The Importance Of The Battle Of Gettysburg During The Civil War

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The Civil War began at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina on April 12, 1861, due to rising tensions between the Union [Northern states] and the Confederacy [Southern states]. There were many disagreements on how the Union carried out their laws and taxes. The Confederates wanted to secede from the Union because they felt like they would be better off without control from the Union. One of the main issues were the opinions on slavery. The North wanted to begin expanding westward and not allow slavery to expand with it. However, the South wanted to continue with slavery and allow it to expand. They completely disagreed with the Union wanting to get rid of slavery and did not want to accept any laws or taxes that the Union had to offer. …show more content…
The most famous battle of the Civil War was the Battle of Gettysburg. This was considered the turning point of the Civil War. It began on 1 July 1863 in the late afternoon after the Union army entered Gettysburg the day before [June 30]. “The Confederates launched a fierce attack on the first day, pushing the Federals through the streets of Gettysburg and eventually to Cemetery Ridge due south of the town, where [General] Meade rallied his troops and established a strong defensive position that evening. Heavy fighting on the second day, in the area between Cemetery Ridge and the Confederate position on Seminary Ridge, also lasted until nightfall but accomplished little, as the Federals managed to hold their ground under intense pressure from repeated assaults” (ABC-CLIO Solutions, 2014, “Army of North …show more content…
The Southern army was over-confident in their military and assurance of defeating the Northern army. General Lee’s decision for his army to attack the strongest line of the Union army caused them to lose a majority of his army. This is the reason that the Battle of Gettysburg is, in fact, considered the turning point. Though it was not completely General Lee’s fault because he did not expect that much blood to be shed, he did, however, disregard the warning from his subordinate, James Longstreet. Longstreet warned Lee that attacking them might not be the best thing to do at that time, but Lee felt

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