The Battle of Gettysburg was perhaps one of the most important battles in the history of the Civil War. Between the days of July 1 to 3, 1863, the most bloodshed occurred on the battlefield than in any other Civil War combat, as the Battle of Gettysburg had the greatest number of casualties of any battle during the war. It marked a turning point in the war because the South despaired while the North rejoiced in their victory in the war, as they were originally losing battles. The South's loss of supplies (men, food, weapons, etc.) was much more detrimental to them, so General Robert E. Lee stopped his attack on the North. From then on the South will play defensively. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay On the first day of the battle, a small skirmish broke out. After Robert E. Lee achieved a "crushing victory" over the Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville, he sought to press his advantage. Approaching the Gettysburg Crossing, he and his men tried to scavenge for supplies and were able to push back the outnumbered Union defenders. He told Richard Ewell to attack Cemetery Hill, but he refused. He rejected the attack because he thought the federal position was too strong, but all it did was allow more federal troops to arrive. At dusk, 4 more Union corps managed to strengthen the defenses. After the first day, the general urged an attack as soon as possible. James Longstreet advised remaining on the defensive, but Robert went against his advice and ordered an attack on the Federal position around Culp's Hill and Cemetery Ridge as soon as possible. Longstreet could not get his soldiers into position fast enough, and they did not attack until 4:00 p.m. The Union side was able to use this time to further strengthen their defenses well enough that they had a much better chance of holding out against the massive amount of Confederate troops. From there, massive amounts of fire occurred over the next few hours. The “skirmish” was now turning into a bloody outrage. By the end of that day, the battle had already seen over 35,000 casualties. Early in the morning of the third day, the Union Twelfth Corps managed to repel a Confederate threat after a 7-hour firefight. They were able to gather a strong position on Culp Hill. Robert believed his army was still capable of achieving victory, so he sent three divisions to the Union center near Cemetery Ridge. Led by George Pickett, the 15,000 soldiers would walk about ¾ of a mile across an open field. Despite Longstreet's advice and protests, Lee was determined to win this battle. Subsequently, Pickett's charge would take effect. They charged Union soldiers behind stone walls, while regiments flanked them from the sides. Because they were trapped, Pickett's division lost? of his men retreating, and Lee lost a grand total of about ? of his men during the battle. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The North rejoiced in their victory while the South cried heavily, losing resources is much more harmful than The North loses resources, simply because the North has many more of them. It was truly a turning point in the war in favor of the North as it gave them hope and energized them. Additionally, the large loss of Lee's army would aid the Union in a battle.