Pickett's Charge

killed. The Union army also suffered about 23,000 similar losses (Benson). Lee’s army withdrew to the southwest through a driving rain in a wagon train stretching 17 miles (Aines). During the retreat, Lee repeated his remarks at the failure of Pickett’s Charge: “It is all my fault, I thought my men were invincible.” Robert E. Lee offered his resignation to Jefferson Davis but it was turned down (HistoryLearningSite). On July 5th, Meade set down his reasons for not pursuing the Confederates:…

from all angles. With the ability to cut off the Unions supplies, they would not have additional artillery shells, ammo, or even food to the troops fortified on the hills. In the original battle, there was a memorable moment called, “Pickett’s Charge.” “The charge was repulsed by the Union rifle and artillery fire, at great losses to the Confederate Army” (“The Battle of Gettysburg Summary & Facts,” 2014). Without the huge supply of artillery shells from the Baltimore Pike, this showdown…

The small market town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with a population of 2,400, recently hosted the latest battle of the Civil War. This battle was fought July 1-3, 1863. The Battle of Gettysburg is thought of as the most important clash of the Civil War. The Confederate’s casualties totalled to 28,000 out of 75,000 and the Union’s casualties totalled to 23,000/88,000. 160,000 people were involved. In Rappahannock, 866 Federals were killed and 523 Confederates killed with thousands of rebel…

In order to check the furious fighting on the left, Meade moved troops in from his extreme right as reinforcements. This shift in the Union line brings up the third point of interest. While the left flank was under heavy attack from Longstreet, the right was supposed to be under pressure from Ewell's attack. The plans were simple; when Ewell heard Longstreet's guns, his orders were to attack. A unified assault would have weakened the defenses on the Union left by keeping the right busy and…

The most important battle during the Civil War was the Battle of Gettysburg. While the first encounter leading this battle was in Chancellorsville which was easily dominated by the South in eventually led the Southern troops to Northern Virginia to this famous battle. This was a battle that took place over three days in the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. Led by General George Gordon Meade the Battle of Gettysburg was turning point of the civil war, which successfully…

Officers trained in the strategies of the past lined up their men at close range for their slaughter by the new rifles and ammunition developed. Bayonet charges became obsolete but were still continuously used throughout the Civil War, resulting in the destruction of entire regiments by concentrated rifle and cannon fire (as seen in Pickett’s Charge) (Griffith 96). However, in the end, the main perpetrator and culprit behind the huge casualties seen in the Civil War was the technological…

Confederate General Robert E. Lee is possibly the most controversial and yet widely respected out of all the Civil War commanders. Historians have held different views about the beloved General for over a hundred years, such as Robert W. Winston in his book Robert E. Lee; A Biography (1934), Michael Fellman in The Making of Robert E. Lee (2000), and Margaret Sanborn’s Robert E. Lee: A Portrait (1966). Winston’s theme in his book created a different outlook on General Lee than the latter two…

As the importance of Lincoln and his legacy never fades, it is important to continuously focus on the meaning and decisions behind one of his most famous documents: The Gettysburg Address. This address to the nation was proclaimed in late 1863, during a time where America had suffered from the lasting duress of the Civil War that plagued the nation. At this point, the Civil War had endured three years – three years of a war that wore down both sides of the nation, and Lincoln’s Union side…

The union had an advantage in geography. In the south, there was no other land surrounding their land, there was only water. The union used this to their advantage. They used a blockade strategy which was when they surrounded the land and prevented goods, troops, and weapons from entering the southern states. Abraham Lincoln announced that they would be using this plan on April 19, 1861. The Union first traveled down the Mississippi River into New Orleans and gained control of the Mississippi…

Throughout history, war has been at the forefront of politics and has led to the formation of some of the greatest societies and movements of all time. That being said, war has also led to the ultimate downfall of enormous empires and movements that at one point were sparked with enthusiasm. In short, it brings the most glorious of times and the worst; thousands of human beings dead, families and nations left grieving, and beliefs shattered like glass – all the aftermath of a brutal, hard-fought…