The Battle of Gettysburg, fought in July 1863, resulted in the deaths of approximately 50,000 between the Union and Confederate armies. Union General George Meade’s Army of the Potomac defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee’s aggressive attacks in the north. The battle was seen as the turning point of the war, and Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address to commemorate the dead and change perceptions of the war.
During the American Civil War, no battle claimed more lives than the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle took place in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in early July of 1863 between the Union and Confederate armies of the United States and resulted in the deaths of approximately 50,000 between the two armies. During the Battle of Gettysburg, Union General George Meade’s Army of the Potomac defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee’s aggressive attacks in the north. President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address on the Battle of Gettysburg battlefield that November to commemorate the dead and change perceptions of the war.
General Lee had generally succeeded in infiltrating the north, having claimed a victory over the Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville a few months before the Battle of Gettysburg. He decided to pursue the invasion of the north further and the two armies clashed in the small town of Gettysburg. On July 1, 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg officially began, and the Confederate Army, having gained the high ground early, left the Union Army reeling after a day of fighting. General Meade, who had relieved General Joseph Hooker just three days earlier, found himself in a defensive position during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
The second day of fighting found the Union army in a fishhook pattern, its left flank longer than its right. Lee planned to attack the left flank first, using General Longstreet’s First Corps in a sneak attack, but Lee’s plan was based on misinformation. Longstreet’s Corps ended up fighting a direct battle with a Union Corps they hadn’t expected. Longstreet’s assault forced Meade to send reinforcements, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. The Union Army realized the importance of the high ground in the area – Little Round Top – and Colonel Joshua Chamberlain’s 20th Maine led a bayonet charge to defend the hill, propelling Chamberlain and the charge to fame after the conclusion of the war.
On day three of the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee wanted to use the same strategy to attack the Union army despite mixed results on day two. However, the Union army attacked before Longstreet was ready, forcing Lee to change his plans. After an intense barrage of cannon fire from the Confederates, the Union Army held its ground. The volley had partially depleted the Confederate’s ammunition, but the Union Army had held fire to preserve their own ammunition. At this point, Confederate forces began a known attack following Pickett’s Charge; the Union army flanked them and decimated nearly half the Confederate force. More battles followed soon after, with the Union army steadily pushing the Confederates back.
The next day, the Confederate Army began its retreat, essentially ending the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle was seen as the turning point of the war, and Lincoln encouraged Meade to pursue Lee’s army to finally decimate it. He refused and Lee’s army was allowed to reorganize, but the Confederate army had suffered greatly from the Battle of Gettysburg both militarily and politically, and Confederate decline began shortly thereafter.
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