The Battle of Gettysburg was key to the eventual Union victory over the Confederacy. There were many other things that had to fall into place around the same time, that are often overlooked, in order for this to be viewed as the turning point of the war. The victory proved that Lee was not immortal and could be defeated on the battlefield. This victory also left him without the ability to strike the Union offensively, leaving him to fight defensively and attempt to win a war of attrition with the Union who had more manpower. The Western Theater had all but been decided by the time the Battle of Gettysburg had occurred, allowing the Union to focus the majority of their major resources on the Eastern Theater and the defeat of Lee and capture of the Confederate capitol, …show more content…
It has been argued that Gettysburg was not the turning point in the Civil War, but there is no denying that the victory at Gettysburg gave the Union the upper hand in the Eastern Theater. In the face of two more years of bloody battle it easy to view Gettysburg as not being a turning point, it was not a turning point in the sense of a decisive victory. Gettysburg was a tactical and strategic victory for the Union that turned the tables in the Eastern Theater, a theater of the war where they had previously struggled. They created a turning point by defeating a highly touted Confederate General and putting themselves on the offensive. This victory played a significant role in the eventual overall victory of the Union, and without a doubt was a turning point in the