Why Is Gettysburg A Turning Point

Pooja Mistry
5/24/09

Battle of Gettysburg There was a lot of controversy as to why the U.S. Civil War had started. Many believe that it was merely a difference between the two cultures such as the north and the south. While the North was fighting to abolish slavery, the South was fighting to sustain slavery. The Confederate General, Robert E. Lee had proven to be invincible after his victories at Chancellorsville and Fredricksberg, and was finally defeated at Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg turned the tide of the war permanently against the South and became a major turning point in the war. This battle gave the union a greater advantage for winning the war and on July 1, 1863 shots were fired outside Gettysburg that marked the beginning of what would become one of the largest and most significant battles in the world.
Before the battle of Gettysburg the south felt as if they had a chance at victory.
They had a great moral due to their general Robert E. Lee who was defeating the union in previous battles. Throughout the war the south was mainly playing a defensive role and the north would try to choke the south with their Anaconda Plan. The battle of Gettysburg however, was the south’s most northern battle and it gave the confederate army a chance to play more of an offensive role and possibly capture the union’s capital (Document A). If the confederacy had actually achieved this, there would have been a great chance that European countries would have aided the south and they could have won the war. But unfortunately for the southerners this was not the case and their defeat at the battle of Gettysburg and allowed the union to have a greater chance at winning the war. This single battle became a turning point of the civil war because it gave the northerners a chance at victory and made it much easier to defeat the
south. The battle of Gettysburg was also one of the bloodiest battles of the civil war. There were many killed, wounded and missing people on both sides of the war. The union army had about 6,000,000 men to fight compared to the 1,200,000 of the confederacy (Document B). Even though the deaths of the men were quite similar on both sides, the impact of this was much worse for the south because they had lower amount of men in their army. The south could not afford to drag the war on because there was great possibility that they could run out of men. For the union however, this became a great advantage because even if they had lost many of their men, they would still have a chance at winning the war because they have a greater army. At the battle of Gettysburg the union and the confederacy had lost about an equal number of casualties but this loss was much greater for the confederacy because the size of their army at that battle was lower than the union ( confederacy had 278,000 men ; union had 918,000 men ). This loss proved to be a great advantage for the union and helped them win the war. Initially when the south went into battle at Gettysburg, they had a very optimistic view on the war as a whole. The southerners tried to accept their losses and felt like they still had a chance to win. In Lee’s first letter to the president of the confederacy, he mentions that their loss is not too horrible and their enemy (the union) had lost many men as well. He feels as if they still have a shot at winning the battle and the war and is very optimistic in his thinking (Document C). Soon after one month of battle the southerner’s views change drastically. In his second letter, Lee’s views are completely different and he does not feel as if he can win this war. He loses hope and supplies and after the battle of Gettysburg Lee and the southerner’s moral completely drops. They are scared and Lee even mentions to be replaced from the war. With this new attitude toward the war, it become very unlikely that the south will win the war and this becomes an advantage for the north because it causes a boost in their moral. With this turning point in the southerner’s moral, the northerners feel so sure of their chances of winning that they reelected Lincoln in 1865. After they completed the battle with the northern victory, President Lincoln announces his Gettysburg address to acknowledge those who died in the war (Document D). The main goal of this speech was to save the union and abolish slavery to become one of the strongest countries in the world. This speech intended to show the northerners victory and their great moral which helped them win. At the end, the battle of Gettysburg proved to be a turning point for many reasons. This battle turned the tide completely against the south and made it easier for the north to win. The loss in men for the south became an advantage for the north and their loss in moral also made the north victorious. Perhaps if this battle did not take place or if the southerners had won, America would probably not be what it is today. Not only was this battle a turning point in the civil war, but it was also a major turning point in America’s future. Without the southerner’s loss it is very likely that the history of our nation would not be what it is today.