The Battle of Gettysburg

  Before the Battle of Gettysburg, the Civil War had been going on for two years. Although the people of the southern states were doing well at this point in time, Robert E. Lee wanted to expand the territory of the Confederates. Lee ended up trying to take Pennsylvania because its farmlands were not destroyed by the war. Lee’s goal was to destroy the railroad bridge in Harrisburg, PA, and then move his army to attack Philadelphia and Baltimore. His army began in Richmond, VA and traveled north, (on their second attempt), to Harrisburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was not intended by either the North or the South. It started because the Confederate soldiers had traveled such a long way from Richmond, that many had no shoes. When they got news there was a shoe factory in Gettysburg they decided to head there. After arriving, the Confederates ran into the Union Calvary. (Ashley)

  On the second day of battle the Union defended a fishhook-shaped range of hills and ridges south of Gettysburg with around 90,000 soldiers. Confederates substantially wrapped around the Union position with 70,000 soldiers.(Asia)
 One of the major turning points of not only the Battle of Gettysburg, but the Civil War was the assault at Little Round Top. This battle has been said to have set the South on a long irreversible path to defeat. (Garrett)
  On July 3rd fighting continued on Culp’s Hill, and Calvary battles raged to the east and south but the main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,000 Confederates against the center of the Union line on cemetery Ridge Pickett’s charge, leading his army back to Virginia. Robert E. Lee having 51,000 soldiers killed or either wounded, missing, or captured.(Asia)

  Towards the ending of the battle more than 23,000 northerners out of 88,000 were killed and 28,000 confederate troops out of 75,000 were killed. The Civil War battle of Gettysburg lasted 3 days. In the end, after the south fail to invade the North, Robert E. Lee and his remaining confederate army were forced to retreat back to Virginia and did not return back to the North.

  Sadly enough, the Gettysburg Battle did not end the war. After the war Abraham Lincoln wrote a speech known as “The Gettysburg Address which commemorated the Gettysburg Battlefield. Which was one of the bloodiest battles fought during the Civil War. The speech, however, did not become known until 7 years later. (Nayomi)

http://home.earthlink.net/~mickey.stevens/civilwar/timeline.html
http://civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg-history-articles/defense-of-little-round-top.html
http://www.google.com/search?q=the+battle+of+gettysburg&hl=en&safe=strict&client=safari&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=vcOjULiwBZTu8ATUqIC4Bw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=768&bih=928#biv=i|78;d|J2vqPRBOcUKtWM:http://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/battle-of-gettysburg7
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg.html
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