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Gettysburg Address Turning Point Essay

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“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” That’s the first sentence of Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address. In it Abraham Lincoln is saying that eighty-seven years ago our fathers fought for a new country that arose on liberty and obtains a place where all men can continually viewed equally. This battle remained the bloodiest, had the most casualties, and became the turning point of the American Civil war. This bloody and gruesome three day battle took place on July 1, 2, and 3 1863. July 1, 1863: Two union cavalry brigades under Colonel John Buford clash into A.P. Hill’s Third Corps (part of the Confederate army) under command of Major General Henry Heth. Within hours, the battle escalated from a small little firefight to a full out onslaught. General Robert E. Lee got word and saw this as his chance to finally break through Union lines and bring the war into the north. Lee made a bold decision and sent Army of the Potomac to Gettysburg hoping to overwhelm the Federals (Union) so they would retreat. The fight that everyone faced on day one is like a walk in the park compared to day two. …show more content…

When Robert E. Lee awoke on July 2, 1863, the Union forces had brought in reinforcements throughout the night to prepare for what was going to become the bloodiest day in the whole Civil War. Lee ordered every so often to send some of his men charging at random points up to General George G. Meade’s (Union commander) forces throughout the thicket on the top of Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill. Both forces fought for hours until Lee and Meade decided to regroup their tattered armies for the gruesome day to

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