Summary of Gettysburg
Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee concentrated his army around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, upon the approach of Union Gen. George G. Meade’s forces. On July 1, Confederates drove Union defenders through Gettysburg to Cemetery Hill. The next day Lee struck the flanks of the Union line resulting in severe fighting at Devil's Den, Little Round Top, the Wheat field, Peach Orchard, Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill. Southerners gained ground but failed to dislodge the Union host. On the morning of July 3rd, fighting raged at Culp’s Hill with the Union regaining its lost ground. That afternoon, after a massive artillery bombardment, Lee attacked the Union center on Cemetery Ridge and was repulsed with heavy losses in what is known as Pickett’s Charge. Lee's second invasion of the North had failed.
Explanation of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (July 1–July 3, 1863), was the largest battle of the America Civil War as well as the largest battle ever fought in North America, involving around 85,000 men in the Union’s Army of the Potomac under Major General George Gordon Meade and approximately 75,000 in the Confederacy’s Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert Edward Lee. Casualties at Gettysburg totaled 23,049 for the Union (3,155 dead, 14,529 wounded, 5,365 missing). Confederate casualties were 28,063 (3,903 dead, 18,735 injured, and 5,425 missing), more than a third of Lee’s army.
These largely not replicable losses to the South’s largest army, combined with the Confederate surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 4, marked what is widely regarded as a turning point perhaps the turning point in the civil war, although the conflict would continue for nearly two more years and witness several more major battles, including Chickasaw, Spotsylvania Courthouse, Mononacy, Nashville.
These largely not replicable losses to the South’s largest army, combined with the Confederate surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 4, marked what is widely regarded as a turning point perhaps the turning point in the civil war, although the conflict would continue for nearly two more years and witness several more major battles, including Chickasaw, Spotsylvania Courthouse, Mononacy, Nashville.
Born on January 19, 1807 in Stafford, Virginia, Robert E. Lee came to military prominence during the U.S. Civil War, commanding his home state's armed forces and becoming general-in-chief of the Confederate forces towards the end of the conflict. Though the Union won the war, Lee has been revered by many while others debate his tactics. He went on to become president of Washington College.
George Gordon Meade was one of the few Union generals who began his life and career in a foreign country. Born in Cadiz, Spain, Meade came to America after he and his family were financially ruined during the Napoleonic Wars. He received an appointment to the United State Military Academy, in 1831, and attended the school primarily as a result of his financial situation. He graduated 19th out of 56 members of the class in 1835 and served briefly during the Seminole War before retiring. He worked for some time as a civil engineer until 1842, when he asked to be reinstated to the army, and was appointed a second lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers. He served with the corps in New Jersey and Florida, constructing breakwaters and lighthouses. During the Mexican-American War, he was present at the battles of Resaca de la Palma, Palo Alto, and Monterey, but saw no major combat. He returned to topographical work after the war in 1857 near the Great Lakes until his services were again called upon at the outbreak of the Civil War.