Battle Of Gettysburg
...in a war is something that not every man is cut out for. To be able to maintain your composure and think clearly while men are being killed all around you is no easy task. To say in retrospect what this General and that General should have done is easy because we were not there and we have a lot more information about the battle and we know what is going to happen. This is a luxury that neither General Meade nor General Lee had during the battle of Gettysburg. During war unexpected things happen and sometimes quick decisions are made that have tremendous impact on the outcome of battles. It is true that the Union won the war, but it wasn’t just because everything the union did was right, some of it can be attributed to the mistakes made by the Confederates.
George Gordon Meade was the new appointed commander of the Union forces by Lincoln after Joseph Hooker resigned. Meade was the sixth general after Pope, Burnside, Hooker, and McClellan twice. He replaced Hooker because there were feelings that Hooker wasn’t aggressive enough. Meade was tasked with two objectives; Protect Washington and destroy Lee’s army. For the most part Meade did not have any real significant command issues at Gettysburg until the battle was over. His delegation of power to certain subordinates however is worth noting.
After John F. Reynolds died on the first day it was Meade’s decision to appoint Winfield S. Hancock as a new corps commander. He was responsible for a huge number of Union soldiers and was in charge of leading the defense against the confederate charge on Cemetery Ridge on the second day. The Union lines were very close to breaking on the second day and if it hadn’t been for Hancock’s decision to sacrifice the 1st Minnesota regiment there is a possibility that the confederates could have broken the lines and severely damaged the union army of which could have...
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