Battle of Gettysburg: The Confederate Invasion and Effects of the Battle

Battle of Gettysburg: The Confederate Invasion and Effects of the Battle
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Battle of Gettysburg: The Confederate Invasion and Effects of the Battle
The American Civil War (April 1861-May 1865) saw a series of bloody battles that lasted four years (Fitzgerald, 2014). Historians assert that the American Civil War was very fundamental in the fight and quest for freedom in the nation (Fitzgerald, 2014). The battle of Gettysburg was one of the battles that were witnessed during the American Civil War. The battle of Gettysburg lasted for 3 days; from 1st July to 3rd July 1863 (OHern, Anderson & McHargue, 2006). The battle took place at Gettysburg, with the Union and Confederate forces clashing for supremacy. Both the south and the north wanted to display their political and military might, since there were sharp divisions between the two territories. Out of the battles that took place during the American Civil War, it is the battle of Gettysburg that reported the highest number of casualties. In fact, historians describe the battle as having led to a decisive period in the civil war. In other words, the battle was a great turning point in the history of the American Civil War because it marked the first defeat of the Confederacy by the Union and, consequently, a belief by the Union that it could win the war. Given that the core reason behind the civil war was the tensions between the northern and southern states in the United States, General Robert Lee led the Confederate forces against General George Meade’s Union forces, in a bid to gain political and military mileage. After three days of battle, historians assert that there has never been such a costly fighting in the history of the United States. Approximately 50,000 casualties were reported from both armies (Rice, 2002). This is an indication of the battle’s massive scale.
In the end, it is the Union’s forces, under the leadership of General Meade, which got the victory. This was not quite expected, considering that General Lee was considered to be an invincible leader who had led the Confederate to significant victories in the course of the civil war. The Confederate army charged against the Union’s army at Gettysburg, but they were held back by the Union’s soldiers. In the first two days, the Confederate was charging forcefully against the Union, but on the third day, the tactical and strategic plans of the Union’s army, under General Lee, proved pivotal in giving it victory. The aftermath of the war included the following: a Union’s victory, military losses, retreat by the Confederate, political loss by the South, and the journey to nation building. A critical analysis of the battle of Gettysburg shows that the aftermath of the battle was more devastating to the Confederacy compared to the Union.
The Confederate Invasion
In the summer of 1863, General Lee achieved a tremendous victory at the battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia (Rice, 2002). He defeated Major General Joseph Hooker, and this gave him the desire to extend his battles further into the Northern territory. Any opportunity to get into the Northern territory and display the might of the Confederacy was utilized by General Lee. He believed that he could take a bold move to invade the Northern territory controlled by the Union. Lee decided to bring his armies together to battle with the Union’s army. The battle of Gettysburg began in July 1 1863 to 3rd July 1863 (OConnor & Mantha, 2013). On the first day of the battle, the Confederate troops proved to be too strong for the Union’s army, and they decided to take a defensive cover. The Confederate were very tactical on the first day, and this made them to push the Northern troops backwards. Much of the victory on the first day by the Confederacy was attributed to General Lee’s tactics and experience in winning previous battles (OConnor & Mantha, 2013).
General Lee had achieved a huge success on the first day of the battle, and this made him to continue with the attacks on the second day. Having been pushed back the previous day, the Union’s side brought in reinforcements to enhance their defensive cover. After a series of tactical moves from every side, the army of the South continued to display its might and strength against the Union. In fact, the Confederate had almost come to victory by attempting to break the Union’s fortified lines. However, General Meade’s army managed to hold the Confederate’s for the second day (Storrick, 1991). The third day of the battle saw Lee continue to push his way into the Union’s lines with the intention of achieving victory against it, but the Union’s troops were also determined to fight back. At the end of the day, it was the Union’s army under General Meade that got a resounding victory, with the Confederate retreating heavily. The Confederacy had expected to win the battle, but it proved very difficult for them on the third day (Storrick, 1991). In the end, the Confederacy suffered many loses compared to the Union.
The Effects of the Battle of Gettysburg
Casualties and Military Losses
The aftermath of the battle saw both the Confederate’s army and Union’s army lose many of their soldiers and generals. It is estimated that the casualties were between 45,000 to 50,000 soldiers (Storrick, 1991). Historians estimate that the Union’s casualties of war were estimated at 23,000, while the casualties of the Confederate’s army were estimated at 28,000 (Storrick, 1991). So, the aftermath of the war saw the Confederate losing more soldiers than the Union’s army. One third of General Lee’s soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured during the three-day battle (OConnor & Mantha, 2013). Apart from the soldiers who died during the battle, both sides lost army generals who were very significant in the war. Historians record that the Gettysburg battle had the largest number of army generals lost during the American Civil War. This is a testament of the significance of the battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The Confederacy side lost five generals and the Union lost five generals as well (OConnor & Mantha, 2013). Losing the army generals was a big blow for both sides since they were very instrumental in strengthening their armies. Since the civil war was becoming heated with every passing day, no army wanted to lose any of its generals. Losing army generals is the last thing that either of the opposing sides would want; since it affected the morale of the soldiers. Thus, it was a heavy military loss to the two opposing sides to lose their trusted generals. Apart from the generals who died during the battle, there were others who were either wounded or captured by the opposing side.
Losing soldiers and generals was not the only setback for the Confederate. The Confederate, who happened to lose much during the three-day battle, lost a lot of equipment that was needed immensely in the war. The Confederacy was fiercely on the offensive during the first and second days of the battle, but on the third day they lost so much military equipment that made them to slow down their offensive tactics. After the heavy lose of military equipment, it was not possible for the Confederacy to put up a spirited attack against the Northern territory. It should be noted that the battle of Gettysburg was very influential during the American Civil War, thus the defeat of the Confederacy spelt doom for the Southern states. The defeat was so devastating that Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate, together with other political leaders agreed that the military defeat had lowered the morale of the South (Rice, 2002). Prior to the battle, they were confident that they would emerge victorious because of the previous victories they had achieved. For this reason, the political leaders thought of ways of moving forward but they could not agree. As a result of this, the Northerners started believing that they could win the civil war. It is certain that both the Confederacy and the Union’s armies lost many soldiers, but it was the...