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Battle Of Gettysburg Analysis

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Battle Of Gettysburg Analysis
During the three days battle of Gettysburg, the fate of the US as a united nation was at stake. A Confederate victory would have resulted in the country splitting into two, but the Union was victorious which kept the country united. Through analysis of the battle, there are significant lessons that are relevant that this generation can use as consideration. First, is the importance of timing. For leaders or anyone making any decision, the timing is just as critical to the effect, if not more than the decision taken. The advantage of the battle resulted in a large extent because the Union forces recognized the importance of the crossroads in the town, which allowed them to position their troops in the high terrain west of the town (Griffith, …show more content…
Gettysburg provides an excellent historical example for studying the link between decision making and the battlefield (Goss, 2004). The battle is a prime example of what was meant as a decisive battle that secured an advantage for the Union Army, yet neither the North or South gained decisive …show more content…
Lee and George Meade were seeking to crush their opponent’s army and win the war. Lincoln encouraged many of his commanders, including Meade, to use the Northern army’s sheer numbers to crush the Confederacy. While Lee hoped to crush the Union army’s morale with his own troops and superior strategy. With the victory of the battle of Gettysburg, the North gained a crucial boost in morale but lost many troops in a less than total victory. Inversely the South lost morale, the loss of confederate troops was underwhelming in proportion to the Union losses, the news of retreat and details of the battle cost the South morale.
The battle of Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest battles ever in American history with well over fifty thousand men dead in just three days of fighting. Both Confederacy and Union troops employed different tactics and turned the tides; however, in the end the Union had greater success which culminated in the defeated the Confederates. The greatest lessons from this battle are the importance of a good leader who encourages participation from their troops. Ultimately, the Union morale lifted by this victory and others went on to win the civil war and shape the United States as we know it
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