Facts About The Battle Of Gettysburg
Although the Battle of Gettysburg was only fought for 3 days, it is known for resulting in the maximum number of losses with respect to human life and property. The battle also proved quite decisive in terms of the American Civil War. It strengthened the stance of the Union, which previously had been incurring heavy losses in this war and had thereby been forced to withdraw and move back towards the North. |
Winning the Battle of Gettysburg proved extremely crucial for the Union as they were now successful in safeguarding the much desired communities in the North like Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington from the accession of the Confederates. It was the hidden desire of the Union Army led by General George Meade to involve the Confederates in a battle in Gettysburg that was much further away from the North. Fortunately for them, the Confederate army fell prey to their strategic planning and the conflict began in Gettysburg itself.
The battle that stretched from July 1st to 3rd in the year 1863 saw the first day going in favor of the Confederates. General Lee of the Confederate army believed that they were much more powerful than their opponents. However, the events of the second day proved him entirely wrong. The Union army gained strength by the inclusion of more troops at night, thereby raising their potential to more than 100,000 in comparison to their rivals. Baffled by the events of the second day, General Lee made a hasty decision of instructing his army to assault the troops of the Union army. The Union army in return used cannon fire with aid of shells that consisted of iron balls. These exploded dangerously on being triggered, thereby resulting in overwhelming casualties. These grapeshot cannon attacks were responsible for making General Lee withdraw his forces, thereby ending the war.
This battle led to heavy losses of life that were estimated as 51,116. However, there was only one civilian by the name of Jennie Wade, who died due to the war. Other civilian casualties owing to the war were actually the consequence of the remnants of explosives of the war. There were heavy animal casualties in the war as well. More than 3000 horses are believed to have died in the battle. All the rifles utilized during the war were transported to Washington for inspection and reissue. Interestingly, from a total of 37,574 rifles, 24,000 still had bullets in them that too in quite high numbers. The place where the mass burial of dead soldiers took place is referred to as the Gettysburg National Cemetery and this venue is till date visited by people in honor of the martyrs.
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Although the campaign for the Battle of Gettysburg's stretched for a period of 3 months that is from June to August, 1863; the actual battle was over within 3 days from July 1st to 3rd of the same year. The commander of the forces from the Union’s side was Major General George G. Meade. He headed an army of 86,289 soldiers. 