Hello, readers. My
name is Clint Hayes. Elaine told my
story in her novel The Sentence. The
story’s fantastic, and if you’d like to read it, you can buy it for only $2.99
at http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:mode=product&product=10046831 Don’t take my word for it though. For only $2.99 you can afford to check it
out.
I don’t think Elaine mentioned it, but I’m a big Civil War
fan so she asked me to tell you about the importance of the Battle of
Gettysburg which happened July 1-3, 1863.
Are you ready? Here goes.
The American Civil War was a bloody conflict that almost
tore the US in two. Historically
speaking, the importance of the Civil War was that the US remained one nation
and therefore was strong enough to become a super power in the 20th
century. For Americans, we celebrate the
war as a vindication of freedom for thousands of Americans held in
slavery.
The turning point of the war was the Battle of Gettysburg
which was fought July 1-3, 1863 at a little market town called Gettysburg which
is located in Pennsylvania. Before
Gettysburg, the South had a good chance of winning the war. General Lee had taken his army into
Pennsylvania with the purpose of capturing the capital. Afterwards, he planned to negotiate a peace
agreement from a position of power. If
he had won the battle, there’s a good chance that the South would be a
different country today.
On Tuesday, June 30, a Confederate brigade looking for shoes
marched toward Gettysburg, but they spotted a long column of Federal cavalry and
withdrew, telling their superiors that they would go back tomorrow to get the
shoes.
On Wednesday, July 1, they did go back. Two divisions of Confederates meet a Federal
cavalry just west of town at Willoughby Run, and they skirmished. Anticipating a battle, both Lee and his
opponent General George G. Meade raced
to bring in reinforcements.
After fierce fighting, the Federals were driven back into
Gettysburg where they regrouped beside a cemetery that stood on high
ground. This was a good chance for Lee
to end the war because he outnumbered the Federals, and the retreat had
disorganized them. Lee ordered
Confederate General Ewell to attack if possible, but Ewell hesitated and gave
the Federals a chance to dig in along Cemetery Ridge and bring in some cannon
and reinforcements.
Confederate General James Longstreet told Lee that there was
no way they could win now. He suggested
moving east between the Union army and Washington, establish a strong defensive
position, and force the Union troops to attack them.
But believing his army could win, Lee ordered the attack to
proceed. He decided to attack the
southern end of Cemetery Ridge which he believed was less well defended. He might have made a different decision if
Jeb Stuart and his cavalry had been around to scout for him, but he had sent
Stuart to harass the Union troops, so Lee was blind until Stuart returned.
Around ten the next morning, July 2, Lee ordered Longstreet
to attack, but Longstreet delayed and gave even more time for the Union to
bring in troops and guns. He attacked
around four. Some of the bitterest and
most deadly fighting of the war took place, and names such as Little Round Top,
Peach Orchard, and the Wheat Field became synonymous with both carnage and courage.
About 6:30 p.m. Gen. Ewell attacked the Union line from the
north and east at Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill. The attack lasted until around
10:30 but was finally unsuccessful at Cemetery Hill, although the South seized
some trenches on Culp's Hill.
Both sides withdrew to regroup. There was a full moon, and all night long the
wounded and dying lay on the battlefield filling the night with their
cries.
Lee decided on a big gamble.
He planned for General Pickett to attack the Union troops front and center
on Cemetery Hill, the last thing the Union would expect. At the same time General Ewell would try to
take Culp’s Hill again. Around 8:00
fighting broke out, but it stopped around 11:00.
General Longstreet again begged Lee not to attack, saying it
was impossible to win, but Lee didn’t listen.
The battle began around 1:00.
Twelve thousand Confederates marched in an orderly row up Cemetery Hill,
and then the slaughter began.
A fierce battle raged for an hour with much brutal hand to
hand fighting, shooting at close range and stabbing with bayonets. Briefly, the Confederates almost took their
objective, a small clump of Oak Trees on Cemetery Ridge, but Union
reinforcements swarmed in and repulsed the Confederates. Pickett's Charge began to recede as the men
drifted back down the slope. Lee's army
had been beaten back, leaving 7,500 of his men lying on the battlefield. Confederate wounded and missing were 28,000
out of 75,000. Union casualties were 23,000 out of 88,000.
That night and into the next day Lee took his wounded and
began a retreat into Virginia. If
General Meade had followed and attacked, he could have ended the war, but he
didn’t. President Lincoln was very angry
about it and wrote a scathing letter to Meade about his conduct.
The tide of the war turned at Gettysburg. Lee never again moved North, and from that
time on, a Union victory was virtually assured.
Months later President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address on the
battlefield. It was so short nobody
thought it was any good, but over time our opinions have changed. We now realize how truly inspiring the
address was. Click here to read it.
The picture source is: http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/gun-nuts/2011/06/civil-war-where-did-we-find-such-men
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