Remembering Gettysburg and the Civil War

This week marked the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the turning point of the American Civil War.

Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston South Carolina, April 12, 1861. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. It remains the deadliest war in American history, an estimated 750,000 soldiers and an undetermined number of civilian casualties.

Historian John Huddleston estimates the death toll at ten percent of all Northern males 20–45 years old, and 30 percent of all Southern white males aged 18–40. The South had better generals: Robert E. Lee of Virginia and others. The North had industrial power and sheer numbers.

For more about Gettysburg and the Civil war, read my blog post on http://usameltingpot.org/category/culture-country/united-states/