Warm-up

Why might Lee decide to take the war to the North?

Why abandon a Southern strategy that had thus far succeeded?

What did he hope to gain?

Before the Battle Confederates inflict bloody

defeat on Union at Fredericksburg, VA. (12/13/62)

North defeated again in the Battle of Chancellorsville, VA (April 30-May 6, 1863)

General Stonewall Jackson is shot by his own men in an accident and dies of Pneumonia (May 1863)

Lee decides to invade North in Spring-Early Summer ‘63: to gain supplies pull Union forces away from

Vicksburg, MS invasion in North would hurt

Lincoln’s political power.

General George MeadeWas given command of the UNION Army of the Potomac 3 days before GettysburgWhy was this a problem??He planned to fight further north than Gettysburg

Union Troops

Confederate Troops

Day 1

Confederate soldiers led by A.P. Hill went on a search for shoes in Gettysburg, attacked by Union troops

90,000 Union troops took the field against 75,000 Confederates

Confederates take control over the town of Gettysburg

Day 2

Lee orders General James Longstreet to attack at Cemetery Ridge

Confederate soldiers attack at an unprotected Union hill known as Little Round Top

Union leaders send Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain and his men to defend Little Round Top

Because Chamberlain was running low on fuel, he ordered his men to attack the Confederates with fixed bayonets. This surprise attack left Confederates surrendering in droves.

Battle of Gettysburg

Generals from each side gathered in war councils during the night They were planning their strategy for the next

day General Meade decided to stay put and let

Lee come to him Longstreet tried to talk Lee out of attacking

again Felt the position was too strongly defended

Lee didn’t listen--Felt the Union army was battered and would collapse He believed one final assault would do this

Battle of Gettysburg Friday, July 3rd: Day 3 The Union army opened fire with heavy

artillery around 4:30 am---the break of dawn Lee and his army was surprised They were pushed back off of Culp’s Hill and from

their trenches Lee regrouped and attacked around 8am. This led to a vicious 3 hour fight Time and time again the Rebels charged the

hill--time and time again they were pushed back

Union troops counter attacked and moved the rebels back from the hill

Battle of Gettysburg Around 11am an eerie quiet arose from the

field--the battle stopped for a while Lee regrouped

Lee planned to charge the hill with 15,000 soldiers Again, Longstreet opposed this plan

The rebels moved into position into the woods opposite of Cemetery Ridge Poised for their charge

Meade moved part of his army off the hill Trying to anticipate what Lee would do He was correct earlier, but guessed wrong this time

He left 5,750 men to face 15,000

Day 3

Lee felt could break Union defenses, because Union weakened

Lee ordered an artillery barrage at the middle of Union lines mid afternoon

PICKETT’S CHARGE - Longstreet, confident the barrage had silenced Union guns, ordered Confederate troops to attack the center of the Union lines.

Northern artillery resumed its fire and crippled the Confederate attackers.

Lee sent General Jeb Stuart’s forces to surprise attack Union General Meade’s forces.

Stuart’s forces were stalled due to a conflict with Union forces led by Robert Gregg.

Battle of Gettysburg

1pm: 170 Confederate canons opened fire to pave the way for the charge Heaviest artillery barrage of the war-BUT… Many of the shells missed their targets and

flew harmlessly over the Union lines The Union returned artillery fire, but at

2:30 they slowed their rate of fire Tried to fool the Rebels into thinking their

canons were destroyed It worked!!! Brilliant!!!

Devil’s Den

Battle of Gettysburg

Lee was forced to abandon his dead, and retreated that night and the next morning back to Virginia Loaded the wounded onto wagons

Meade, allowed Lee to retreat--did not pursue Out of fatigue and caution

Lincoln was furious!!! “Meade missed a golden opportunity to end

the war right there!!!”

After the Battle

More than 23,000 Union casualties and 28,000 Confederate Casualties

Lee gave up hopes of invading the North and retreated back to Virginia

Lee turned in his resignation which Jefferson Davis did not accept

The North won the Battle of Vicksburg (May 18-July 4th, 1863)

Result of Gettysburg

The tide of the war was now permanently against the South

They would never fully recover from this battle

Casualties Union: 23,049 Confederate: 28,063 Over 52,000 men lost in the 3 day

battle

Result of Gettysburg The North celebrated the 4th of July with the

victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Aftermath – The citizens of Gettysburg were

faced with the daunting task of burying all of the bodies Over 50,000 men were left dead or wounded

Most of the Confederate dead were left on the field in their shallow graves for eight to ten years until southern charity groups had most of the bodies taken away to cemeteries in the South.

Lincoln agreed to come and say something for the soldiers

Gettysburg Address – name of the speech Lincoln delivered talking about the war and equality

With a partner… be prepared to share your answer The Battle of Gettysburg Most historians believe that

the Civil War hinged on the battle at Gettysburg. And many of question Confederate General Robert E. Lee's decision to abandon Virginia, where he had been so successful, to embark on a more risky invasion of the North. What do you think? Did Lee make a costly and foolish blunder by taking his army to the North? Or was this a reasonable decision that just happened not to work out in the end?

Siege at Vicksburg, MS May 18 - July 4, 1863 The Confederates were in high spirits

because of victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville

The Union needed to change the tide Soon, they captured New Orleans and

Memphis Battle of Vicksburg, MS – Grant tried

several times to overtake it Came up with a new plan:

Attacked Jackson, Mississippi and then turned west and attacked Vicksburg from behind enemy lines (South)

Meanwhile, Sherman confused Confederates by attacking from the North

Map of Vicksburg

A loss at Vicksburg would mean that the Confederate territory would be cut in half.

The Siege

For 6 weeks laid a siege – a military encirclement of an enemy position in order to force it to surrender.

On July 4, 1863, the Confederates surrendered at Vicksburg this split the Confederacy into 2 parts!

After Vicksburg and Gettysburg,the situation looked like this:

Date Battle Name Causalities Winner

April 12-13, 1861 Attack on Fort Sumter, SC None CSA

July 21, 1861 First Manassas a.k.a. Bull Run, VA 4,700 CSA

Feb. 11-16 1862 Fort Henry/Fort Donelson, TN 17,655 USA

April 6-7, 1862 Shiloh a.k.a. Pittsburg Landing, TN 34,445 USA

August 28-30, 1862 Second Manassas aka Second Bull Run, VA

22,180 CSA

Sept. 17, 1862 Antietam a.k.a. Sharpsburg, MD 23,100 USA

Dec. 13, 1862 Fredericksburg, VA 17,929 CSA

April 30-May 6, 1863 Chancellorsville, VA 24,000 CSA

July 1-3, 1863 Gettysburg, PA 51,000 USA

May 18 – July 4 1863 Siege of Vicksburg, MS 19,233 USA

The Aftermath

In the United StatesThe victories at Gettysburg

and Vicksburg increasedthe morale of the United

States and its armies. Many people now felt that

the warmight be won.

In the Confederate States

The losses at Vicksburg and Gettysburg decreased the morale of the Confederate

States and its armies.

For most of the remainderof the war the Confederates

would be fighting onthe defensive.