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Gettysburg A Turning Point Essay

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The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the entire Civil War. The Confederate force lost 25,000 soldiers while the Union side lost only 23,000, whether it be killed, wounded, or missing in action. The Civil War officially ended with the surrender of General Lee on July 4, 1863. However, how did the battle start? How did it end? What was the fatality of each side? What was the battle like? Why did both the Union and Confederate forces end up at the same place, causing the battle to start? On the morning of July 1, the Union force positioned themselves into the path of the approaching Confederates under the leadership of General John Buford. With a force of 90,000 men, the Confederates did not seem to have a chance. However, why were both forces there in the first place? As far as the Unions go, they knew the Confederates were to be marching there that day, so General Buford set up his soldiers to …show more content…

Throughout much of the battle, General Lee and his aggressiveness served him well, but as the battle came to a close, that aggressiveness led to disaster. Lee instructed his almost 15,000 soldiers to attack the center of the Union force, but the Union side was ready with reinforcements on top of the 6,500 soldiers already waiting. With their force spread about two miles wide, they fired their artillery to the sky hoping that some of their bullets would find their mark, and many did. The Union guns were quick to reply and the guns raged on for more than an hour, the heaviest combat of the Civil War. As the Confederate soldiers made the trek through “no-man’s land,” Union artillery hurt their lines a lot. Within minutes of making it to the Union side, the remaining soldiers were either dead, dying, or captured. In less than an hour, 7,000 Confederate troops were killed or wounded. Even with the casualties, both sides stayed strong until the night of July 4, where General Lee withdrew, but not without hesitation

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