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ELED 3223

Alysa Gray
4/11/2016
Content Knowledge Project

Battle of Gettysburg
Introduction
The Battle of Gettysburg was a large three day battle but dont let that fool you. The short
three day Battle of Gettysburg over 51,000 soldiers, from both the confederate and the union.
This battle was fought during the civil war and is what is known as the turning point of the war.
The cause of the battle was because of the area road system. There were ten roads that led into
Gettysburg and this is what brought the armies to Gettysburg. I chose to do my project on the
Battle of Gettysburg because it a battle that often gets over looked. This battle indeed was the
turning point of the Civil War. The three day battle in which the union won, left the largest of the
confederate severely wounded and they surrendered. The Battle of Gettysburg is talked about all
over the United States. People may not know what happened or what caused the battle to take
place but anyone you ask will have heard of it. This battle has two different perspectives. One
perspective during this battle was from the Union with General George G. Meade. General
Meade wanted to protect Gettysburg and stop the confederate army from taking Gettysburg and
going more North. Perspective number two is the Confederate with General Robert E. Lee.
General Lee wanted to defeat Gettysburg and go into the north. He wanted to pull the Union

army into the north and draw back into Washington. The Battle of Gettysburg fits into the
common core state standards because it is a part of history. Standard 2.H.1 is understanding how
various sources provide information about the past. This could be tied into a lesson because the
Battle of Gettysburg is in our past and what happened those three days affects everyone. It is was
a battle that was fought during the Civil War and this was fought over slavery. Each battle fought
during the Civil War but the Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War. This
battle kept the south from invading north. If the north would have won the outcome of the Civil
War may have been different. Learning about the past and understanding what happened is
important. Without past knowledge history could repeat itself based on mistakes that could have
been prevented. Also 5.H.1 says to analyze the chronology of key events in the United States.
This will be helpful to tie into the whole war and see the causes that led up to the Battle of
Gettysburg.
Battle of Gettysburg. (n.d.).
The battle begins
The Battle of Gettysburg has been called the turning point of the civil war and is the
largest battle that occurred during the civil war. But what caused the battle? Why did General
Robert E. Lee want to take Gettysburg? Who prevailed during the battle? Questions that I will
answer for you. The Battle of Gettysburg was an unplanned battle. After Robert E. Lee won at
Chancellorsville in Virginia in May 1863, he couldnt be stopped; so he thought. He had an army
of 75,000 men and was moving north. General George G. Meade was in Gettysburg and ready
for them with an army of 82,000. There were ten roads that led into Gettysburg, while the
confederate came in from the south trying to push the union back. During the battle events
occurred that affected the outcome. The three day battle was the largest and the battle that had

the most casualties loss during the civil war. The battle had different aspects that took place that
had effect on who won. The two major aspects were, Devils Den which took place in Gettysburg
on the second day of the battle, and the Picketts Charge which took place on the third and final
day of the battle.
Day One of the Battle of Gettysburg
During this three day battle, Robert E. Lee wanted to push the union back into the north;
by going through Gettysburg. July 1st 1863 was the start of The Battle of Gettysburg. On first
day of the battle Robert E. Lee and the confederate made the first attack on the union on
McPherson Ridge, west of town. Early morning the Union lost General John Reynolds. Even
with the union outnumbered they still managed to hold the confederate back. Until later that
afternoon when the confederate prevailed towards town pushing the Union back. Thousands of
Union soldiers were captured before they could retreat back to Cemetery Hill. Overnight the
Union held the confederate back until General Meade could arrive with his army. General Lee
wanted to push forward and expressed that General Ewell take his men further. Ewell did not
want to press on knowing how tired his men were, this gave Union General Meade time to
reinforce on the hill. The confederate army had an estimated 15,500 soldiers that were killed,
wounded or missing. The first day alone at The Battle of Gettysburg had more soldiers loss then
the Battle of Bull run and the Battle of Franklin combined. The first day was also the 12th
bloodiest battle in the entire Civil War.
Ten Facts about Gettysburg. (n.d.). Retrieved 2014.

Day Two of the Battle of Gettysburg

July 2nd day two of The Battle of Gettysburg the union and confederate armies meet
again. Day two was the largest and was the day where most lives were lost. This day there was
intense fighting at The Devils Den just south of town. General Robert E. Lee decided he was
going to attack with two flank attacks on the union lines. The 5,500 Confederates from Major
General John Bell Hoods division ultimately captured Devils Den from 2,400 defenders drawn
from Major Union General David Bell Birneys division. This would be one of the only victories
for the south. Late afternoon confederate General Hood was injured and forced out of the battle.
By 4 p.m. confederate General Longstreets divisions had advanced, smashing union line with
tremendous force. General Lees plan to divide and conquer worked. He sent one division under
Lieutenant General James Longstreet to attack from the north. The next two divisions, would
then join the attack by moving obliquely at a northeast angle across the Emmitsburg Road.
General Lee had received an intelligence report that said the Round Tops and the southern end of
Cemetery Ridge were unoccupied by Union troops, so Lee was sure the flank attacks would
work; and it did. The confederate had won day two of the Battle of Gettysburg. This day the
confederate lost nearly 6,500 soldiers, while the union lost 8,750 soldiers.
Gettysburg. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.army.mil/gettysburg/flash.html
Day Three of the Battle of Gettysburg
July 3rd 1863 was the third and final day of the Battle of Gettysburg. The final attempt by
General Lee to break the union had begun. The Pickett Charge took place on the third day of the
battle. This involved an infantry assault of approximately 15,000 Confederate soldiers against
Union Major General George Meades troops position along Cemetery Ridge. At 1pm guns and
cannons were blasting across from the confederate and the union. In a desperate attempt to
recapture the partial success of the day, began one of the most incredible efforts in military

history. An infantry assault of 15,000 Confederate troops marched across the open field toward
the Union center on Cemetery Ridge. The entire time being pounded with artillery and rifle fire.
Picketts army made it the mile but were unable to break the union line. The amazing effect by
General Pickett and his men ended in a disaster. In just 50 minutes the last attempt by the
confederate was tried and failed. The 10,000 men that were in the assault had now become
casualties. With the failure of Picketts Charge the Union had won the Battle of Gettysburg.
General Lee had retreated to a small town and with him he only had 2,400 tired, physically and
spiritually exhausted men. After being defeated Lee says that he will never again try this offense
again.
Battle of Gettysburg Ends. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.history.com/this-day-inhistory/battle-of-gettysburg-ends
Major event during the Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was a long three day, hard fought battle between confederate
and union. Many lives were lost, causality numbers exceeding over 23,049 for the Union and
28,063 for the Confederate. The two major points of the Battle of Gettysburg are day two at The
Devils Den and day three Picketts Charge. The Devils Den was the bloodiest and most lives lost.
Also it was the only time that General Robert E Lee had won during the battle. Picketts Charge
was the confederates last chance at breaking Union General Meades line. Within 50 minutes the
charge had been tried and fail miserably, causing General Lee to surrender and General Meade to
hold Gettysburg. This Battle is considered to be the turning point of the entire Civil War and
would continue for another two years.

The Battle of Gettysburg. (1995). Retrieved 2016, from http://visitgettysburgpa.com/battle-ofgettysburg/


The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/gtburg.htm
Conclusion
After reading more and more about The Battle of Gettysburg, I believe that history itself
is more important. Students should be taught that history is something we all should learn and
study about. Not only so that we do not make the same mistakes that we made as a country in the
past but also so that we can improve our world around us. Knowledge is very powerful and just
by knowing about our history or our community around us can be extremely beneficial. Learning
just about the Battle of Gettysburg and how the north stopped the south from invading is
important. This three day hard fought battle could have ended differently. What if north could
not stop the south and they lost Gettysburg? The outcome of the entire war could have been
different. Things that we have now even 150 years later could have been affected differently
based on just those three days. The biggest thing that should be learned from The Battle of
Gettysburg is that it was the turning point of the entire Civil War and that the North defeated the
South in a three day battle to protect Gettysburg. Something bigger to take away is that even
something as short as three days can make a huge difference over a two year war and its
outcome.

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