Gary King

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The Battle of Gettysburg Turning Point

• Gary King
• American History I
• Braxton County High School

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Contents

• Introduction
• Background
• the Leaders
• the Battle
• Aftermath
• Gettysburg Address

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Introduction
During the first three days of July in 1863, two
mighty armies of over 172,000 men met on the hot
and dusty fields surrounding the tiny hamlet of
Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania. The outcome
of their struggle was to have a profound
and lasting affect on the economic, political,
and social development of the United States.
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Backgroundthe North
Lincoln was in political trouble - his armies had
been defeated on all fronts, he couldnt find an
effective general. The huge, but unwieldy, Army
of the Potomac was simply trying to
defend Washington by placing itself between the
capital and Lees Army of Northern Virginia.
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Backgroundthe South
The Confederates were brimming with confidence
they had triumphed in every battle. They needed
one final and decisive victory to win the war for
the South. Lee decided to take his mighty Army
of Northern Virginia into the north, to threaten
the federal capital, to draw out the Yankees and
force that final battle.
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Leadersthe North
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Leadersthe South
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(No Transcript)
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The BattleDay 1

• An accidental meeting
• Buford holds
• Confederate reinforcements arrive
• Union retreat

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The BattleDay 2

• The Confederates try both sides of the Union line
  -
• and fail

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The BattleDay 3

• Lee tries the middle
• The artillery barrage
• Picketts charge

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Aftermath
The battle was over. Both armies were exhausted -
there were over 51,000 casualties - and Lees
retreat back across the Potomac saved the
Union. However, Meade failed to take advantage of
his victory, so the war would drag on for two
more long and bloody years. But never again
would the South have a chance to win. Gettysburg
was the high water mark of the Confederacy and a
turning point in the war.
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Acknowledgements

• The Gettysburg Homepage
• Thinkquest Team
• Brian Williams
• Gary King