Gettysburg: Why Did Lee Engage the Union?
“Four score and seven years ago.”[footnoteRef:1] The Battle of Gettysburg is today remembered best in the popular imagination as the inspiration of President Lincoln’s famous address. Lincoln wrote, [1: Abraham Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address,” accessed December 28, 2018, http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/gettysburg/good_cause/transcript.htm]
“…from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion,” and resolved to fight on in what ultimately became a successful Union effort.[footnoteRef:2] Of course, from the Confederate perspective, the Battle was quite the opposite, as it became the source of dashed hopes and dreams. Gettysburg is also famous because of the bloody nature of the engagement, occurring relatively late in the American Civil War. It was fought from July 1-3, 1863, and was to prove in retrospect decisive in securing a Union victory, tipping the then-delicate balance in favor of the Union army.[footnoteRef:3] It must be remembered at the time that the victory of Union forces was far from a foregone conclusion. Although the Confederacy was weaker militarily, Lincoln had suffered a series of disastrous conflicts with his generals, and there was weak public support for the war in many quarters. Also, a number of European nations were highly dependent upon the cotton which the South provided. [2: Ibid.] [3: “Battle of Gettysburg,” History.com. accessed December 28, 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-gettysburg]
Lee hoped to push Confederate forces as far North as possible. After a series of successive victories against superior numbers, Lee felt that he was in an excellent position to intimidate the North and politically to encourage surrender. Historians have called Lee’s aims more political than tactical.[footnoteRef:4] Northern supporters of surrender, Lee hoped, would become more vocal and he also hoped to secure recognition from Britain and France of the Confederacy.[footnoteRef:5] In his own account of the reasons...
Bibliography
“Battle of Gettysburg.” History.com. Accessed December 28, 2018. https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-gettysburg
“Letter from President Lincoln to George G. Meade, July 14, 1863.” Accessed December 28, 2018. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/LincolnToMeade.pdf
Lincoln, Abraham. “Gettysburg Address.” Accessed December 28, 2018. http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/gettysburg/good_cause/transcript.htm
“Robert E. Lee’s Account of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 31, 1863).” Accessed December 28, 2018. http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/eamerica/media/ch17/resources/docume nts/lee.htm
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