On July 1st - 3rd of 1863 approximately 160,000 men were involved in the largest battle of the Civil War and the largest battle ever fought in North America in a small town in Pennsylvania, Gettysburg. Of the 160,000 men the 85,000 northerners outnumbered the 75,000 strong southerners. The battle is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War and a turning point in favor of the north. After the fighting had ended, the Union in total had 23,049 casualties and the Confederacy had 28,063, a great Union victory. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee, invaded the north for the second time where they laid assault after assault against the Union’s line. The Union’s Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, with a hard fought defensive all across their lines and Meade’s strategic actions, held off the Confederate attacks one after another.
The most important battle during the Civil War was the Battle of Gettysburg. This was a battle that took place over three days in the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. This battle was the turning point of the civil war which successfully stopped the Southern Confederate Armies led by General Robert E. Lee from taking over the north. The Battle of Gettysburg was the most important battle of the Civil War because it was the largest of the civil war battles, successfully pushing back southern armies away from the north, and was the major defeat of the south. The battle of Gettysburg is still considered to historians to not only be the most important battle of the Civil war but the deciding factor towards victory.
Known as the bloodiest single-day battle in American History, the Battle of Antietam took place at Antietam creek in Maryland. Strategic plan unveiled and outnumbered, things didn’t start off smoothly for General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate army; yet, even with a copy of the enemy’s plan and a two-to-one advantage, did things work out for Union! With one side disadvantaged and the other wasting their advantages, the battle stayed undecided for hours- that is until violent attacks to General Lee’s troop had the Confederate army retreating. Although, the Battle of Antietam does not have a clear victorious side, the Union declared it as a victory and used the victory to justify the “Emancipation Proclamation”
The Battle of Gettysburg was a three day fight in which an estimate of 51,000 soldiers were killed in total, but besides all of the casualties, what else makes this battle special? The Battle of Gettysburg was a huge factor in the abolishment of slavery. It is one of the most important battles because it created new war strategies and was the turning point in the Civil War, which led to the Gettysburg Address.
The Battle/Siege of Vicksburg The Battle of Vicksburg was one of the most crucial points in the Civil War. It helped Eradicate the Rebels/Confederacy once and for all. The Civil War was fought for over 4 years and it lasted from 1861-1865. It was one of the most horrific wars the world has ever known and witnessed.
This battle was also a Confederate victory. In this battle, Stonewall came up with a genius plan of splitting up the Confederate soldiers and sending them behind the unaware Union soldiers. Stonewall Jackson came up with this plan because the Confederate army was completely outnumbered and there was no way they could win, gun to gun. A quote what supports the fact that Stonewall was a genius military strategist states: “Northern soldiers were caught almost completely unaware and quickly succumbed to panic and rout, resulting in one of the most striking tactical victories of the war.” (Hamner).
The confederate army was worn out from their march to Shiloh. The next day, Grant’s army once gain clashed with Beauregard’s. This battle lasted until about mid-day, and resulted in Beauregard retreating to Corinth. This led to the battle of Corinth, which was an easy victory for the Union Army. After the union took over the railroad station, they cut off the supplies that were being taken to the confederate Army.
The union were able to attack Lees center multiple times but McClellan let the rebels retreat and regroup. Which let the battle carry on longer than needed. Then the union decided to attack Jackson(left flank) which was located at dunkers church, and were able to push Jackson out. Then the union had to get across the river to be able to attack and push back the confederates line. The union tried
Both felt the impact of these losses and were unable to attack in the next few weeks to come. One Union soldier said, “My opinion is that this war will be closed in less than six months from this time.” Then after the battle, the same soldier said, “If my life is spared I will continue in my country’s service until this rebellion is put down should it be ten years” (Dillahunty, pg.1). This particular battle made the North realize the war wasn’t going to be an easy fight, while the Confederates now realized they couldn’t boast about their men’s fighting abilities after such a hard loss. Both sides had many volunteer troops during the battle, which showed how much motivation many of these young men had.
The battle lasted for three days and it resulted in the confederates’ defeat. This battle is considered a major turning point in the war because it forced the confederates to be put on the defensive side and it ended General Robert E. Lee’s biggest attempt to invade Union territory. The Union had some advantaged over the confederates such as having better weapons, telegraphs, and leadership. Whereas the Confederates were able to fight on land that they knew so they had “home” advantage. The disadvantaged for the confederacy were that the Union blocked many of the trading ports so that the Confederates’ economy was destroyed, also, the confederates had many guns and weapons, but they struggled to get enough men to enlist.
First of all the geography forced the Confederates to switch from offense to defense. The Battle of Gettysburg was the first and last battle fought in the North. All the other battles were fought in the South so the Confederate’s people and towns were constantly in danger. Document A illustrates that the General Lee were tired of being on the defense and wanted to be on the offense for a change. Document A states that even though the Confederates tried their hardest they were pushed back onto the defensive and ultimately lost the war (273).
The Gettysburg Battle was the turning point in the war because each side experienced a serious event in which the Northern morale had boosted and Southerners are starting to back down and throw in the towel.
History. The battle of Antietam took place at Washington County on September 16-18, 1862. the union army was led by George B. McClellan. With 12.400 casualties, 2,100 killed, 9,550 wounded and 750 missing. (education-portal.com)
The Battle of Antietam is viewed as the bloodiest day ever, with more than 23,000 warriors injured, killed, or missing.The Battle of Antietam occurred close Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland.The fight was battled on September 17 1862.
On September 17, 1862, we fought at the battle of Antietam, and one of our officers was killed. At the battle of Fredericksburg, which was December 11 to 15, 1862, and the battle of Chancellorsville, which was April 30 to May 6, 1863, we were present but weren’t part of the actual fighting.