Why Was The Battle Of Gettysburg A Turning Point

Imagine yourself on a plain field, covered in blood, dead people all around you, and one of them could be your best friend or even your brother. This was the Battle of Gettysburg. Americans were engaged in a Civil War which had begun in April of 1861 with shots fired at Fort Sumter by the Confederates. On July 1, 1863, three years into the war, in a small town called Gettysburg, there was a fierce battle fought between the Union Army of the Potomac led by General George G. Meade and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia led by General Robert E. Lee. Which resulted in a major win for the Union Army after losing many battles. About 50,000 men were killed, wounded, or went missing in the three day long battle. After the fighting ended, the

The map, Major Campaigns of the Civil War, shows that most of the military campaigns took place in Confederate territory. And, the arrows representing the Union campaigns tells us that the Union Army was attacking the Confederate Army. But, then the Confederates when on a campaign in the Union territory, as shown by the arrow representing Confederate campaigns. Therefore, the map helps to explain why the Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the war because Robert E. Lee attacked the Union Army in the North. They were first defending the Confederacy from the Union attacks meant to abolish slavery in the states that seceded from the Union. But, then Robert E. Lee attacked the Union Army at Gettysburg, since it was near Washington D.C., the capital of the

The data provided in the table, Estimated Casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg, shows three groups that make up the total casualty numbers, killed, wounded and missing. The Union Army lost about a total of 23,040 troops and the Confederate Army lost about a total of 20,650-25,000 troops. Out of the total Union casualties about 3,155 men were killed, 14,530 men were wounded and 5,365 went missing. And, out of the total Confederate casualties about 2,600-4,500 troops were killed, 12,800 troops were wounded and 5,250 went missing. Adding on, the Union Army lost about 27% of their troops at the Battle of Gettysburg, while the Confederate Army lost 30%-34% of their troops. Furthermore, the data found in the table, Gettysburg Casualties Compared to Overall Troops and Men Available, shows that the total size of the Union Army on December, 1863, five months after the Battle of Gettysburg, was about 918,000 troops. While, the total size of the Confederate Army was about 278,000 troops. Also, the North had a total of about 6,000,000 men of military age to fight in the war if needed and the South had about 1,200,000 men of military age to fight to fight if required. Additionally, in Robert E. Lee’s July 4, 1863 letter to President Jefferson Davis, Lee writes, “our own loss has not been light.” He further goes on to state the generals that were casualties in