Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Washington D C Battle Of Gettysburg - 1,687 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

Battle of Gettysburg In the following essay I am going to speak about the battle of Gettysburg because I personally find the American Civil war extremely interesting due to its further impact on the development of the US society as well as I also want to know more about this battle. Hollywood has created several movies that picture the Battle of Gettysburg, once again adding up to the notion that this battle was extremely important in the lives of the future US citizens. Many of us have heard about the Battle of Gettysburg which proved to be one of the bloodiest battles during the Civil war, yet still many may wonder why it was the confederates army and not the union army that lost battle. The problem statement of this essay is why the given battle occurred, and why this battle occurred at Gettysburg. In the following essay I will present various findings on the given topic, as well as express my personal opinion also commenting on why the battle turned out to be the bloodiest battle during the civil war.

The Civil war will also be discussed in the settings of the Battle of the Gettysburg as well as the possibility of the South victory will also be discussed. It should be noted that with each battle during the Civil War general Robert E. Lee became more and more recognized. His previous two victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville made him even well respected by the North due to his masterful plots and war strategies.

Lee was going North and subsequently won the battle in Shenadore Valley. Lee believed that if he could march on the West side of the Blue Ridge mountains he would be able to hide his troops from the Union army and subsequently strike unexpectedly. Lee planned to take his army of 65 thousand and enter into West Virginia. After west Virginia, he would certainly march to the North gaining ground in Maryland and Pennsylvania (Donald's, 2001). Should he establish presence in these territories he would not have much difficulty capturing Philadelphia and March to Washington D. C.

Should they be able to enter Philly and Washington D. C. they would certainly have a political leverage to the existent letter of president Davis regarding the peace between the North and South that would mostly benefit the Southern Confederate states. The paradox with the Southern army was that it actually lacked the proper supplies including clothes and army shoes (Garraty, 1995). No plans to go to Gettysburg for military purposes were ever present in the Confederate Army, yet the need for boots, and clothes made the General A. P.

Hills 65, 000 -men army make a detour to the town to get the needed supplies. General Henry Heth had asked Lees permission to also go to Gettysburg where according to the intelligence source the Union army (cavalry) was dislocated. The northern cavalry general John Buford remained in the area with the 2. 500 cavalry unit and seemed to be an easy target for the Southern troops. The unknown to the Southern troops fact was that the Union also spied on the Southern Army after the previous Shenadore Valley battle thus also considering the opportunity to lock the Confederate forces at Gettysburg.

The biggest battle of the Civil War at Gettysburg in fact was the turning point of the whole Civil War in America, marking the US history with blood and harsh action. The scenario started to develop when the Cavalry General J. E. Stuart, on the 1 st of July of 1863 moved to Cumberland Valley in search of fresh horses for his army. When the actual battle happened Stuart arrived only the day after its end, thus incurring the anger from Lee and other generals of the Confederate Army. Yet during the battle the confederate General Heth entered Gettysburg early in the morning and attacked the cavalry of General Buford who could not resist the Confederates even with the help of General John F.

Retnolds division (Mattingly, 2000). Retnolds was killed during the battle thus setting the record of the highest and only army figure (general) to be shot during the Civil War. General Heth sent for the rest of the Confederate Army that arrived almost at the time the Union army moved in Gettysburg to lock in the South. The Confederates had a very good start and already took over 4 thousand Union captives, two generals and several artillery units (Donald's, 2001). The 2 nd of July, 1863 was a marked by success that the Confederate army gained during the first battle at Gettysburg. Lee was encouraged to renew the attack on the 2 nd of July, too.

The early morning the Confederate recon told Lee that the North was lacking consistency on all of its fronts thus being vulnerable to the sudden attack by the South. Lee immediate told general Longstreet to approach the Federal forces from the side of Little Round Top. The attack would be undertaken by two army divisions of Longstreet and A. P. Hill with the total force over 22, 000 soldiers. In order to distract the enemy, general Ewell had to march to the right side of the federal troops and should the opportunity present itself immediate attack the North and penetrate it as deep as he would be able to (Garraty, 1995).

Still I would like to note that the North was also prepared for the war with the South and had concentrated the maximum forces near Gettysburg. Union general Meade, deployed the hood-shaped offensive position with the center position of the army being located near Cemetery Ridge, the right position near Culps and Cemetery Hill and the left position was dislocated near Little Round Top under the commandment of General Daniel Sickles. Sickles in order to take advantage of the flat position decided to advance additional? mile towards the South and remain near the peach orchard (Donald's, 2001). Here I would like to note that after the sudden attack by Longstreet Sickles forces lost control and totally disintegrated. The Longstreet's army started to follow them till the central corps reinforcements that halted the Confederates advancement.

At the same time the Confederate army in the center managed to advance as far as the Cemetery Hill where it was stopped by the North artillery. General Ewell did not immediately attack the north yet waited till the night to assure the easier victory. He did not advance far yet managed to gain some ground close the Union army occupied territories. Here I would Like to note that each side lost more than 9000 soldiers during the second day of war, yet each side was certain that the next day would also result in a war. The third days plan was rather bold and provocative and Lee wanted to bring an end to the war with this coup. General Longstreet was ordered just like before to attack the North from the Left flank with the help of general Pickett.

Ewell who did a good job gaining some ground was commanded to capture the Culps Hill (Mattingly, 2000). The most interesting plan was for the Stuarts cavalry, that was supposed to go east off the Gettysburg and then attack the Union forces from the rear and capture general Meade (Kenneth, 1995). The North did not want an attack but rather decided to await the South in the trenches. The only attack was on Ewell to move him off his position he captured the day before. Here I would like to say that the army lost initiative due to the fact that Longstreet misinterpreted Lees commands and did not attack on the assigned time.

The re-modified Lees plan to attack the center of the north position turned out to be a costly endeavor. Pickett army was destroyed by artillery, musket fire and infantry bringing high losses for the South. Stuarts cavalry was also faced by Union cavalry and although did not destroy Stuart, still stopped his advancement to the Union rear. The third day put an end to the battle. Even though no party actually won the battle, and each of them lost over 20, 000 on the third day alone such high losses were enough to dismantle the southern army that did not have enough forces or sources to recruit these forces from. The South retreated with the North not following it for the same simple reason: it did not have enough forces to finish the war.

The small town of 2, 500 people saw the death of over 52, 000 soldiers. On the territory of the town more than 6000 dead horses, 600 tons of ammunition were left in a representation of the massive devastation (Mattingly, 2000). In conclusion I would like to say that the Confederate army that retreated form Gettysburg was small, tired and wounded. General Lee would never be able to find 50, 000 more soldiers he lost in the battle and would never engage an offensive of such size.

Union General Meade had also suffered extensive losses and could not follow the south. He claimed that war to be the last large scale operation of the civil war and he was in my opinion correct. After the battle of Gettysburg the civil war still lasted for 2 more years, yet the Confederate army never again possessed such strong forces as it did before and ultimately died. Bibliography "The Civil War", Groliers Encyclopedia, 1995 Foote, Shelby. , The Civil War, Vol. 3. New York: Random, 1974 Garraty, John Arthur, The American Nation: A History of the United states to 1877, Vol. 1, Eighth Edition. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1995 Miers, Earl Schenck, The Last Campaign.

Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. , 1972 Kenneth, Dave C. Say You Want a Revolution. Dont Know Much About History. U.

S. A: Avon Books, 1995. Peter Donald's, The US history revealed, NY Random House, 2001. Mack, Stan. Redcoats and Guerrillas. Real Life American Revolution.

USA: Avon Books, 1994. Daniel Mathias, The US civil war history, McGraw Hill, 2001. Andrew Mattingly, The Battle of Gettysburg, Penguin Books, 2000. web


Free research essays on topics related to: battle of gettysburg, won the battle, confederate army, washington d c, civil war

Research essay sample on Washington D C Battle Of Gettysburg

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com