What happened with the south after the Battle of Gettysburg?

Answer 1

Answer Gettysburg was General Lee's second attempt to carry the war into the Northern states and it failed. Prior to this, Lee's Confederate army was always on the move. After Gettysburg, the fighting in Virginia developed into a siege warfare that resembled the trench warfare of World War 1. Also the battles in the West were not going well, either. The Union army had obtained most of their major objectives and began their advance onto Atlanta---the largest industrial Southern city outside of Virginia. The South was fighting a purely defensive war.

Answer 2

Gettysburg is a small Pennsylvania town. The Union and Confederate armies fought a battle over three days. Lee's Confederate Army faced north.Mead's Union army faced south. On the first day, Lee attacked to his left. The Union army was successful in capturing a hill, Little Round Top. It put its artillery up there. It did severe damage to the Confederate forces. The second day, the confederate forces attacked to the right. While the Confederates made progress, the attack did not start until late in the afternoon. It was too late to keep pressing on and try for victory. The third day General Lee shot an artillery barrage at the center of the Union Line. It went over the head of all the solders. Then General Pickett sent his army to attack the center of the Union lines. The Confederates marched toward the Union cannon and riflemen. Confederate solders fell dead. Very few of the Confederate solders reached the Union lines. "Picket's Charge" has become synonyms with futility. The Confederate cavalry leader, General Jeb Stuart, tried to break through the Union Lines from the rear. He was held off by General Custer who had a force only one tenth of his size. (General Custer had breech loading rifles. Stuart had muzzle loaders. Custer's breech loading rifles would not be the answer in the future when Chief Sitting Bull would get repeating rifles, but that is another story.) After the fiasco of Pickets Charge, Lee retreated to the south.

The Union held a Celebration for the victory at Gettysburg. As an afterthought, they invited President Lincoln to speak.

The first speaker used a technique making the United States the New Roman Empire bringing that glory back to the world. He was Manifest Destiny.

Then Abraham Lincoln stood and presented a different picture. Instead of Rome, we were bringing a government that had a brand new purpose in the world.

"Four score and seven years ago, our Fathers set forth on this continent a new Nation...

Addendum to above answer*

Actually, Custer was not outnumbered ten to one, if one counts the entire Union cavalry force engaged in that battle. Custer did not command all the Union cavalry on the field, just three brigades. Union forces had several cannon and support positioned in a corner of the battlefield, and these supported them in the fight.

Also, Stuart's men were still worn out from their ride around Meade's army, having arrived the evening before. Many horses were also still unfit for battle.

The total engaged as far as cavalry were: Union, 3500, Confederate, 4400. Although the battle did halt Stuart's advance, it is considered an inconclusive affair.

Answer 3

Nothing much in the Eastern theatre - both armies had taken a terrible battering.

Attention was focused on the Tennessee/Georgia mountains, where Braxton Bragg won his big victory at Chickamauga and appeared to be in a strong position to starve the besieged Union troops in Chattanooga. Grant managed to save that situation, and was on course to become General-in-Chief.

In May of 1864, major events began to transpire, but before that both sides were mostly recovering from Gettysburg.

Answer 4

The Confederate Army was able to withdraw after Gettysburg. The Rebels remained on the field the day after the battle, July 4, hoping the Yankees would attack them in their positions, which the Yankees declined to do. At the same time the Rebels had started their wagon trains south, supply wagons, and wagons loaded with all the wounded who could be moved. The Yankees were slow to pursue, vastly irritating Lincoln. It was very rainy during this time, and when the Rebels reached the Potomac the River was high, too deep for fording (walking across at shallow places). The Rebels built a defensive position on the north bank waiting for the water to go down, almost six miles of earthwork lines, again hoping the Yankees would attack. The Yankees belatedly appeared, but did not attack until almost all the Rebels were safely over the River into the South.

There was no more fighting in the east that year, though the Yankees did come over after the Rebels. Lee sent one of the three corps of his army, the First Corps, under Longstreet, to join the Rebel Army of Tennessee in "the west", where they helped win the Battle of Chickamauga.

Answer 5

Lee retreated in good order, never to invade the North again. The Union seized the strategic initiative in the East and never relinquished it, putting the South on the defensive for the rest of the war.

Answer 6

At the outset of the American Civil War, the South made several advances that caused the North to withdraw. However, after the Battle of Gettysburg, the tide turned in the North's favor.

Answer 7

They went on the defensive, permanently, and never invaded Northern soil again.

Answer 8

they retreated back to their side but suffered a big loss