Civil War Was A Terrible Time For America - 1490 Words

Lindsey White Battle Analysis: Gettysburg CPT Herkimer MS3 As the deadliest conflict in American history, the United States Civil war was a terrible time for America. While it did produce great advancements in American military tactics, technologies, and medical knowledge and technology, it came at the cost of hundreds of thousands of American lives. With brother killing brother, the war was filled with terrible battles, but not many could say they as influential or deadly as Gettysburg. From July 1st to July 3rd of 1863, America witnessed one the bloodiest battles in American history. America was in the middle of its civil war, and General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate forces led his Army of Northern Virginia into the†¦show more content†¦On the morning of July 1st, two Confederate reconnaissance brigades were sent out to discover the movement of the opposing army. They would come across quickly laid out Union defenses on three different ridges north and west of the town. These opposing forces would begin to skirmish. The Union forces were an inferior cavalry division trying to hold out long enough for Union infantry to reinforce these barricades northwest of town as well as create time to secure strategic hills and sounder defensive positions south of the town. More and more divisions entered the fight, causing the initially small, insignificant skirmish to grow. The Union forces were greatly outnumbered by the Confederate forces as thirty thousa nd Confederate troops would eventually flank the eighteen Union troops north of Gettysburg and cause them to retreat back through town to their southern positions. The remaining hours of day one would consist of both armies moving the rest of their troops to the front line and prepare for the coming conflict. The second and deadliest day of the battle took place on July 2nd. The Union forces had set up their defenses on Cemetery Hill south of town, Cemetery Ridge extending further south from Cemetery Hill, and Culp’s Hill southeast of town directly east of Cemetery hill. This defensive Union