In order to check the furious fighting on the left, Meade moved troops in from his extreme right as reinforcements. This shift in the Union line brings up the third point of interest. While the left flank was under heavy attack from Longstreet, the right was supposed to be under pressure from Ewell's attack. The plans were simple; when Ewell heard Longstreet's guns, his orders were to attack. A unified assault would have weakened the defenses on the Union left by keeping the right busy and not allowing for a transfer of troops. However, as it turned out, Meade was able to move his forces around because Ewell was late. It took two hours for his attack to commence and by then the weakened forces in position on the right had been sufficiently reinforced and were ready to fight. The Union line at Gettysburg was a much tighter line and had twenty thousand more soldiers in it than did the Confederate line. It was essential that the two attacks coincide if there was going to be any chance of a Confederate victory.
At the conclusion of the second day of the battle, the Union army occupied many of the positions that it had at the outset of the day. In fact, out of all of the high grounds that were in Union control at the beginning of the day, none were taken by the Confederate army. This would prove to be a critical advantage that the Union forces would have over their enemy the following day when the Confederate army would launch the most infamous assault of the entire war. "Pickett's Charge," as it is known today, was directed at the Union forces positioned on Cemetery Ridge and was the target of artillery from every hill that the Union army occupied. It was the last chance that the Confederate army would get to win the Battle of Gettysburg and it cost them 10,000 men in casualties just to attempt it. When the Confederate army failed to take anything of importance on the second day, the charge became destined to fail. As with all wars, the discussion would not be complete without some argument regarding the significance of certain events on the outcome of the war. There are, in fact, those who believe that, even though the Battle of Gettysburg was an extremely important battle, it was not the turning point of the war. Douglas Southall Freeman, for instance, believes that the turning point of the war came one month earlier, when a Confederate general by the name of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville. He believes that, had Jackson been on the field at Gettysburg, the Confederate army would have pulled out a victory over the North. Jackson has been considered by many to be one of the greatest leaders the South ever had. While he was alive, he was certainly Lee's most valuable subordinate, but on Sunday, May 10, 1863, he died of pneumonia brought on by the loss of his arm. According to Freeman, this was the turning point of the Civil War for the Confederate army. Freeman quotes Lee as saying that if Jackson had survived until Gettysburg, it would surely have been a Confederate victory. Freeman says that "the darkest scene in the great drama of Gettysburg was enacted at Chancellorsville when Jackson fell". He attributes the mistakes of the Confederate army at Gettysburg …show more content…
Was Longstreet to blame for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg? George Milton thinks so. He says that if Longstreet had not been so determined to do things his own way, and was actually in favor of fighting at Gettysburg, it would have surely been a Confederate victory. He says that an assault at dawn, as originally planned, on the second day would have been the hammer blow that destroyed the Union defenses. As it turned out, however, Longstreet's forces were among the last to even reach the field of battle and for that reason, Milton believes, he should be held accountable: "They (military critics) lament that Lee did not immediately remove him from command and confine or shoot him". Longstreet's insubordination was the reason for the Confederate failure on the second day of the battle and it may have cost the South the
At the conclusion of the second day of the battle, the Union army occupied many of the positions that it had at the outset of the day. In fact, out of all of the high grounds that were in Union control at the beginning of the day, none were taken by the Confederate army. This would prove to be a critical advantage that the Union forces would have over their enemy the following day when the Confederate army would launch the most infamous assault of the entire war. "Pickett's Charge," as it is known today, was directed at the Union forces positioned on Cemetery Ridge and was the target of artillery from every hill that the Union army occupied. It was the last chance that the Confederate army would get to win the Battle of Gettysburg and it cost them 10,000 men in casualties just to attempt it. When the Confederate army failed to take anything of importance on the second day, the charge became destined to fail. As with all wars, the discussion would not be complete without some argument regarding the significance of certain events on the outcome of the war. There are, in fact, those who believe that, even though the Battle of Gettysburg was an extremely important battle, it was not the turning point of the war. Douglas Southall Freeman, for instance, believes that the turning point of the war came one month earlier, when a Confederate general by the name of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville. He believes that, had Jackson been on the field at Gettysburg, the Confederate army would have pulled out a victory over the North. Jackson has been considered by many to be one of the greatest leaders the South ever had. While he was alive, he was certainly Lee's most valuable subordinate, but on Sunday, May 10, 1863, he died of pneumonia brought on by the loss of his arm. According to Freeman, this was the turning point of the Civil War for the Confederate army. Freeman quotes Lee as saying that if Jackson had survived until Gettysburg, it would surely have been a Confederate victory. Freeman says that "the darkest scene in the great drama of Gettysburg was enacted at Chancellorsville when Jackson fell". He attributes the mistakes of the Confederate army at Gettysburg …show more content…
Was Longstreet to blame for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg? George Milton thinks so. He says that if Longstreet had not been so determined to do things his own way, and was actually in favor of fighting at Gettysburg, it would have surely been a Confederate victory. He says that an assault at dawn, as originally planned, on the second day would have been the hammer blow that destroyed the Union defenses. As it turned out, however, Longstreet's forces were among the last to even reach the field of battle and for that reason, Milton believes, he should be held accountable: "They (military critics) lament that Lee did not immediately remove him from command and confine or shoot him". Longstreet's insubordination was the reason for the Confederate failure on the second day of the battle and it may have cost the South the