Gettysburg

Battle at Gettysburg

July 1-3, 1863 held the bloodiest battle in North America’s history. This happened in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Over 53,000 men perished over these three days which is almost the equivalent of the number of American deaths that occurred during the 9 year Vietnam War.

This was the battle that changed the world forever. If General Robert E. Lee, of the Confederate States of America, won that battle, the Federal government would’ve been crushed. General Lee was a brilliant and charismatic strategist who was able to snatch victory in battle many times although his armies were ridiculously outnumbered. He is a legend. His opponent was General Meade of the United States of America. His leadership was more conservative and he liked to fight with overwhelming numbers and plenty of supplies.

The battle all started when General Lee assigned Gettysburg as a convenient re-supply station for his troops marching to the north. He didn’t know that the Union army was going to march through Gettysburg to get to the war in the South. Apparently, they clashed here and had the largest battle on US soil.

Rent the DVD, “Gettysburg”. It is a historical reenactment of the battle. If you love strategy and history, then you’ll like this movie. The extras that come with the DVD is a definite treat.

You'll get to see how Maine (who runs out of food and ammo) defeats the superior army of Texan's and Alabaman's (the best of the best). Very exciting stuff.

FACT: The civil war wasn’t about slavery. The South HAD slavery, but that wasn’t what the war was about. It was about the government. The Confederate States of America fought to keep power in the hands of the states. The United States fought to keep a strong central government. The number of deaths in the civil war is more than the total of deaths in all of America's wars combined. That was largely due to the lack of medical technology and Napoleanic style of warfare (fighting shoulder-to-shoulder line formations). I just wanted to clear this up for the non-history buffs.