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The Battle of Gettysburg July 1 st, 1863 It began with a skirmish the most costly battle in the history of the United States. Two divisions of Confederate soldiers headed for Gettysburg to drive out the Federal cavalry that had arrived before them (in search of shoes). The Federal cavalry under General John Buford met the rebels west of the town at Willoughby Run. This skirmish quickly became a large battle, which was what General Robert E. Lee was planning for. He sent 25, 000 soldiers to the battlefield, while the union had only 20, 000.
His chance here was to defeat the heart of the Union army in Pennsylvania and have Washington and the rest of the north to his own discretion. Major General John F. Reynolds arrived with the Federal I Corps, but he was shot by a sniper as he directed troops. The Federals are forced to fall back to the cemetery high grounds south of Gettysburg. Luckily for them, Lieutenant General Richard S.
Ewell hesitated in his orders from Lee to wipe out the battle-weary Federals. This gave them a chance to dig themselves in and wait for reinforcements. Major General Winfield Scott Hancock assumed command of the Federals and orders fortification from Culp s hill around in a hook formation to Little Round Top. Meanwhile, Lieutenant General James Longstreet strongly disagreed with General Lee s plans of attack.
He believed that they should skirt in between Washington and Gettysburg and make the enemy come to them. Lee was unmoved and remained determined to finish what would be the most crucial battle of the war, right where he was. In the other camp, Union Major General George G. Meade ordered reinforcements to Gettysburg seven corps in all, which were about 80, 000 men in all.
July 2 nd, 1863 General Lee s day got off to a bad start. Early in the morning he had ordered General Longstreet to attack at the left of the Union line while General Ewell was to take on the other end at Culp s Hill. At 11: 00 Longstreet had still not moved into position. Due to his lack of organization his attack does not get underway until 4: 00 that day. Another unexpected surprise for Lee was the arrival and reporting in of his Major General J. E.
B. Stuart. Lee was not pleased with him because as his cavalry commander, Stuart was the eyes and ears of the army, yet they had received no word from him in days. The most important fighting of the day took place on the Union s left flank, where due to miscommunication, General Sickles had advanced his troops about a half a mile past the line they were supposed to be defending.
When Longstreet did attack, Major General John Bell Hood slipped in where the Union line was faulty and advanced toward Little Round Top. With perfect timing, realizing the weakness on the left flank, General Meade ordered a brigade of Sykes Corp to defend the previously unoccupied Little Round Top. They were in position barely fifteen minutes before they came under fire. The fighting here went back and forth with heavy losses as both sides began to run out of ammunition.
Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, in command of the 20 th Maine, led his troops in a bayonet charge that drove the rebels from the hill. Due to the shifting of Meade s forces to meat threats on the left, General Ewell s attack on the right had a chance of success. However, although the Federals lost some ground, they held a strong defensive position along Cemetery Ridge and drove the Confederates back as night fell. July 3 rd, 1863 Although the battle was not going well for General Lee and his forces, he was convinced that the Federals were almost exhausted and that one final push would send them back. He had made up his mind that there was only one chance, and that was to gamble and surprise Meade by taking him in the very center of his lines.
Early in the morning however, Ewell s engagement at Culp s hill continued until around 11 when Federals finally counter attacked and drove him off the hill and back across Rock Creek. Meanwhile, Confederate forces were being gathered in the woods opposite Cemetery Ridge. Meade left only minimal forces in this area because he thought the attack would again come from the South. 140 pieces of artillery rang from the Southern positions concentrated on Cemetery Ridge. At the receiving end, amid the hail of shells and shrapnel, General Hancock rode slowly across the whole length of his line, rallying his men.
More than an hour later, the Federal return fire from their artillery was ceased to conserve ammunition and to fool the Confederates into believing they were destroyed. It worked. 15, 000 of Lee s most rested men came pouring out of the woods led by Major General George E. Picket. As they charged towards the Federal line, their artillery sounded out once again tearing the rebel charge apart.
They kept coming however, even when the Union opened up with rifles. As the rebels got closer there was fierce hand to hand combat, rifles at extremely close range, and bayonets being used. The Confederates nearly reached their goal, but had no idea of the Federal reinforcements that lay at the other side of the ridge. After an extremely costly battle, the rebels finally began to give way.
When they finally retreated, General Lee rode out to meet his men and apologized to them for loosing the battle and accepted the responsibility of what had taken place. 28, 000 Confederates died, in addition to 23, 000 Federals in the Battle of Gettysburg.
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Research essay sample on Battle Of Gettysburg Early In The Morning
