How Did The Battle Of Gettysburg Affect The Outcome Of The Civil War

How Did the Union Victory at the Battle of Gettysburg Affect the Outcome of the Civil War? On April 12th, 1861, Confederates from South Carolina started to bombard Fort Sumter, a Federal stronghold in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, therefore starting the Civil War (Kagan and Hyslop 18). The war had been at a stalemate for two years, but in July of 1863 two armies collided at a small town in Pennsylvania and the tide of the whole entire war changed. At the Battle of Gettysburg the Union Army of the Potomac faced off against the Confederate army of Northern Virginia and came out on top. After this victory the Federals had higher morale and more momentum than the Rebels, which changed the outcome of the entire war.

The actions during

It all started when the Confederate Supreme Commander Robert E. Lee launched an assault that brought his army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania (Kagan and Hyslop 140). It is because of this movement of troops that the war shifted from Virginia to Pennsylvania after the Union Army followed them and left Pennsylvania. Lee proved that the Confederate army is capable of winning the war by making a bold move. This changed the Union strategy from defensive to offensive and trying to end the war quickly. On June 9th forces from Jeb Stuart's Cavalry division defeated opposition at Brandy Station and is able to guard the main Confederate army from raids as they marched to Pennsylvania (Kagan and Hyslop 140). This protection greatly lowered Confederate casualties on their march northward. On June 24th, the Army of Northern Virginia

This statement was proved to be true after the battle, in which many key events turned the tide of the battle and the whole war. Early morning on July 1st, General Heth attacked Gettysburg, tempted by news that there were stocks of greatly needed shoes. He expected a few militiamen, but instead ran into three thousand dismounted cavalry from John Buford’s division (Kagan and Hyslop 143). This proved fatal for the Confederates, because Gettysburg was not a very strategic spot. If Heth’s men had not engaged in battle, the end of the war could have been very different, because Gettysburg would never have happened. The Confederates had won a series of battles but were stopped in their tracks when they fought at Gettysburg (Kagan and Hyslop 143). This slowed down Confederate momentum considerably. After several small skirmishes, the Union retreated back to higher ground south of the town (Maxwell). This proved beneficial to both sides; Confederates improved their morale and the Union got a tactical advantage. After both the Union and Confederate armies were bolstered with new troops, more fighting broke out on the 2nd of July (Kagan and Hyslop 144). A key battle on this day was Little Round Top, where the 20th Maine put down several attempts by the Confederates to seize the Union