The Battle of Gettysburg
By: Grace Bennett
Gettysburg - “High Water Mark of the Rebellion”
Generals at Battle:
Union - George Meade
Confederate - Robert E. LeeWinner - Union
July 1 - July 3, 1863
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Importance of the Battle to the Civil War
The South's Reasons for Fighting
The South had two motivations for attacking. They, first, wanted the North to request peace. They also wanted to entice the United Kingdom and other European nations to acknowledge the new government in the South. The Confederates threatened to take over the Union’s capital, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. However, the Union eventually defeated the Confederates after three days of hard fighting.
Results of the Battle
About 51,000 total soldiers ended up dead, wounded, captured or missing. The dead was divided pretty equally between the two sides. The defeat of the South at Gettysburg and the surrender the next day at Vicksburg anticipated the later surrender by Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.
During the War
More than 165,000 soldiers in the Confederacy went through Northern Virginia, across the Patomac River to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to attack on the Union. They felt very victorious after their past victory at Chancellorsville and were about to attack for the second time in less than a year. They had the strongest military strength that they would ever achieve throughout the war.
The first day fighting at McPherson’s Ridge, Oak Hill, Oak Ridge, Seminary Ridge, Barlow’s Knoll and around the town, involved 50,000 soldiers; about 5,500 were called missing, captured, wounded or dead. The first day was seen as the 12th bloodiest battle within the Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg had more deaths than the battles of Franklin and Bull Run put together.
The second day fighting at Devil’s Den, Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard, Cemetery Ridge, Trostle’s Farm, Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill involved 100,000 soldiers; about 20,000 were dead, wounded, missing, or captured.
The third day, Robert E. Lee's last try to defeat the Union at Cemetery Ridge was a huge failure. This last attack effectively ended the war. The South lost 28,000 men, and the North lost 22,000.
Importance of the Battle to Today
The battlefield today, located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is a great resource for historians and people wanting to learn more about the Battle of Gettysburg. It has a different type of terrain and many monuments that people still visit and honor today.