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Gettysburg A Turning Point Essay

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The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the entire Civil War. The Confederate force lost 25,000 soldiers while the Union side lost only 23,000, whether it be killed, wounded, or missing in action. The Civil War officially ended with the surrender of General Lee on July 4, 1863. However, how did the battle start? How did it end? What was the fatality of each side? What was the battle like? Why did both the Union and Confederate forces end up at the same place, causing the battle to start? On the morning of July 1, the Union force positioned themselves into the path of the approaching Confederates under the leadership of General John Buford. With a force of 90,000 men, the Confederates did not seem to have a chance. However, why were both forces there in the first place? As far as the Unions go, they knew the Confederates were to be marching there that day, so General Buford set up his soldiers to …show more content…

Throughout much of the battle, General Lee and his aggressiveness served him well, but as the battle came to a close, that aggressiveness led to disaster. Lee instructed his almost 15,000 soldiers to attack the center of the Union force, but the Union side was ready with reinforcements on top of the 6,500 soldiers already waiting. With their force spread about two miles wide, they fired their artillery to the sky hoping that some of their bullets would find their mark, and many did. The Union guns were quick to reply and the guns raged on for more than an hour, the heaviest combat of the Civil War. As the Confederate soldiers made the trek through “no-man’s land,” Union artillery hurt their lines a lot. Within minutes of making it to the Union side, the remaining soldiers were either dead, dying, or captured. In less than an hour, 7,000 Confederate troops were killed or wounded. Even with the casualties, both sides stayed strong until the night of July 4, where General Lee withdrew, but not without hesitation

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The Battle of Gettysburg was July 1 - July 3, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg was a game changer in the Civil War for 3 reasons: the geography, morale, and losses. The first reason Gettysburg was a turning point-or game changer- was because the Confederates lost a lot of men. The Confederates lost about 34% of their men (Document B.)

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The confederate army was worn out from their march to Shiloh. The next day, Grant’s army once gain clashed with Beauregard’s. This battle lasted until about mid-day, and resulted in Beauregard retreating to Corinth. This led to the battle of Corinth, which was an easy victory for the Union Army. After the union took over the railroad station, they cut off the supplies that were being taken to the confederate Army.

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Known as the bloodiest single-day battle in American History, the Battle of Antietam took place at Antietam creek in Maryland. Strategic plan unveiled and outnumbered, things didn’t start off smoothly for General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate army; yet, even with a copy of the enemy’s plan and a two-to-one advantage, did things work out for Union! With one side disadvantaged and the other wasting their advantages, the battle stayed undecided for hours- that is until violent attacks to General Lee’s troop had the Confederate army retreating. Although, the Battle of Antietam does not have a clear victorious side, the Union declared it as a victory and used the victory to justify the “Emancipation Proclamation”

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They were led by General Buell who marched with the men across the country then they took a ferry up the river to move even faster. It was rumored that many of the men went right to the front lines, brave as could be. The battle went on for two days with the Confederacy pushing back hard. Union forces strengthened up and pushed back and successfully won. They pushed the opposition back as far as Corinth.

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Did you know that after the Battle of Gettysburg, the troops on each side had lost many soldiers? The Battle of Gettysburg, was part of the Civil War that lasted 4 years and it was the Union (North) against the Confederacy (South). This battle, was a win for the Union boosting up their moral, but giving up confidence for the Confederacy. Each side had many casualties and therefore, the Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point during the Civil War because of the effects that came with the battle. After the battle, the Confederacy leader named Robert E. Lee had given up his hope and his confidence of making the Confederacy win and become independent.

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The Civil War was fought during 1861 through 1865 between the Southern and Northern parts of the United States. The North, or the Union, wanted to abolish slavery, but the South, called the Confederates, wanted to keep slavery as well as secede from the Union. This war started at Fort Sumter and was won by the North. Hostility between the North and South grew noticeably after the year of the Missouri Compromise, 1820 (“Civil War” 1). In 1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a book about slave life, became the second best-selling book in 19th Century America, behind the Bible, and opened the eyes of Northerners.

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The Battle was fought on July 1-3, 1863 near and in the small Pennsylvanian town of Gettysburg. This Battle involved the most amount of casualties in the entire Civil War. The Union had both Generals George G. Meade and John F. Reynolds while the south only had Robert E. Lee as their commanding general. Small groups of both of the armies found each other at Gettysburg on July 1st. When news made it back to General Lee, in just a matter of hours, Lee moved a large sum of his troops to attack the Union head on.

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Major General John Pope lead approximately 62,000 Union soldiers in the Second Battle of Bull Run. On the other side, the Confederates were lead by General Robert E. Lee. Despite having fewer men, the Confederates were ultimately victorious as a result of their superior military strategy and their understanding and use of the local terrain. The Second Battle of Bull Run was greatly impacted by both the resources of the both the Union and the Confederate troops, as well as by the local geography of the battle.

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The Union pushed back the Confederates, there were many lives lost and soldiers wounded and even missing, the confidence of soldiers and generals were gained and lost. They both had their own advantages for the battle and each knew that the higher ground was better, but one side came out with the victory and that was the Union. Let's find out more about why the Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point of the war. The first reason that this battle was a turning point, according to (Doc. A) was that the Union pushed back the Confederates and won this battle.

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In the battle of Gettysburg, Generals Robert E. Lee and George G. Meade used their strategies to form an unforgettable battle. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in the history of North America. The battle lasted three days long. The general of the Confederacy was Robert E. Lee, and the general of the Union was George G. Meade. The Battle of Gettysburg started off when Robert E. Lee formulated a plan to attack the Union in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

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This specific battle arose when the confederate and the union were both aiming for a raid in the same area which led to a collision of the armies, immediately General Lee decided to call his forces to that location, forcing the union to call for reinforcements ultimately leading to the three-day battle resulting in many deaths and a victory to the union. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was eager to invade the north and put a negotiated end to the fighting, but the battle of Gettysburg showed him that his hopes were not achievable and his power would inevitably come to an end. The Union won the battle and crushed the Confederates' hopes of becoming an independent nation, also proving to the Union that they could conquer General Lee. Due to these reasons, this battle is known for being the turning point of the civil war, but also commonly known as the battle with the highest amount of casualties in all of the civil war era. Both the Confederate and the Union armies lost troops and dealt with injuries, but the Confederates lost their advantage when the union took the high ground and killed thousands of men while they tried to storm the hill, leading to a major impact on the strength of the Confederate

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The Civil War was a very influential turning point in the history of the United States. The war not only strengthened the connection of the states, specifically between states in the north and south, but it also resulted in the end of the old way of life in the south, known as the old south. The way of life style in the Old South was loved by many, Rhett from Gone With the Wind being one of them. Rhett and his future wife, but current friend Scarlett were fleeing Atlanta after an attack from the north when Rhett told Scarlett that she was witnessing the end of the Old South. Rhett is truly speaking the truth in this scene.

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This took place on the hills south of Gettysburg where the Union successfully held their ground. On the second day they continued the battle where the Confederates gained very little ground but not enough to change the war involving 100, 000 soldiers and with 20,000 killed or injured. It was the final day where the Confederates took a full assault with 12,000 confederates known as Pickett’s Charge which was a center line attacked against the Union. The Union held their ground using artillery fire and rifles which led to retreat of the confederates while successfully pushing them back south.

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The confederacy, led by Robert E. Lee, suffered more of a loss even though they had less casualties then the union, having 10,320. Oh those casualties, 1,550 died, 7,750 injured and 1,020 missing. just from 6 to 10 am, over 8,000 confederate soldiers had died. (education-portal.com) The north won and it was the bloodiest single day in American history.

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