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Chapter 8
The Battle of
Gettysburg
O
ne of the most important battles of
the Civil War was fought in and
around the small town of
Gettysburg
. In June 1863, the Southern
army invaded Pennsylvania. By July 1, they
were looking for shoes in the town of
Gettysburg. There, they met the Northern
army.
General George Meade
, a
Pennsylvanian, was in command of the
Northern army. For three very hot days in
July, the terrible battle continued. Finally,
the North won the battle. However, when
the two armies marched away, they had
suffered more than 51,000 losses. The
Battle of Gettysburg
is known as the
turning point in the Civil
War. It is also known as
one of the bloodiest
battles on the North
American continent.
Most of the dead
soldiers were not given a
proper burial. Because of
this, the national govern-
ment bought land to
provide a proper burial
ground. This land was
named the
Gettysburg
National Cemetery
. Since
the Civil War, Americans
who have died in other
wars have been buried in this cemetery.
In November 1863, the cemetery was
dedicated. The main speaker gave a two-
hour speech in the chilling air. President
Lincolnwas not themain speaker. However,
he was asked to prepare a speech for the
occasion. Then President Lincoln spoke for
only twominutes using just 272words. The
President felt that his speech was a “wet
blanket.” However, his words have been
remembered as symbols of honor and
courage for themenandwomenwho fought
at Gettysburg. His now famous speech is
known as The
GettysburgAddress
.
Until the Battle of Gettysburg, the South
had beenwinningmost of the battles. The
CivilWarwas fought for twomore years. In
1865, theNorth finallywon thewar. Had it
not been for the industries of Pennsylvania,
the South couldhavewon thewar. Thenwe
would have two countries instead of the
oneUnited States we have today.
Gettysburg battlefield is now preserved
as aNational Military Park.
