The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was started by Robert E. Lee, the leader of the Confederate army. His intentions were to Collect supplies in Pennsylvanian farmland and stop Virginia from fighting, also to threaten Northern cities, weaken the north's want for war and win a major battle. If the Confederates won the Battle of Gettysburg it would also strengthen the peace movement in the north.
The Battle started on July 1, 1863 and the Confederates started to agin ground. By the third day of the Battle, also the last day, 51,000 soldiers from both sides were either killed, wounded, captured or missing. 28,000 out of 75,000 Confederates were dead, wounded, or missing and 23,000 out of 88,000 Unions were dead, wounded or missing. It involved over 160,000 Americans. The battle ended on July 3rd, 1863 with a Union victory. On July 4th Robert was told to leave the dead and be on his way back to Virginia with the rest of his army.
President Lincoln sent Union leader Meade a very disappointed letter saying that he missed his chance to end the battle sooner. Meade did not go after Lee immediately which made the president even angrier. On November 19, 1863 President Lincoln went to the Battlefield to dedicate it as a cemetery for all the soldiers that died in the battle. That was the day that he delivered the Gettysburg address which only lasted about two minutes and disappointed people at the time, but became one of the most famous speeches ever made.
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