5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a very well written, consise overview of the Battle of Gettysburg!, June 22, 2009
This review is from: The Battle of Gettysburg: Would You Lead the Fight? (What Would You Do? (Enslow)) (Library Binding)
In the 1850s the Northerners and Southerners were not seeing eye to eye and their differences became more glaring and their relationship strained. The Northerners wanted a more centralized federal government that would abolish slavery, whereas the Southerners, who had plantations, favored slavery. In 1860 when Lincoln was elected president, a president who was against slavery, the nation split. The eleven southernmost states seceded and "formed their own nation called the Confederate States." In 1861 Confederate rebels attack the Union (northern states) at Fort Sumter. The bloody Civil war had only just begun.
The Union had more troops, but the Confederacy was winning more battles. Two years into the conflict Lincoln appointed Major General George Mead "the Union Army's new commanding officer" in an effort to keep the Union from advancing into the capital. General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army was intent on capturing Gettysburg in order to gain a better position in hopes of capturing Washington. It was a risk he needed to take. He tried to bluff the Union forces by sending J. E. B. Stuart, "the eyes of the army," on a cavalry mission to divert their attention away from the trickle of Lee's oncoming forces to Gettysburg. The bluff worked, but soon Union major general John Buford spotted large numbers of Union troops.
On July 1, 1863 they began to battle. Buford's position was weakening, but the Iron Brigade fortuitously arrived. Unfortunately by the day's end two-thirds of the Brigade had lost their lives. They were weakening and took up position at Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill. There was uncertainty on both sides. General Lee waited for the rest of his troops and wanted to pull back his fighting men. Meade was relentless. On the Confederate side James Longstreet and Richard S. Ewell begged to differ with Lee on strategy and decided to stick with his own plans. You can read about the rest of this battle and the disastrous results to the troops on both sides in which "more than seventy-five hundred died in battle."
The Battle of Gettysburg is one in a series of six fantastic books in the "What Would you Do?" series, one is which the student will learn about decision making, good and bad, and its consequences. This book is very well written and is a concise overview of the battle. At the end of each chapter the question, "What would you do?" is asked and one or more possible outcomes are given for discussion or thought. In the next chapter the student will find out what actually happened. The book has numerous photographs, art reproductions, maps, a timeline, an index, words to know (the words are highlighted in bold throughout the text) and additional recommended book and internet resources are given. What side was your state on during the conflict?
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