The Universe of Battles
Episode Five
1863 a series of battles were fought between the Confederate army and the Union Army. Battles such as: Gettysburg, Viscksburg, Battery Wagner, Chickamauga Creek, and Chattanooga. Along with these battles the Gettysburg Address was presented, the role of women was noticed, and riots in New York broke out. Many say that these battles were the turning point of the U.S. Civil War. General Robert E. Lee, from the south and George G. Meade from the north lead their troops. On July 4th Robert E. Lee surrendered to the north, and the south was defeated.
The Battle of Gettysburg is considered to be the turning point of the Civil War. Late in May the Confederate army marched toward Pennsylvania with shoes in mind. Their soar feet were aching and it was understood to be a large supply of shoes in the state of Pennsylvania. General Robert E. Lee’s 70,000 men were dived up into three different cores. The leaders of the three cores were James Longstreet, Stonewall Jackson, and A.P. Hill. As the Confederates traveled through Pennsylvania they had no respect for the civilians. The Confederate troops stole livestock, clothing and food from the civilians. They sent African Americans back into the south. The Union army followed the confederates through Maryland to see what they were up to. The commander in charge of the union army was George Mede.
The confederate army marched into Gettysberg, and overwhelmed General John Beufords union army. Eventually all of the soldiers in the area from both north and south were now on the battlefield. Toward the end of the first day, the unions were in the lead. The second day, 65,000 confederates were up against 85,000 federal troops. Four hills surrounded the area; Colps Hill, Cemetery Hill, and the Big and little Round top. General Lee wanted all of the hills to be covered, so Longstreet ordered his men to cover the four hills. Sickles disobeyed orders and marched his men past little round top and into a peach orchard. Kernel C. Oats saw that the little round top had no men covering it and saw the defeat. General sickles men were in trouble. Private Robert H. Carter quoted that this was a “ perfect hell on earth”. The confederates and union men ran up to the top of the hill. This is where three hundred and sixty men hid behind large bou...
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...nd did not have enough money to run projects like the sanitary commissions. The women in the south did get food together and help the wounded men.
During the Civil War, there was a draft put up in the north. During this time New York City wanted to break away and become an independent city. The New York draft riot consisted of mainly immigrant Irish men in NY. These men had low paying jobs and did not feel they should go to war. On July 12th a draft was posted, and a predominately Irish mob attacked and lashed out. This mob lynched blacks and set buildings on fire. This riot lasted three days, mainly in Manhattan. On the third day, troops from Gettysburg can and stopped this riot.
The Gettysberg Address is a famous speech by Abraham Lincoln. This speech was “healing words” that was addressed on November 19, 1863. This speech stated his feelings for the dead soldiers, and what they were fighting for. The Gettysberg Address was only 269 words, and this was said to be too short. Usually speeches during this age did not end until hours later. Speeches were a form of entertainment for the people and many were disappointed.
To the south stands Cemetery Hill, Culp’s Hill, both less than a mile from town. They are part of a larger ridge that ends about 3 miles from town ending in Little Round Top and Big Round Top. On the 1st of July, the Confederate Forces occupied one mile east of the eastern ridge where they set up their artillery while the Union Forces occupied the southern hilltops and the eastern hilltops where naturally, they placed their artillery. Confederate and Union Forces met at around 0730 as Confederate General Heth advanced on Union General John Buford and the defensive line of the Union Army along the eastern ridgeline . The two Armies were both surprised with the situation they found themselves in because before their meeting, they knew little of each others capabilities and had, for quite sometime, been traveling blind yet parallel to each other
The Battle of Gettysburg lead by Robert E. Lee was a three-day battle and was an immense turning point in the war for the Confederate army. Lee had designed brilliant plans for battle, but they were not always fully thought out and executed. Furthermore at Gettysburg Lee’s battle plans seemed to be a big guess or gamble and not really certain at all. Having well thought out
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.
Therefore, neither of the generals exceeded the other when it comes to military strategies, which rather debunks Shaara’s depiction of Longstreet’s advanced knowledge of modern warfare. Despite of the importance of the Battle of Gettysburg, often marked as the turning point of the war, General Longstreet should not obey an order that results in a significant loss of men that would be extremely difficult to replace at this time. Already limited by the amount of men still able to fight, pushing additional forces in an open battle would just nearly deplete the confederate soldiers completely. Since this battle was one that went on until a majority of ones sided were depleted, the south should have played it safe against the Unions nearly surplus supply of
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
Throughout the American Civil War there were several important battles. Each with its own significance towards the outcome of the Civil War. Although the Battle of Gettysburg was known as the changing of the Civil War, it was not as important as the Battle of Vicksburg. “It was also very probably the most important part of the Confederacy at the time” (Lepa pg. 16). The Battle of Gettysburg was not located along the supply route between the two southern regions. It was an attempted invasion into northern states. Both battles ended around the same time but because it was General Lee that lost it was a bigger story. While Lincoln and the Union celebrated both victories, the one in Vicksburg was the actual game changer. The battle or siege
A Confederate soldier on the wall at the Heights recollected seeing, “…Single bodies…scattered at increased distances until the main mass of the dead lay thickly strewn over the ground.” The Confederates deliberate defensive positions on the hill were just too intense for the Potomac forces to penetrate. Despite the failing state of his plan, Burnside continued to send division after division up the hill until nightfall. No one made it past that well defended wall. Burnside’s inability to assess the battle and alter his plan contributed to the slaughter of thousands of Federal soldiers.
Gettysburg was the turning point of the American Civil War. This is the most famous and important Civil War Battle that occurred over three hot summer days, July 3, 1863, around the small market town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. More importantly Gettysburg was the clash between the two major American Cultures of their time: the North and the South. The causes of the Civil War, and the Battle of Gettysburg, one must understand the differences between these two cultures. The Confederacy had an agricultural economy producing tobacco, corn, and cotton, with many large plantations owned by a few very rich white males. These owners lived off the labor of sharecroppers and slaves, charging high dues for use of their land. The Southern or Confederate Army was made up of a group of white males fighting for their independence from federal northern dictates (The History Place Battle of Gettysburg 1).
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.
‘’Four score and seven years ago…’’(Lincoln, 1) You’ve probably heard those six words before, right? 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 devices.
First, those involved with the battle were General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union States (US) and Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton of the Confederate States (CS). Forces engaged in the battle encompassed the Army of the Tennessee (US) and the Army of Vicksburg (CS). Grant’s army had assembled 15 miles worth of trenches and also enclosed the force of Pemberton’s of 29,000 men within the perimeter. There had been 70,000 troops of Grant. Thought were attempts in order to save and rescue Pemberton and his force, these attempts had failed both from the east and west. For both military personnel and civilians, their condition had been deteriorating rapidly.
From July 1st to July 3rd, 1863, the most famous and most important Civil War Battle took place in the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Confederates under Robert E. Lee advanced on the Union in hopes of taking the major city of Philadelphia, Baltimore, or even Washington D.C. Union commander General George Meade was sent to make sure none of this would happen. General Robert E. Lee was determined to invade the North and win a victory important for southern morale, leads his army toward Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he hopes to destroy railroad bridges linking east with west. He is unaware that a large union force headed by General Meade is headed in the same direction.
Albert Gallatin Brown, U.S. Senator from Mississippi, speaking with regard to the several filibuster expeditions to Central America: "I want Cuba . . . I want Tamaulipas, Potosi, and one or two other Mexican States; and I want them all for the same reason -- for the planting and spreading of slavery." [Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 106.]
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.
The fighting at Gettysburg began largely as an accident when, on July 1, a column of Confederate troops moving south ran into and engaged the forward cavalry elements of the Union army. The Confederate generals, mistaking the Union forces for militia, attacked, hoping to secure supplies and requisitions from the town. The Union, however, saw this as the beginning of a larger battle and rushed regular infantry troops north to the battlefield. The Confederates, then, were forced to rush their forces to the field so that the Union army could not dismem...