Battle of Gettysburg

"In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear, but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls.”

These soft words somewhat understate the largest, bloodiest and most influential battle of the American Civil War. Commonly considered the turning point of the war, the Confederates suffered more than just a regular military defeat at Gettysburg - they also suffered a massive loss of morale and any hope of gaining support from Europe. In the words of historian Henry Adams, “The disasters of the rebels are unredeemed by even any hope of success.

It is now conceded that all idea of intervention is at an end.” After the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, which were fought in the same time period, European investors dropped the probability of the Confederacy winning the war from forty-two percent to about fifteen percent. Many reasons have been given to explain the loss at Gettysburg, including newly appointed, incompetent and overly cautious corps commanders, a lack of information from cavalry commander J.E.B. Stuart and an inferior position, but one thing is irrefutable: The Battle of Gettysburg inflicted a critical wound upon the Confederates, a wound from which they would never fully recover.

On July 1st, 1863 the first day of the battle, neither of the participating armies - The Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee and the Army of the Potomac, commanded by General George Meade - expected to fight in Gettysburg.

After Lee won a decisive victory at Chancellorsville, the battle in which the Confederates lost General “Stonewall” Jackson, he decided to head north towards Philadelphia, Harrisburg or another large town and draw out the Army of the Potomac. By doing so, he could incurably damage the opposition as well as draw the armies of the Union away from the battle at Vicksburg , where General Grant of the Union was attacking. The first clash occurred when the Confederates learned of a shoe factory in Gettysburg and, always in need of new supplies, decided to reacquisition the shoes.

Meanwhile, the Union sent Maj. General John Buford's cavalry went out to scout the area near Gettysburg. As he rode, Buford noticed the high ground south of Gettysburg . This detail is often unmentioned and uncelebrated, which in my opinion, is a mistake because it gave the Union a crucial upper hand in the battle - The keen eyes of Buford gave the Union a strategically superior position in the next few days, which, arguably handed them the ability to win the battle. As Buford and his cavalry progressed, they spotted two brigades of infantry coming down Chambersburg Pike. To counteract this, they dismounted and set up a strategic position around the road so that they could hold off the infantry while they waited for reinforcements, which Buford called for right away.

The size of the force sent to Gettysburg by the Confederates is questionable. If all Gettysburg had, as Lt. General A.P. Hill of the ...