Battle of Gettysburg

By: Vicky Patel

Basic Info

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1 to July 3, 1863.

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought from Wednesday, July 1st until Friday, July 3rd in 1863. The armies remained facing each other on the field on July 4th and there was minor skirmishing, although it is not usually considered part of the battle.

Where was the Battle of Gettysburg

Gettysburg is a small crossroads town in southern Pennsylvania about 8 miles north of the Maryland border. It is the center of a network of roads feeding in from all angles of the compass. Several of these roads were paved roads that were usable in all weather, such as the heavy rains that followed the battle.

 

At the time of the battle Gettysburg had a population of about 2.400 people. It was (and still is) the county seat of Adams County. Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College) and the Lutheran Theological Seminary are on the west side of town, with some buildings dating back to the battle.

 

In July of 1863 Gettysburg was also the end of a railroad line from Hanover to the east, but it had been wrecked by Confederate troops.

What was the importance of the Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg was a decisive victory for the Union that stopped the Confederate invasion of the North and forced Lee's army to withdraw to Virginia. Although the battle did not involve the largest number of troops it had the highest casualties of any battle of the Civil War.

It is considered a turning point because for the rest of the war Lee was on the strategic defensive, forced into the war of attrition he feared and eventually cornered in an unwinnable siege around Richmond.

Killed Wounded missing total

Union 3,155 14,531 5,369 23,055

Confederate 4,708 12,693 5,830 22,231

Total 7,863 27,224 11,199 46,286

Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, with at least 46,000 and possibly as many as 51,000 casualties in the two armies.

DAY ONE

By the end of the fighting that first day, the southern troops had pushed the Northern soldiers out of Gettysburg and into the places of higher ground to the south of town.

DAY TWO

On the second day the south tried to break through the line of defense northern soldiers had created. And the northern forces held their ground.