The famous Battle of Gettysburg was a major part of the Civil War. Before the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate army had the advantage: however, the events occurring in the months following the historic battle are what truly gave the Union Troops the greatest advantage leading to their victoryThe Turning Point of the Civil War The famous Battle of Gettysburg was a major part of the Civil War. Before the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate army had the advantage. Although the casualty tolls of both armies were relatively close in numbers, the North and the South’s attitudes towards the war completely differed after the Battle of Gettysburg. The events occurring in the months following the historic battle were what gave the Union Troops the greatest advantage leading to their victory at the end of the Civil War. The total number of casualties occurring during The …show more content…
Battle of Gettysburg was between 43,040 and 48040 men. The Confederate lost between 30-34% of their troops and the Union lost around 27% of theirs (document B). These numbers although similar, did result in one of the Union’s first victories during the Civil War. This lead to great boost confidence in the Union for the remainder of the War. In document C, there are letters from General Robert E.
Lee to confederate President Davis written in the days following The Battle of Gettysburg. In these letters, Lee expresses that he no longer feels capable of fulfilling his duties as general and asks President Davis to replace him. President Davis decides to reject Davis’s request leaving a man who is not confident in his abilities to guide the Confederate Troops. General Lee’s lack in confidence could have caused him to become a weak leader which resulted in a weak army. The Gettysburg Address given by President Lincoln in the November following the Battle of Gettysburg acted as a call to arms. This speech gave the North a sense of pride and reassured them that they did have a chance at winning the Civil War. In The Gettysburg Address, Lincoln tells the audience not to let the men who died in the battle die in vain he tells them that their dedication will lead to a “new birth of freedom” in the nation(document D). This newly found sense of pride and hope led confidence which was something that the Confederate army was lacking at the
time. The Battle of Gettysburg was not necessarily a turning point in the Civil War from a military skill point of view, but really from a confidence stand-point. If Robert E. Lee had not lost his confidence and Lincoln had not given his speech, The Battle of Gettysburg would not have been as significant as it now is.
President Abraham Lincoln demanded a decisive victory. He was tired of his military leadership’s inability to decisively engage and defeat Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Allowing the war to drag on was to the Confederacies advantage. Lincoln was so frustrated that he relieved General George B. McClellan for failing to defeat Lee at Antietam, and replaced him with General Ambrose Burnside, who proved to be very conservative in battle against General Lee. Knowing that General Lee was a student of Napoleonic warfare, Burnside feared that Lee always had a large Corps in reserve waiting to flank should he be decisively engaged from the front.
One of the best commanders in the Confederate army was Lee still; the Union stood at a better standpoint during the battle. “Perhaps the most significant lesson from July 3, 1863, concerns the method of decision-making. Though he may not have seen it as such, Lee’s decision to attack was at best a close call.” (Gompert 2006, pg.7). The battle of Gettysburg did not happen intentionally, planned however Lee did an astounding job and his best to defeat the Union army. Ultimately Robert E. Lee was responsible for the South’s loss
The battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the civil war because a lot of the generals lost their lives from the great wars. According to the letters (Doc C) from General Robert E. Lee states “ General Barksdale is killed. Generals Garnett and Armstead are missing. Generals Pender and Trimore wounded in the leg. General Heth injured in the head. General Kemper is feared.” This shows that the battle of Gettysburg changed from that point on because the less generals that they had the harder it would be to train their soldiers, the less soldiers that know what to do it will be harder fight in the civil war. This connects back to why the
Lincoln’s Famous Address written by Roselynn Marquez talks about how Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was only 270 words, and it followed a two hour introduction by Edward Everett. Being short was not the only memorable point that the speech had. “Another was the simplicity of its language. As historian Allen Guelzo notes, ‘the address relies on crisp, plain vocabulary.’ He points out that most of the words are only one-syllable. Doris Kearns Goodwin concludes, ‘Lincoln had translated the story of his country...into words and ideas accessible to every American.’ By making his ideas easy to grasp, Lincoln gave them directness and power” (Marquez). The Gettysburg Address to this day is known as a unforgettable expression inscribing the war that took on in the country. In summarization, Abraham Lincoln is known widely for the Address he made in Gettysburg after the battle that took place
Union Commander Meade, out of fatigue and caution, did not immediately go after Lee, getting President Lincoln very angry who wrote a mad letter to Meade, which was never delivered, saying he missed an opportunity to end the war at this instance (The History Place Battle of Gettysburg 4). Although the casualties were basically equal, the Battle of Gettysburg was the second and last great invasion of the of the North, for the South had neither arms nor numbers to continue an assault, but the War dragged on for two more years. On November 19, President Lincoln went to the battlefield to dedicate it as a military cemetery. He spoke for a short period of time delivering what is called the Gettysburg Address, surprising many present in the audience with its shortness and leaving others quite unimpressed, but over time the speech has come to symbolize democracy as we know it today (Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia Vol. 11 385.
Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America "Fourscore and seven years ago ." These are the first 5 of only two hundred seventy-two words that remade America. In Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America, the author, Gary Wills, informed us that Abraham Lincoln wanted equality among us and to unite as one. In Abraham Lincoln's own speech, he would not mention single individuals or even top officers. Everyone was considered as equal importance and was never any different. "Though we call Lincoln's text the Gettysburg Address, that title clearly belongs to Everett." 1 This is very true, which I think is interesting. Everett who was chosen by David Wills to commemorate the National Cemetery of Gettysburg, was supposed to be the speaker while Lincoln was only the dedicatory remarks speaker. Not only did Lincoln have the favorable speech, it was only three minutes while Everett's was two hours long. Lincoln also supposedly was not supposed to be there to speak; he actually just told a correspondent that he would be present. It's amazing to believe that a two hundred seventy-two word speech would say so much to thousands of people.
The Civil War is one of the defining wars in the history of this great nation. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in American history, and a turning point in the four year war. At the time, Gettysburg was a small, quiet town generally unaffected by the war. General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate States of America and General George Meade of the Union converged in Gettysburg, and a conflict quickly arose. After three long days of battle the Union pulled away with a victory, though not an easy one. This essay will outline the six themes of history; in essence the who, what, when, where, why, and who cares of this infamous battle.
Abraham Lincoln’s formal diction in the “Gettysburg Address” created a reverent tone, and made him appear reputable. By choosing words like “hallow” “devotion” “nobly” and “brave” he praised the Civil War soldiers and commemorated their work. Lincoln aimed to inspire and encourage people to keep fighting. He alluded to the Declaration of Independence “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (2048). Moreover, symbolizing equality and freedom, it gave them something to fight for. Lincoln used “we” multiple times to comfort the crowd and never said the words “I” or “me.”
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and something to fight for. Before the address, the Civil War was based solely on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were put into the Declaration of Independence by the founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war that was about slavery he was able to ensure that no foreign country would recognize the south as an independent nation, thus ensuring Union success in the war. In his speech, Lincoln used the rhetorical devices of juxtaposition, repetition, and parallelism.
On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered ‘’The Gettysburg Address’’. Abraham Lincoln’s purpose in ‘’The Gettysburg Address’’ was to persuade listeners to finish what those who fought for died for by treating everyone else equally. ‘’The Gettysburg Address’’ is the most compelling speech due to its use of rhetorical
The speech “Gettysburg address” was written November 19 1863, almost four years after the first shots of the civil war happened in fort sumter . This speech was so impactful and it was only two minutes long. This two minute speech was one of many impactful speeches in history. Abraham Lincoln wrote the speech “ Gettysburg address” . During the civil war a lot of the soldiers had died. Family members were grieving over the loss of loved ones, and friends. Abraham Lincoln made this speech for the people who lost family members or loved ones in the war. This speech honored those who have fallen on the battlefield and remind those why we had a civil war. Abraham Lincoln reminded the soldiers what they were fighting for in the first place , that they can move forward from the loss of soldiers in “ Gettysburg Address “ using repetition and diction .
In 1863, the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was awoken to the beginning of what was to be the turning point of the Civil War for the Union. It began as a small skirmish, but by its end it involved so many Americans to which would become one of the bloodiest battles ever taken place on Unites States soil. The Battle of Gettysburg was not only a turning point in the war.
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and a reason to fight in the Civil War. Before the address, the Civil War was based on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were instilled in the Declaration of Independence by the Founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states’ rights into a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon.
As students, studying battles such as this, we have the advantage of hindsight, knowing the outcome. Nonetheless, we can still learn valuable lessons from it. To do so, this analysis will explore some of the decisions of the leaders at Gettysburg, and how they were affected by the operational variables. This essay will scrutinize some of the leaders at Gettysburg, and the impact of their actions. The outcome of this analysis will show that what was true in 1863 is still true today.
Although many people say that the Union and Confederate armies fought because of the importance of Gettysburg; the thing is that it was just a small town back then. Gettysburg was chosen because it was “good ground”. The Confederate army was passing through to go further north and invade the Union territory. The Union army was having the same idea about the south. Good ground was high terrain surrounded by trees. The role geography played in the war was that the army who was placed on the good ground would have a better position on the opposing forces.