Civil War Turning Point Essay

The United States went through a civil war fought between April 12, 1861 - April 9, 1865 (477). Throughout this time, it featured many major and minor events, such as battles, military and political actions. The key battles were the Battle of Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Antietam.
Initially, the significance of the Battle of Gettysburg to the outcome of the civil war was that it involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point. More than 51,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, captured, or missing, with 23,000 of them being from the Union and 28,000 from the Confederacy (“Gettysburg”). Although the carnage was overwhelming, Lincoln’s hopes of ending the war were revived and Gettysburg

The South's biggest source of income was cotton, and they would all be sold to Britain, however, there is no way to ship cotton to Europe without the Mississippi River, since it was the primary conduit for supplies and communication through the South. Vicksburg affected the Confederacy significantly enough that even the wealthy people went poor. The South spent precious money buying weapons from Europe, but the blockade caused by the Vicksburg prevented most of them from being delivered (469). In conclusion, Vicksburg took control over the South’s supply line, the Mississippi

North won due to the impact made on the Southerners. Vicksburg can be considered as a total war combat because it affected both civilians and soldiers. With the North’s control of the Mississippi River, the soldiers could not use the river to have their resources delivered from Europe, as well as the farmers to ship their goods to sustain their selves. The South used their money to buy weapons that most of them were stopped from being delivered. If the South didn’t buy as many weapons as they did, they could’ve done more things with the money, such as connecting their railroads since railroads were already an issue to the Southerners a long time ago. The battle of Gettysburg was also an influential moment not only for the war itself but also for how society at that time would view the war (“Analysis…”). Throughout the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee’s invasion of the North would make the first move to the South. This can boost self-confidence, get clarity, and you can go for what you want more easily. Maybe if Lee invaded the North before, the outcome of the war could’ve been different and the development of Lee’s confidence would cause him to make more attempts to invade the North more often. After the Gettysburg Address, the war itself wasn’t just to save the Union, it was more to see how people would deal as a democratic nation (475). Lincoln's speech was only 3 minutes