The+Battle+of+Gettysburg+8

__The Battle of Gettysburg__

The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest and largest battle fought in North America, let alone the Civil War. The Battle took place near a small town in Pennsylvania named Gettysburg on July 1st-3rd in 1836. Although this battle took place towards the middle of the war, it played much importance in the outcome of the war. A loss of the Confederate Army prevented them from defeating the Union and gaining their independence, making this battle a turning point in the Civil War.

__Union in Distress__

Prior to the battle of Gettysburg, the Union was in distress. In the beginning of 1863, newspapers, even newspapers supporting the war, printed storys on how the Union could not conquer the Confederates. The Union forces were losing major battles, including Fredericksburg in December of 1862. The Confederates, under General Robert E. Lee, beat the Army of the Potomac, a force fighting for the Union, under General Ambrose E. Burnside. The Confederates had 78,000 soilders in the battle, and the Union had 115,000. The Union lost 13,000 soilders. The Union also lost the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863 in the Spring. The Army of the Potomac had a new commander, General Joseph Hooker, and lost 17,000 men. Hooker was know as Fighting Joe because he boasted about how great he was, yet all he did was get drunk and scared during war. The Union was defeating the confederates in the south, but they deemed that unimportant.

__The South Short in Supplies__

The southern forces were also in distress, but in a different way. The south was very short in supplies and men. The South did not have as many factorys as the north, and couldn't keep up with the demands of guns and clothes. They were also low on food, because the best southern farm land was occupied by Union forces. General Lee needed food for his troops, and the commisionary general told him "If General Lee wants rations, let him seek them in Pennsylvania." That is exactly what Lee thought he was doing in July 1863.

__Day One of the Battle__

The Union Troops and the Confederates met in Gettysburg on June 30th. Some southern soilders went looking for shoes that were reportedly stored in Gettysburg. They ran into the calvary of the Union, and they returned the next morning with General Henry Heth and his troops. The battle started slowly but ended with many deaths on each side. General Reynolds, fighting for the Union, was shot and died instantly an hour into the battle. General Abner Doubleday took his place. At the end of the day 12,000 were wounded or died for the Union, and 8,000 were killed or wounded for the confederates. Neither side retreated.

__Day Two of the Battle__

Day two of the battle of Gettysburg went much the same, each side faceing heavy casualties. The south lost 6,000 men, or 22 percent of those involved, while the Union's 8,900 casualties, or 28 percent, included 3,500 captured. General John B. Hood, fighting for the Confederates, helped push the Union back by his troops viciously attacking and they took the Federals position at Devils Den, a jumble of large boulders.

__Day Three of the Battle__

Day three was the last day of the battle. Both sides recieved reenforcments. The Union, led by General George Meade, stormed up Cemetary Ridge, a ridge outside Gettysburg. In the end, the Union just had the upper hand in their position and their numbers, and they outlasted the Confederates in the turning point of the war. In the end, there were 23,409 causualites, including 14,529 wounded and 5,365 missing. For the South, many causualty counts have been taken, but the correct one is unknown. Many historians have tried to come up with the exact number,and a man named Livermore came up with 28,063 casualties, including 18,735 wounded and 5,425 captured.

__Work Cited__ http://www.us-civilwar.com/gettysburg.htm Battle of Gettysburg, Day one http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/gtburg.htm Eyewitness to History http://www.me.ngb.army.mil/About%20Us/History/Chamberlain.htm Maine National Guard Corrick, James A. __The Battle of Gettysburg__. San Diego, California: Lucent Books, 1996. http://gburginfo.brinkster.net/Casualties.htm The Battle of Gettysburg reaserch center