The Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg (local i/ t? sb? r? /, with an /s/ sound),6 was fought July 13, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the affair with the largest digit of casualties in the American Civil War7 and is often described as the wars turning point. 8 sodality Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meades Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by allied Gen. Robert E. Lees Army of northernern Virginia, ending Lees invasion of the North.After his success at Chancellorsville in Virginia in may 1863, Lee led his army through the Shenandoah Valley to begin his spot invasion of the Norththe Gettysburg Campaign. With his army in high spirits, Lee intended to turn the focus of the summer campaign from war-ravaged northern Virginia and hoped to influence Northern politicians to give up their pursuit of the war by penetrating as far as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or even Philadelphia. Prodded by President Abraham Lincoln, Maj.Gen. Joseph Hooker moved his army in pursuit, merely was relieved just three days before the battle and replaced by Meade. Elements of the two armies initially collided at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, as Lee urgently punishing his forces there, his objective being to engage the compact army and destroy it. Low ridges to the northwest of town were defended initially by a Union cavalry variableness under Brig. Gen. John Buford, and soon reinforced with two corps of Union infantry.However, two large Confederate corps assaulted them from the northwest and north, collapsing the hastily developed Union lines, sending the defenders retreating through the streets of town to the hills just to the south. On the second day of battle, most of both armies had assembled. The Union line was laid out in a defensive formation resembling a fishhook. In the late good afternoon of July 2, Lee launched a heavy assault on the Union left flank, and fierce fleck raged at Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, Devils Den, and the Peach Orchard.On the Un ion right, demonstrations escalated into all-out assaults on Culps Hill and Cemetery Hill. All across the battlefield, despite significant losses, the Union defenders held their lines. On the third day of battle, July 3, fighting resumed on Culps Hill, and cavalry battles raged to the atomic number 99 and south, but the main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,500 Confederates against the message of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge, known as Picketts Charge.The charge was repulsed by Union rifle and artillery fire, at great losses to the Confederate army. Lee led his army on a agonizing retreat back to Virginia. Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers from both armies were casualties in the three-day battle. That November, President Lincoln used the allegiance ceremony for the Gettysburg National Cemetery to honor the fallen Union soldiers and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address.The Battle of GettysburgThe Battle of Gettysburg (local i/ t? sb? r ? /, with an /s/ sound),6 was fought July 13, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War7 and is often described as the wars turning point. 8 Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meades Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lees invasion of the North.After his success at Chancellorsville in Virginia in May 1863, Lee led his army through the Shenandoah Valley to begin his second invasion of the Norththe Gettysburg Campaign. With his army in high spirits, Lee intended to shift the focus of the summer campaign from war-ravaged northern Virginia and hoped to influence Northern politicians to give up their prosecution of the war by penetrating as far as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or even Philadelphia. Prodded by President Abraham Lincoln, Maj.Gen. Joseph Hooker moved his army in pursuit, but was relieved just three days before the ba ttle and replaced by Meade. Elements of the two armies initially collided at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, as Lee urgently concentrated his forces there, his objective being to engage the Union army and destroy it. Low ridges to the northwest of town were defended initially by a Union cavalry division under Brig. Gen. John Buford, and soon reinforced with two corps of Union infantry.However, two large Confederate corps assaulted them from the northwest and north, collapsing the hastily developed Union lines, sending the defenders retreating through the streets of town to the hills just to the south. On the second day of battle, most of both armies had assembled. The Union line was laid out in a defensive formation resembling a fishhook. In the late afternoon of July 2, Lee launched a heavy assault on the Union left flank, and fierce fighting raged at Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, Devils Den, and the Peach Orchard.On the Union right, demonstrations escalated into full-scale assault s on Culps Hill and Cemetery Hill. All across the battlefield, despite significant losses, the Union defenders held their lines. On the third day of battle, July 3, fighting resumed on Culps Hill, and cavalry battles raged to the east and south, but the main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,500 Confederates against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge, known as Picketts Charge.The charge was repulsed by Union rifle and artillery fire, at great losses to the Confederate army. Lee led his army on a torturous retreat back to Virginia. Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers from both armies were casualties in the three-day battle. That November, President Lincoln used the dedication ceremony for the Gettysburg National Cemetery to honor the fallen Union soldiers and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address.