Study this source. Source B 'We have won a great victory here, but at a terrible cost. The fields around this small town are covered with the dead and wound...

Source analysis

Source B is a diary entry by a Union soldier written near Gettysburg in July 1863. The soldier describes a 'great victory' but at a 'terrible cost,' with 'fields covered with the dead and wounded.' He contrasts the early optimism of 1861 ('over in a few months') with the grim reality after two years of fighting. Despite noting a Union victory, his tone is one of disillusionment: 'I wonder if either side can truly claim victory.' The final sentence predicts more deaths before peace comes. As a personal diary, the source provides an authentic individual perspective, likely unfiltered by concerns about public reception.

Contextual knowledge

Gettysburg (1-3 July 1863) was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, with approximately 51,000 total casualties across both armies. It is generally considered a turning point, ending Confederate General Lee's second invasion of the North and his hope of winning a decisive victory on Union soil. However, the soldier's sense that neither side could claim real victory was understandable: the war continued for nearly two more years, with devastating battles at Chickamauga, the Wilderness, and the siege of Petersburg. Both sides had expected a short war, but the conflict became a grinding struggle of attrition, with new weapons (rifled muskets, artillery) making battle far more destructive than in earlier wars.

Mark scheme (Levels of Response) [7 marks]

• Level 1 [1-3 marks]: Simple paraphrase. For example, 'The message is that lots of soldiers died at Gettysburg.' No analysis of the source's deeper meaning.
• Level 2 [4-5 marks]: Identifies the message with source details. The message is that the war was far more destructive and prolonged than expected, and that even victories came at an unbearable human cost. Uses specific language ('terrible cost,' 'over in a few months,' 'neither side can truly claim victory').
• Level 3 [6-7 marks]: Explains the message using source details AND contextual knowledge. Places the diary entry in the context of Gettysburg as the bloodiest battle of the war, explains the contrast between 1861 optimism and 1863 disillusionment, and uses knowledge of how the war continued for two more years to confirm the soldier's bleak prediction.

Exam reminder: Diary entries are valuable because they capture immediate, personal reactions. The message here is not about facts but about feelings: disillusionment, war-weariness, and the sense that victory and loss had become indistinguishable.