The Battle of Gettysburg lasted three days, starting on July 1, 1863, in Pennsylvania, and ending on July 3, 1863, in Pennsylvania. Why and how was it a turning point in the Civil War? Before the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union would have lost all hope and chances of winning the war if it weren't for this battle. General Robert E. Lee of the Confederates felt confident upon invading the North after a significant victory over the army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville. But the North proved that they could still win and that this win was crucial. The North won by a considerable margin. The Union had only lost 23,049 soldiers, while the Confederates had lost over 28,000 soldiers, which was more than a third of Lee’s army and was a crushing defeat for the …show more content…
That mostly helped them win, and the main reason for Lee invading the North was for recognition from Europe to provide support. The strategies were: strong defensive positions, in which the Union held strong defensive positions on Cemetery Hill, Cemetery Ridge, and Culp’s Hill, causing a problem for the Confederacy to attack and take the high ground. Skilled leadership by General George Meade helped because he made strategic decisions like reinforcing the center of his line and ordering a counterattack, which also played an important role. The Union effectively used their artillery by supporting their troops and damaging and weakening Confederate attacks. Although the Confederacy army was led by Lee, a skilled general, the Confederates still made mistakes like attacking Meade’s well-defended center line and did not correctly coordinate attacks. The last thing that helped the Union accomplish this win was reinforcements, which helped withstand attacks from the Confederates. At the beginning of the battle, Lee had planned to gather his army at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 1. One of Hill’s AP divisions went to get supplies from the town but found two Union cavalry brigades already