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Battle of gettysburg summary
Civil war causes
The main causes of the Civil War
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The first major land battle was fought at Bull Run in Virginia in 1861. The men who were soldiers in these armies were volunteers who chose to go to war. They wanted to win a quick victory but instead found that there was a lot of marching and drill, living outdoors, disease, bad weather, and boredom. Where did all the soldiers who fought at Gettysburg come from? Why did they choose to go to war? How were the armies different? How were they so much alike? Just who were "Billy Yank" and "Johnny Reb"?Welcome! You're probably here because you are curious about our nation's past and the Civil War. At Gettysburg National Military Park, it is the ranger-historian's job to study this controversial time in our nation's history and provide an explanation, or interpretation, of these events to park visitors. Sound interesting? Well, it is! Explore these pages and see if you have what it takes to be a junior historian!
What started the Civil War?
The Civil War did not begin at Gettysburg. It began in 1861 when Southern states declared themselves independent by secession and formed the Confederacy. The United States was split in half and a terrible Civil War was the result.
What Caused the Civil War?
The first major land battle was fought at Bull Run in Virginia in 1861. The men who were soldiers in these armies were volunteers who chose to go to war. They wanted to win a quick victory but instead found that there was a lot of marching and drill, living outdoors, disease, bad weather, and boredom. Where did all the soldiers who fought at Gettysburg come from? Why did they choose to go to war? How were the armies different? How were they so much alike? Just who were "Billy Yank" and "Johnny Reb"?
1863 was the most critical year of the Civil War and for the hopes of the Confederacy. For two years, the Union and Confederate armies in the east battled with each other in Virginia and in Maryland. Confederate General Robert E. Lee advised Confederate president Jefferson Davis that the time was right to invade the North that summer. In June, almost 78,000 Confederates made their way northward into Pennsylvania with the support of southern leaders filled with high hopes that another victory would ensure independence for the South. Their hopes were dashed at the Battle of Gettysburg, which took place during the first three days of July 1863.
The Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, with Confederate troops attacking a Union cavalry division on McPherson Ridge, west of town. After fierce fighting and heavy casualties on both sides, and the Union forces managed to hold, and even drive back the Confederate forces until afternoon, when they were overpowered by additional southern troops, and driven back through town. In the confusion, thousands of Union soldiers were captured before they could rally on Cemetery Hill, south of town
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. It is far easier for us in the present than it was for those at Gettysburg, to look back and determine the path that the leaders should have taken.
The first major battle of the Civil War was fought in Virginia, near the Manassas, Virginia railway junction, after which the battle is called (or First Bull Run, named after the flowing stream on the battlefield, if of the Union persuasion). The armies in this first battle were not very large by later Civil War standards. The Federal forces under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell were organized into four divisions (five, if one includes Runyan's division), of about 30,000 men. These divisions were commanded by Tyler, Hunter, Heintzelman, (Runyan), and Miles. The Confederate command structure was somewhat more unwieldy, including two "armies", with no division structure and thirteen independent brigades under Bonham, Ewell, Jones, Longstreet, Cocke, Early, Holmes, Kershaw, Evans, Jackson, Bartow, Bee, Smith, and a cavalry brigade under Stuart. The Confederate Army of the Potomac was under the command of Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, and the Army of the Shenandoah was commanded by Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston. These two forces would equal McDowell's strength.
At the time of the battle, the very small town of Gettysburg only had about 2,400 people living in it. This was soon to change because as troops from both sides of the battle came into the town, the 160,000 troops made themselves at home in the local houses and shelters. The battle of Gettysburg only lasted about three days in its entirety. At the end of the third day of battle, the confederate troops ran and retreated back into their Capital which is in Richmond Virginia. All three days of the battle were fought in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg, which was fully fought in July 1863, was a Union victory that made the very respected Confederate General Robert E. Lee's retreat all the way back into
The Battle of Gettysburg lead by Robert E. Lee was a three-day battle and was an immense turning point in the war for the Confederate army. Lee had designed brilliant plans for battle, but they were not always fully thought out and executed. Furthermore at Gettysburg Lee’s battle plans seemed to be a big guess or gamble and not really certain at all. Having well thought out
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.
The novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara depicts the story behind one of the bloodiest, and highly significant, battles of the American Civil War, the battle of Gettysburg. The battle consisted of 51,000-casualties between the Union and Confederate army forces. Mainly focused on letters, journal entries, and memoirs, Shaara tells the story of Gettysburg by using characters from both sides of the war. The characters chosen grasp the divergent views regarding the impending days of the war, and countless numbers of those views develop throughout the novel. Such views come from the Confederates own General Lee and General Longstreet, and the Unions own Colonel Chamberlain and soldiers from both sides. From those depicted
Many famous people were involved in these battles. Paul Revere was a patriot who is well-known for his famous midnight ride.
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.
... by the war and fight more viciously. Lincoln was very careful not to underestimate his enemies in the South and sternly advised the American public not to get overconfident, “Let us not be over-sanguine of a speedy final triumph. Let us diligently apply the means, never doubting that just God, in His good time, will us the right result.” The siege of Vicksburg was in many ways the hardest blow to the South, because they lost their control of the river there, and lost communication with their western territories. In many respects, this was the day that I believe most of the southern soldiers believed the war had ended, and with Sherman making his march, the psychological impact was devastating. Without their beliefs, their way of life taken away, they had no reason to fight, and no reason to continue fighting because if Old Dixie could fall, so could anyone else.
Throughout the American Civil War there were several important battles. Each with its own significance towards the outcome of the Civil War. Although the Battle of Gettysburg was known as the changing of the Civil War, it was not as important as the Battle of Vicksburg. “It was also very probably the most important part of the Confederacy at the time” (Lepa pg. 16). The Battle of Gettysburg was not located along the supply route between the two southern regions. It was an attempted invasion into northern states. Both battles ended around the same time but because it was General Lee that lost it was a bigger story. While Lincoln and the Union celebrated both victories, the one in Vicksburg was the actual game changer. The battle or siege
Gettysburg was the turning point of the American Civil War. This is the most famous and important Civil War Battle that occurred over three hot summer days, July 3, 1863, around the small market town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. More importantly Gettysburg was the clash between the two major American Cultures of their time: the North and the South. The causes of the Civil War, and the Battle of Gettysburg, one must understand the differences between these two cultures. The Confederacy had an agricultural economy producing tobacco, corn, and cotton, with many large plantations owned by a few very rich white males. These owners lived off the labor of sharecroppers and slaves, charging high dues for use of their land. The Southern or Confederate Army was made up of a group of white males fighting for their independence from federal northern dictates (The History Place Battle of Gettysburg 1).
Both forces were moving towards Pennsylvania, when they converged upon Gettysburg. General Lee decided to take the fighting to Northern soil, and moved his troops to Maryland. While heading north, the two forces converged at Gettysburg, and the fighting began soon thereafter. After news of the fighting, General Meade arrived on the battlefield on the second day of battle..
Albert Gallatin Brown, U.S. Senator from Mississippi, speaking with regard to the several filibuster expeditions to Central America: "I want Cuba . . . I want Tamaulipas, Potosi, and one or two other Mexican States; and I want them all for the same reason -- for the planting and spreading of slavery." [Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 106.]
The Battle of Gettysburg lasted three days in the summer of 1863. On July 1st, the confederates drove the Union defenders back to Cemetery Hill. The following day Lee attacked the flanks of the Union line which resulted in brutal fighting at Devil’s Den, Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, Peach Orchard, Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill. Although the confederates gained ground on July 2nd, they failed to budge the Union army from many of their positions. On the third day of the battle,...