.
During the War Between the States there were two large-scale, decisive battles fought near the town of Manassas, Virginia. This will be a guided look at the second of those two occurring at the end of August in 1862. There were several great leaders from both sides of the war involved in the 2nd of Manassas, however I am going to focus on the attitudes, maneuvers, and decisions of the four primary generals; General Robert E. Lee, Major General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Major General John Pope, and Major General George B. McClellan, as it was these men who, ultimately, shaped the actions and outcome of the battle. Following the Seven Days Battle, Maj. Gen. McClellan’s armies were camped on the banks of the James River, 20 miles from Richmond1 (Debelius 1998) and Gen Lee had just taken control of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 12 (Hennessy 2005). Maj. Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson was a subordinate commander in the Army of Northern Virginia and Maj. Gen. Pope was inbound to “assist” Maj. Gen. McClellan in securing the area of Northern Virginia for the Union high command. This study will focus on the mind-sets, maneuvers, and decisions these men made throughout the course of the battle that led to the defeat of the Union forces under Maj. Gen. Pope’s leadership.
Before the battle, major cities in the North such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and even Washington, 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 ending of this battle is tragic and enlightening as well, the great idea of sneak attacks at dawn by the Confederates and the righteous timings of reinforcement by the Union, brought this story to my attention. Gathering this information brought me believe that this is a movie, a novel, but this was actual real life. Losing lives in a battle like this one bring only one thing to mind, that each side was fierce on fighting for what they believe in. No other battles before this have had this much bloodshed in less than a day, the planning done by Grant and Johnston was phenomenal. The steady mind of Johnston and the brave hearts that were under Grant is what brought this battle to what is today’s history. Working on this essay has been excellent in my learning process and I hope to be doing another one soon.
The Civil War is one of the defining wars in the history of this great nation. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in American history, and a turning point in the four year war. At the time, Gettysburg was a small, quiet town generally unaffected by the war. General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate States of America and General George Meade of the Union converged in Gettysburg, and a conflict quickly arose. After three long days of battle the Union pulled away with a victory, though not an easy one. This essay will outline the six themes of history; in essence the who, what, when, where, why, and who cares of this infamous battle.
The Battle of Fredericksburg falls in a long list of failures of the Army of the Potomac during the first year of the American Civil War. Following the Battle of Antietam the Northern Army had the opportunity to defeat Lee’s army. However, Northerners, were shocked by Lee’s escape following this battle on 17 September 1862, and were further upset by Major General George B. McClellan’s procrastination in pursuing Lee and allowing General J.E.B. Stuarts daring cavalry raid into Pennsylvania around Gettysburg (10-12 October 1862). McClellan’s failure to pursue Lee’s Army is mainly due to his own lack of confidence, believing that he doesn’t have enough men or material in order to defeat the Army of Virginia. President Lincoln had finally had enough; he fired McClellan for the second and final time, and replaced him with Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, whom he had initially offered the job. No military officer in the Civil War resisted promotion more assiduously than did Major General Burnside during 1862. On three separate occasions that year, President Lincoln asked Burnside to assume command of the Army of the Potomac, and each time the general demurred on the grounds that he was not competent to handle such a large force. Once General Burnside took command he immediately set forth after General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
The American Revolution was a war filled with many battles for a result of independence for Americans. The war lasted from April 1775- September 1783. However, it wasn't the longest war in history, if the Loyalist were going to lose they weren't giving it up too easy. The Loyalist were willing to do anything to keep the power of Britain over America. Some of the Brits moved away to America for more independence. The war was fought between the British Kingdom and the American colonists (colonial rebels). Many things lead up to this terrific war. Reasons why is because the Americans wanted their own independence from Great Britain. The king of Great Brit spent lots of money on the French-Indian War. In result, the king was in debt, so he taxed the Americans on just about everything they used in their everyday lives, such as: tea, sugar, and printed items. He did this so he could get all of his money back. The Americans were tired of this treatment so they decided to act and war had began.
June 29, 1863, the day before the most memorable battle in history took place. The Battle of Gettysburg would become the major outcome of the Civil War. What
The battle of Gettysburg occurred over three hot summer days, July 1 to July 3, 1863, around the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It began as a meeting engagement, but by its end involved approximately 170,000 Americans. The battle is considered to be the turning point in the American Civil War and is one of the most studied battles in American history. The events that took place at Gettysburg had a tremendous impact on the outcome of the Civil War and the fate of the United States.
Before the battle, major cities in the North such as Philadelphia, Baltimore and even Washington 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.