Battle StrategiesJackson Telese
6/2/1870 Battle strategies and the impact of the battle of Gettysburg Some of the battle strategies for the Union in the battle of Gettysburg where quickly attacking Vicksburg, march East and attack the Confederate army in major cities like Chancellorsville,VA. The Union’s plan was to block the Confederate’s army from attacking or surrounding Washington. Some of the Confederates battle strategies where to dig in and just fight defensively and instead of trying to defeat the North, the South’s defensive strategy of just trying to protect themselves from the Union forces gave them a lower standard of victory. This means that the South was trying to just outlast the North. During the battle the Union used minie balls for bullets, which were stronger than regular bullets. The bullets were able to break through bones and muscles in a flash. They would cause death very quickly. Also, the primary weapon was a single shot, muzzle-loading, rifled musket. It measured 4.7 feet long and weighing less than 10 pounds. This weapon had a maximum effective range of 400 feet. The battle took three days long and over 50,000 people were found dead, wounded, captured, or missing. This was considered the bloodiest war in the Civil War. After the battle, the civilians of Gettysburg were left to deal with thousands of wounds and most of the public buildings were transferred into hospital buildings. While the battle of Gettysburg was still being fought, their was another battle being fought between the Confederates and the Union. The battle of vicksburg which took 47 days. The town surrendered on July 4th, 1863- the day after Gettysburg ended. This battle was not as dramatic as Gettysburg, but Vicksburg was equally as important to the Union. One tactic that was used during Gettysburg was called the Anaconda plan, which was devised by Winfield Scott. The Anaconda plan was also known as Scott’s Great Snake. This plan emphasized the blockade of the Southern ports. This called for an advance down the Mississippi River to cut the South in two. This tactic was one of the most successful tactics used during the Civil War, especially the Battle of Gettysburg. In conclusion, the battle of Gettysburg was the deadliest battle during the Civil War. This battle caused the most deaths and was one of the significant battles for the Union. The Scott’s Great Snake tactic was one of the tactics that help the Union win the Battle at Gettysburg. Also, since the Union had “home-field advantage”, more soldiers, and had better weaponry than the Confederates, they were able to get the win at Gettysburg, which helped them win the Civil War. |