Running head: THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG 1
THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG 4
THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG
SGT BEASLEY
SGT CASTOR
13B ALC Class 002-18
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania took place from 1 July until 3 July 1863 and was the largest battle of the civil war, as well as the largest battle ever to be fought in North America. The battle consisted of around 85,000 soldiers from the Union Army who fought under Major General George Gordon Meade and around 75,000 soldiers in the Confederate Army from Virginia commanded by General Robert Edward Lee. There was approximately 23,000 casualties from the Union, and Confederate casualties
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Any victories won by the South on Northern soil, would put political pressure on Abraham Lincoln’s administration to make a settlement to the war or would lead to the Souths longing hope for military alliance with England and France. The campaign started in a dark shadow with Lee’s aggressive and creative commanding General Thomas “stonewall” Jackson being mortally wounded by his own soldiers in Chancellorsville. Due to this, General Lee was dependent on the rest of his Generals during the battle, who were not prepared for this level of command. General Lee relied on his cavalry to move him through the Shenandoah Valley into western Maryland and Pennsylvania, at which time, they disregarded Lee’s orders and raided Union Supply trains causing them to be cut off by the Advancing Army of the Potomac. Meanwhile, on the Union side Commanded by recently promoted Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, ordered his scattered corps to maneuver in a manner that would allow his troops to be quickly reinforced by one another. He hoped to draw Lee into attacking him on the high ground at Pipe Steam …show more content…
Batteries remained assigned a specific brigade, allowing them to remain extremely flexible on the battle field. The organization allowed Gen. Meade to better manage his artillery at Gettysburg and employ them where it was needed, when most required. The Confederate Artillery was assigned to each individual Army Corps and although Pendleton was Lee’s Artillery Chief, he had little influence on the battle. This worked well at the corps level as it ensured that Lee had no way of effectively coordinating fires during the