Gettysburg Historiographic Essay

The Battle of Gettysburg:
Strategies Invested and Who is to Blame

Historiographical Essay
Prepared by:
John Smith

HISTORY 480, Historiography
Dr. Smith
Washington University
Spring 2011 The American Civil War is a time in America’s history that is full of debatable topics. The country was split in two and was threatened with potential division if the North didn’t prevail in reeling the dissenting group of states of the South back into the Union. The war was complete with pivotal moments and pitted battles chock-full of blunders, yet Gettysburg stands alone as one of the most influential and tide turning confrontations of the war. With questionable tactics employed by the Generals and a potential shift in the tide of the war at stake, the winner of Gettysburg would hold an advantage over their enemy for the rest of the war. Just who was to hold the most blame in the blunders at Gettysburg? Was it Lee with his overconfident mentality and desperate need for a win in the North? Or was it a combination of his subordinates and their failure to support Lee at a time when he would need them most? Many people thought that it was Lee’s fault for the loss at Gettysburg due to his over confidence in his troops, believing that they were almost invincible in battle. Others believed that he had no business being in Pennsylvania at all since the South’s strategy had been all along to make the war one of a defensive nature and hold off the oppressive Northern advance. There is the thought that had he been able to win t Gettysburg he would not have been able to do anything significant since his army was so badly ravaged and unsupplied. This is why he was thought to invade Pennsylvania in the first place: to gain supplies and food for his desperate army, and to gain a victory against the Northerners on their soil. Lee was desperate, and these frantic feelings were building up to effect his strategic decisions at Gettysburg. These nine sources seem to have an opinion

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