Donations of food and clothing were solicited. Lydia Smith, a black woman, used what little money she had to hire a wagon and team, which she used to gather donated goods throughout the area—goods she delivered to both Union and Confederate wounded. Apart from the human carnage, some 5, horses and mules died in the battle. They, too, had to be collected and burned in great pyres, leaving a stench that hung over the area for weeks.
Even in a nation that had already seen too many reports of great battles and long casualty lists, Gettysburg set a new standard of suffering and death.
The accompanying chart shows how it compares with other costly battles of the war. US engaged. US casualties. CS engaged. CS casualties. On the second day reinforcements, arrived on both sides, and while the Confederate forces tried flanking the entrenched and heavily defended Union forces, they had limited success. At 1pm on the third day of battle, General Lee launched what was probably the largest artillery bombardment of the entire war, and two hours later he launched Pickett's Charge, which saw roughly The bombardment had little effect on the Union defences, and the oncoming soldiers suffered heavy casualties before being forced to retreat, marking an end to the battle and a victory for the Union.
Gettysburg has been described as the bloodiest battle of the war , as, not only were the casualties higher than any other battle, but the depletion of ammunition stocks led to much close-quarters and hand-to-hand combat on the final day. Legacy Over thousand men took part in the Battle of Gettysburg, with roughly one third becoming casualties. More than seven thousand men died in the fighting, and a further 33 thousand were wounded.
The battle also saw the deaths of six Confederate and five Union generals, more than any other battle in the war. Although the war would not end for another two years, this battle is seen by many as the turning point in the war, and as the closest that the Confederacy came to accomplishing their goal of complete cessation from the Union.
Prior to this the Confederacy had won more decisive battles than the Union, but after Gettysburg this shifted in favor of the Union, who would go on to win the war in Four months after the battle, President Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address, which paid tribute to the men who fell in the battle, and has gone on to become one of the most famous speeches in American history. Loading statistic Show source. Download for free You need to log in to download this statistic Register for free Already a member?
Log in. Show detailed source information? Register for free Already a member? More information. Supplementary notes. Other statistics on the topic. Historical Data Number of United States military fatalities in major wars Historical Data Black and slave population in the United States Historical Data Population of the United States in , by race and gender.
Historical Data Number of casualties at the Siege of Vicksburg Aaron O'Neill. The next day saw even heavier fighting, as the Confederates attacked the Federals on both left and right. Lee was forced to withdraw his battered army toward Virginia on July 4.
In May , Robert E. Brimming with confidence, Lee decided to go on the offensive and invade the North for a second time the first invasion had ended at Antietam the previous fall. Upon learning that the Army of the Potomac was on its way, Lee planned to assemble his army in the prosperous crossroads town of Gettysburg, 35 miles southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. One of the Confederate divisions in A. As the bulk of both armies headed toward Gettysburg, Confederate forces led by Hill and Richard Ewell were able to drive the outnumbered Federal defenders back through town to Cemetery Hill, located a half mile to the south.
Ewell declined to order the attack, considering the Federal position too strong; his reticence would earn him many unfavorable comparisons to the great Stonewall. Three more Union corps arrived overnight to strengthen its defenses. Both armies suffered extremely heavy losses on July 2, with 9, or more casualties on each side. The combined casualty total from two days of fighting came to nearly 35,, the largest two-day toll of the war. Believing his men had been on the brink of victory the day before, Lee decided to send three divisions preceded by an artillery barrage against the Union center on Cemetery Ridge.
Fewer than 15, troops, led by a division under George Pickett , would be tasked with marching some three-quarters of a mile across open fields to attack dug-in Union infantry positions. As the survivors stumbled back to their opening position, Lee and Longstreet scrambled to shore up their defensive line after the failed assault.
His hopes of a victorious invasion of the North dashed, Lee waited for a Union counterattack on July 4, but it never came. That night, in heavy rain, the Confederate general withdrew his decimated army toward Virginia.
0コメント