Battle Of Gettysburg Research Papers

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The Battle of Gettysburg “These dead shall not die in vain.” Taken from the words of President Abraham Lincoln during his Gettysburg Address, (Lincoln, 1863); which also was during the American Civil War. Many battles were fought during this war. Historically, the Battle of Gettysburg was one of the most important battles of the Civil War; many of the lessons learned improved the field artillery branch, which lead to numerous contributions to today’s Army. First, once the Battle of Chancellorsville was complete, General Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy, “sought to attempt to defeat the Union in hopes it would force the Lincoln Administration to negotiate for peace,” (Battle of Gettysburg, 2017). Having just won at Chancellorsville, Lee …show more content…

Lee launched his offense that would decide the Battle of Gettysburg and the course of the war. On July 3rd, 1863, General Lee sent his 12,000 soldiers augmented by George Picket’s division, to attack the Union center and cut the army of the Potomac in two. This assault is known as “Pickett’s Charge,” and the purpose was to weaken the Union defenses to allow 160 Confederate cannons to move into position to infiltrate the Union lines. Although the charge was of great stature, they eventually failed, resulting in the loss of thousand rebel soldiers. Henceforth, General Lee’s hand was forced to withdraw his hot, tired army toward Virginia on the next day. In addition, General Lee was forced to withdraw his troops, due to the emplacement of Union artillery cannons located along Cemetery Hill. Furthermore, author Jake Wynn shares, “It is said that the artillery barrage could be heard in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 40 miles away.” (para. 5, 2013). In this Battle, the field artillery was so incredibly crucial and relevant without it, the outcome of this battle would have been changed immensely. The coordination and communication between the cannons and crew members, made the rhythm of the battle continuous. Moreover, the Battle of Gettysburg was one of the first to illustrate the impact of a centralized artillery command. Continuing, Author, Boyd Dastrup states, “Equally important centralized command of the Union artillery insured that all batteries were engaged and were not idle.” (pg.110, 1992). Consequently, the Field Artillery was the most critical part of this battle and for many battles to