The Battle of Gettysburg–Not Just American History

12 Jul
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg

Last week, July 1, 2 and 3, we as a nation commemorated the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg–fought in 1863 during the American Civil War. The battle was a three day battle fought in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania between the Union forces under George Meade and Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee. The battle ended in a decisive Union victory after a disastrous Confederate charge called Pickett’s Charge on the third day of the battle.

This battle is sometimes considered the turning point in the war and within a couple years the Union side had won. But this battle had effects outside of American history. Historical events have a tendency to have long term consequences and these consequences are not held in by political boundaries. One might ask the question: what if? What if the Confederates had won the war and the “United States” (as we know it) was split in half. This would have grave consequences as we moved into the next century. Who’s to say that the CSA would have joined WWI or WWII? Think of the thousands of men from the South who fought in the World Wars. What if they hadn’t been US soldiers but rather CS farmers, businessmen, etc.? Men like Andrew Johnson, Harry S Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush and William Clinton would probably not have been President. Who would have lead the US in their place? Things could be very different had the battle of Gettysburg ended in Union defeat. That’s why this battle is important. Not only for Americans but for the rest of the world as well.

2 Replies to “The Battle of Gettysburg–Not Just American History

  1. As the ship of Cristopher Colombus would sunk in The Atlantic … America would never be discovered … and the western europe will not be rich, that would make the ottomans have not compitetors, not Charls V nor Spain, nor Austria!

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