B#7 Civil War

Benchmark 1-B

United States: Analyze and interpret major eras, events and individuals from the periods of exploration and colonization through the Civil War and Reconstruction in United States history.

#7 Standard with Test Specifications:

Explain the course and consequences of the Civil War and how it divided people in the United States, to include:

a. contributions and significance of key figures (e.g., Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, William Tecumseh Sherman, Ulysses S. Grant);

b. major turning points in the Civil War, including Gettysburg; the unique nature of the Civil War (e.g., impact of Americans fighting Americans, high casualties caused by disease and type of warfare, widespread destruction of American property);

c. role of African Americans; purpose and effect of the Emancipation Proclamation

Sample Question: H8.1-B.7b

Read the following to answer the question below:

The Battle of Gettysburg took place from July 1 to July 3, 1863, two years into the Civil War. The Confederate army started the Battle of Gettysburg by invading Union territory in central Pennsylvania. Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee hoped to score a major victory on Northern soil to cripple the Union Army and also persuade Great Britain and France to come to the Confederate Army's aid.

After nearly three days of intense fighting, the 85,000-strong Union troops proved too strong for the 75,000-Confederate troops on the battlefield, and Lee retreated from Gettysburg with his remaining troops on July 4, 1863.

Although both sides lost a massive number of troops that day, the Confederate army lost nearly a third of its entire army, which it was never able to regain. The crippling loss, combined with a defeat in Vicksburg, Mississippi, also on July 4, is why many historians view the battle as the major turning point of the Civil War. It was also the largest battle of the war, as well as the largest ever fought in North America.

Based on the text above, how did the Battle of Gettysburg help turn the tide of the Civil War?

A. The South lost so many troops, they were never able to regain the offensive momentum to move into Northern territory.*

B. The Northern troops were able to totally destroy the Southern troops, thus ending the war.

C. Southern troops were able to regroup and soon pushed back into Northern territory.

D. Northern troops were defeated and quickly retreated further North deep into their own territory.