Gettysburg+evaluation

1. My topic is the battle of gettysburg 2. What I already know. Who? general grant for the north as well as some others i dont know and general lee for the south as well as general stonewall jackson and others i dont know. What? this battle was the bloodiest in the war and showed that niether side would give in. Where? Gettysburg When? i dont know Why? I dont know How? i dont know

3. My research questions Who were all the Generals in the battle? What did they contribute to the outcome? Where did the opposing factions meet throught the battle? When did each skirmish occur? How could things have turned out differently if different decisons were made?

4. My research strategies. Who? i will ask my dad and mabye patrick h. What? books and websites. Where? a computer or the books at home and the library/ How? I'll use my thesis statement and research questions to figure out what to look for and what to take notes on.

Gettysburg influenced the Civil war by ending the souths hope of winning the war. At the end of the battle the south relized it was going to lose. The battle of Gettysburg was a desperate gamble by the south ment to weaken the norths resolve to fight. If succesful this campaign might have ended the civil war in the souths favor. "Lee had several reasons for wanting to invade the Union. His army was in need of supplies and raw materials that could not be easily obtained in the Confederacy. Lee's men had suffered greatly for want of food during the winter and spring of 1863 and he hoped that food supplies could be obtained from northern farms and warehouses, giving farmers in Virginia a chance to plant and nurture their crops without armies tramping over them. General Lee also hoped to obtain a victory on northern soil to take attention away from a dismal situation at **Vicksburg**, Mississippi, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, where a Union army under General Ulysses S. Grant had surrounded the city and lay siege to it. It was also thought that a victory over the Union army on northern soil may cause Great Britain and France to recognize the Confederacy as an independent nation, and provide the growing peace movement in the North with enough reasons to press the Lincoln administration to sue for peace. All of these things could possibly end the Civil War." I think if the south had won this battle they would have won the war. The battle of Gettysburg started when Union cavalry comanded by John Buford saw General Hill's troops marching towards Gettysburg. The union fired first then the south answered in kind even when they were told by General Lee not to engage. Had the soldiers followed their orders and not engaged they might have won because the wouldn't have ruined Lee's plan. "By the morning of July 2, the Union army had established strong positions in a giant U-shaped line from **Culp's Hill** to **Cemetery Ridge**. Satisfied with the line, General Meade decided to wait for Lee to make the next move while the remainder of the **//Army of the Potomac//** hurried to the battlefield. Early that morning, General Lee surveyed the strong Union line from his position on **Seminary Ridge** and realized that a weakness might be with the Union **flanks**. A simultaneous strike on both the right and left of Meade's position could roll up the Union line toward Cemetery Hill. Lee directed General James Longstreet to attack the Union left and General Richard S. Ewell to attack the Union right.The fighting began that afternoon at 4 o'clock and quickly spread up and down the ridges. Union cannon posted on the ridge above **Devil's Den** roared to life. Fighting erupted on the slopes of Little Round Top, in the Wheatfield, and at the Peach Orchard as General Longstreet's Confederates attacked these positions. At **Little Round Top**, Union troops threw back repeated Confederate attacks and finally saved the hill from capture after several hours of combat. Fighting swept into Devil's Den and up the line to the Peach Orchard. The situation was desperate for the Union forces who fought valiantly but were slowly forced back. The line of General Daniel Sickles, a Union corps commander, collapsed under the relentless southern attacks, Sickles himself so severely wounded that his leg required amputation. A brisk **counterattack** of Union reserves drove the Confederates back. Darkness put a grateful end to the slaughter on the Union left, but the battle was just beginning at **Culp's Hill**. Night had fallen by the time Confederate infantrymen under General Edward Johnson splashed across **Rock Creek** and began the climb up the wooded slopes of Culp's Hill. Union troops quietly waited behind earthen defenses stretched southward from the summit of the hill to a small knoll above **Spangler's Spring**. Union musketry and confusion in the darkness made the Confederate commander believe that he was heavily outnumbered and he stopped the attack to wait for reinforcements.Meanwhile, Confederate troops made a brilliant charge to the base of **Cemetery Hill** and overran Union troops stationed behind stone walls. Through the gap poured soldiers from Louisiana, called "Louisiana Tigers", who attacked Union artillery at the summit. Union reinforcements rushed to the scene and immediately attacked with rifles and bayonets, driving off the Confederates. Though General Meade's line had been heavily beaten on and almost broken, he was still able to hold his position on Cemetery Ridge."I think that if either of Lees generals had succeded in breaking the union line it would have been the end of the battle.

In General Lee's last attempt to win at Gettysburg he did an unusual move for him. He ordered an all out assualt on the union center which he believed was weakened because of the eairlier confrontations. He started with a bombardment of the union line followed by an infantry charge. This charge became known as Picketts charge. Many soilders died in this attack with the majority being southern. Had Lee been more patient he might have won.

If Rynolds had decided to march none stop to Gettysburg and arrived before the first attacks he might have lived and his soldiers would have been more able to through off Rebel assaults. If Rynolds had lived he would have formed a line for which General Meade to start his Campagin. If General Meade had started with confidence and marched quickly to Gettysburg he might have arrived at the same time as the confederate army and had as much time to prepare. He would have been able to make soilid defences and come up with contingence plans if part os his line was breached. And if he had left his defences and ordered a counter Attck on the rebels he might have ended the war sooner. In General Lee's original plan his soldiers were to march tho the hills around Gettysburg and take a strong position and prepare for union attacks. His soldiers however attacked union cavalry on semenary ridge and drew Lee to the town. If Lee had split his army an have half deal with the cavalry and half fortify the hills he might have been ready for the union. In General Lee's original plan his soldiers were to march tho the hills around Gettysburg and take a strong position and prepare for union attacks. His soldiers however attacked union cavalry on semenary ridge and drew Lee to the town. If Lee had split his army an have half deal with the cavalry and half fortify the hills he might have been ready for the union. But he eventually lost and pulled back to virgina. "Once back in Virginia, General Lee reported to President Jefferson Davis on what happened at Gettysburg and how his soldiers had done their best to win the battle. The general never criticised any of his commanders for mistakes that may have been made, nor did he write badly of his soldiers. He knew how hard they had fought and how many of them had been left behind, including many good officers. General Meade also reported to President Lincoln and though the president was disappointed that the Union army had not destroyed Lee's army, he thanked the general for doing such a good job. Congress also thanked General Meade for the victory at Gettysburg, but there were some Union officers who were not quite so pleasant to the general, including General Sickles. General Meade was forced to defend his actions for many years to come. The cost of the battle was high- 51,000 **casualties**, which are all of the soldiers who were killed, wounded, captured, or missing. Every home and church in Gettysburg was a hospital, and every field and yard held the grave of a soldier, hastily dug and filled. To provide a proper burial for the Union dead, local citizens began a project for a national cemetery to be placed at Gettysburg. It was dedicated on November 19, 1863, and featured a short speech by President Lincoln. The president's //Gettysburg Address// is the best remembered and most revered speech of the Civil War. Confederate dead were later moved to cemeteries in southern states, the majority going to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. " Paraphrase || No quotes or paraphrasing used. || Very few quotes or paraphrases included, no parenthetical references. || Some errors in quoting or paraphrasing and/or a few missing parenthetical references. || Several quotes and paraphrased pieces of information in each body paragraph, all with parenthetical references. || 3 ||
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 * Flow || Paper is difficult to read and understand. || Paper is full of short, choppy sentences and topic shifts with no transitions. || Some use of transitional words and phrases but the paper is a bit choppy at times. || Use of transitional words and phrases as well as topic sentences makes the paper easy to read from start to finish. || 3 ||
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 * Works Cited || No works cited page included. || Works cited page is included but there are several errors. || Works cited page is included but there are a few formatting errors. || Works cited page is included and is correctly formatted. || 4 ||
 * Conventions || Difficult to understand. || Several errors. || A few errors. || Little to no errors in grammar, spelling or punctuation. || 2 ||

"Gettysburg." //Galegroup.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. code code Works Cited code code code Gettysburg National Military Park. "The battle of Gettysburg." //GETT KIDZ-Battle of Gettysburg//. code code National Park Service, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. . code code Shaara, Michael. //The Killer Angels//. New York: The Random House Publishing group, 2003. Print. code