Gettysburg Dbq Essay

First of all the geography forced the Confederates to switch from offense to defense. The Battle of Gettysburg was the first and last battle fought in the North. All the other battles were fought in the South so the Confederate’s people and towns were constantly in danger. Document A illustrates that the General Lee were tired of being on the defense and wanted to be on the offense for a change. Document A states that even though the Confederates tried their hardest they were pushed back onto the defensive and ultimately lost the war (273). Overall, Document A shows that The Battle of Gettysburg was the one battle in the entire war that was fought in the North, and this is significant because the Confederate army was always on the defensive and the southerners were continually in danger from the warfare happening around them. Following this, the casualties that the South suffered significantly reduced the size of their army. This was bad for the Confederates because their army was already small

Quite a number of the Confederate’s generals were hurt, dead, or dying which made Lee one of the few generals who were capable of leading the army. In a letter to Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederates, Lee requested him to replace him as general. Document C explains that Lee felt like he not only failed the South, but he also failed himself when he lost The Battle of Gettysburg. Document C states, “I therefore, in all sincerity, request Your Excellency to take measures to supply my place. I do this with the more earnestness because no one is more aware than myself of my inability for the duties of my position” (277). To sum up, Document C shows that General Lee abandoned his faith in himself and asked to be replaced; this is significant because Generals Lee’s dampened mood affects his and his soldiers fighting during the war making them unfocused and