Battle of Gettysburg

Dear Diary,
So much has happened over these past few weeks. Recently General Lee's troops have invaded up through Virginia and are currently somewhere around Pennsylvania. It is said that there was a major battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Some of the Confederate soldiers were going to seize some shoes from a local shoe factory when they came across a large group of Union soldiers led by General John Buford. The Union soldiers headed to the northwest part of town and called in reinforcements. The battle itself lasted for three days total. On the first day, the Confederate soldiers pushed the Union force back onto higher ground in the south part of town. On the night after the first day, the Union reinforcements arrived. The Union troops dug a trench that was two and a half miles long. The Union used the fact that they now had the high ground to their advantage. The confederate soldiers tried to move against the Union soldiers by dividing into two groups and attacking each end of the line. There was a commotion on Little Round Top (one of the hills at the end of the line). Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain of the Union army and his men fought against the Confederate army on Little Round Top. When the Colonel's numbers were getting low, he ordered a bayonet charge against the Confederate soldiers. Hundreds of Confederate soldiers had to surrender by the end of July 2, 1863. Lee still thought he could win the battle if they attacked one more time. Lee had an artillery barrage aimed at the center of the Union line thinking it would be the thing to finally break the defenses. When Lee's men finally marched forward, they were plowed down by Union cannon and riffle fire. When Lee ordered General Pickett's division to reposition he had to face the sad fact that there no longer was a division. By the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, more than 50,000 were dead or wounded. Almost a third of Lee's forces were included in that 50,000. This battle made Lee give up on his invasion of the North and go back to the South. Lincoln honored the dead by creating a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. He gave this very inspiring speech that has become known as the Gettysburg Address. In this speech, he talked about all the troubles we have seen in the Civil War. He also stated that all men are equal in this address. This is the last time the Confederate army tried to fight on the North's land. Here is a photo of the dead at the Battle of Gettysburg:

That's all for now Diary,

Rebecca

The Dead at the Battle of Gettysburg. N.d. CivilWar.org. Web. 17 Feb. 2016. 

        <http://www.civilwar.org/photos/galleries/gettysburg/images/dead-at-

        gettysburg.jpg>.