Gettysburg
It began with a skirmish... the most costly battle in the history of the United States. Two divisions of Confederate soldiers headed for Gettysburg to drive out the Federal cavalry that had arrived before them (in search of shoes). The Federal cavalry under General John Buford met the rebels west of the town at Willoughby Run. This skirmish quickly became a large battle, which was what General Robert E. Lee was planning for. He sent 25,000 soldiers to the battlefield, while the union had only 20,000. His chance here was to defeat the heart of the Union army in Pennsylvania and have Washington and the rest of the north to his own discretion. Major General John F. Reynolds arrived with the Federal I Corps, but he was shot by a sniper as he directed troops. The Federals are forced to fall back to the cemetery high grounds south of Gettysburg. Luckily for them, Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell hesitated in his orders from Lee to wipe out the battle-weary Federals. This gave them a chance to dig themselves in and wait for reinforcements. Major General Winfield Scott Hancock assumed command of the Federals and orders fortification from Culp's hill around in a hook formation to
The most important fighting of the day took place on the Union's left flank, where due to miscommunication, General Sickles had advanced his troops about a half a mile past the line they were supposed to be defending. When Longstreet did attack, Major General John Bell Hood slipped in where the Union line was faulty and advanced toward Little Round Top. With perfect timing, realizing the weakness on the left flank, General Meade ordered a brigade of Sykes Corp to defend the previously unoccupied Little Round Top. They were in position barely fifteen minutes before they came under fire. The fighting here went back and forth with heavy losses as both sides began to run out of ammunition. Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, in command of the 20th Maine, led his troops in a bayonet charge that drove the rebels from the hill. Due to the shifting of Meade's forces to meat threats on the left, General Ewell's attack on the right had a chance of success. However, although the Federals lost some ground, they held a strong defensive position along Cemetery Ridge and drove the Confederates back as night fell. 15,000 of Lee's most rested men came pouring out of the woods led by Major General George E. Picket. As they charged towards the Federal line, their artillery sounded out once again tearing the rebel charge apart. They kept coming however, even when the Union opened up with rifles. As the rebels got closer there wa
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 964
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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