What why was the Battle of Gettysburg a disaster for the south?

Answer 1

The Battle of Gettysburg failed to accomplish its objectives and it cost General Lee and the South more than one-third of his entire army. The South was not able to topple the Lincoln government, not able to force the Union to negotiate an end to the War, and not able to do well enough to gain support from major European powers. The South was never again able to stage a large offensive against the Union.

Answer 2

There were several disadvantages for the southern troops. Once all the Yankee units arrived the southerners were outnumbered. They were used to this though, and undaunted. Another, more serious, was that they were far from home, in unfriendly territory. They had no supply line, no means of having food sent to them, or more importantly ammunition, other than a tenuous route by horse-drawn wagon from the north bank of the Potomac River, which was subject to being interrupted at any time by Yankee cavalry.

Had Gettysburg been a one day battle, it would have been a Confederate victory. The Rebels had everything go their way on the first day. But that evening the routed Yankees streamed southward through the little town and got on some hill just south of the town and along the top of a ridge stretching away to the south. Thus the Yankee line looked like an inverted fishhook. The Rebels moved up and conformed their line to this Yankee line. This meant that if the Yankees wanted to move troops around, to bring help to the threatened sector, they could just cut across the back of their line and get their in a hurry. If the Rebels wanted to move troops from one sector to another they had much farther to travel, all the way around the outside of the battlefield. So the Yankees had "interior lines" on the battlefield, while the Confederates had "exterior lines".

The Rebels were obliged to attack. Because they were in unfriendly territory, they had to try conclusions and obtain a result, one way or another, They did not have time to wait around, while they ate up all their food and used up all their ammunition skirmishing. They had to have a result, one way or another, so they had to force the action. The attacking side in the Civil War often needed a three to one edge in manpower, at least at the point of attack, to succeed. This edge would be hard for the Rebels to obtain at any particular spot on the battlefield.

Its sometimes said that Lee was "not himself" at Gettysburg. He did not feel well, and had probably had a mild heart attack that spring (heart trouble would kill him seven years later). He had ridden part of the way north in a horse-drawn ambulance - something wounded or ill officers often did.

The Rebels missed Stonewall Jackson, who had been mortally wounded in the previous battle. Many think that had Jackson still been alive he would have finished up the job on the evening of the first day, when the Yankees were routed and running. Jackson's successor, with Jackson's old command, did not press the advantage, gave the Yankees breathing room and a chance to settle down and regroup, and dig in on their high ground.

After Jackson's death, on the eve of starting out on the campaign that led to Gettysburg, Lee had reorganized his army, from two corps to three. The successor to the command of Jackson's old Second Corp was not as aggressive, and the commander of the new Third Corp was untried at that level of command.

Answer 3

Becuase most Civil War battles took place in major Confedreate cities, like Richmont Virginia, and got destroyed in the process.