The Battle of Gettysburg: The Turning Point of the Civil War

The Battle of Gettysburg the Turning Point of the Civil War
Was the Battle of Gettysburg a sufficient enough victory to actually turn the tide of the Civil War? Was three days of fighting enough to make that much of an impact on a war that lasted two more years after this famous battle? Well that is what I will be discussing in this paper. I will be going over each day of the battle and how they ultimately led to a Union victory and a turning point in the Civil War.
Day one, July 1, 1863, was the start of what some would figure just to be another battle of this lengthy war, but it proved to be a stepping stone on the path of victory for the Union. Confederate and Union forces collided on the first day on the outskirts of Gettysburg. The Union forces wanted to stop the Confederate advance from moving through Gettysburg, but could only hold the line for so long before the larger southern force was able to push the Union back. The northern Army back to the south side of the town and dug into a defensive position at Cemetery Hill.
Trueman (2000) stated, Lee recognized the strategic importance of dislodging the Union troops dug in there. He ordered General Ewell to attack Cemetery Hill if practical. Ewell decided that an attack was not practical and gave the Union forces on Cemetery Hill far more time to dig themselves in and strengthen their defenses. It was a decision that was to have major repercussions two days later (Trueman, 2000).
July 2, 1863, day two of the battle started with Union forces being dug in on Cemetery Hill after the Confederates decided not to continue the attack on the first day. General George Meade, decided that a defensive approach on this day would be the best strategy they could use to inflict as much da...

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... decision meant a Union victory.
The Union victory was impressive and moral boosting. But like all good things, there were negatives for both sides. The Confederates lost nearly 30,000 Soldiers just in these three days of battle, while the Union lost a little more than 20,000 Soldiers, making this one of the worst and bloodiest battles in history. The Union victory in Gettysburg, shifted the war in several ways, it brought the Confederate advance into the north to an abrupt halt and force the Southern Army to fall back to Virginia. So Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War. Hawks (2007) stated, “for the rest of the war, Lee was on the strategic defensive, forced into the war of attrition he feared and eventually cornered in an unwinnable siege around Richmond” (Hawks, 2007). The Battle of Gettysburg was bloody and pivotal and will be remembered forever.