What two Union victories in the Summer of 1863 were the turning point in the US Civil War?

Answer 1

The Union victory at Antietam, the bloodiest battle in US history, was such a decisive win that Lincoln felt inspired to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. This effectively prevented any assistance from Britain, whose workers were anti-slavery and France failed to offer assistance as well. Another decisive victory at Vicksburg spread panic in the south and many struggled to sell off their war bonds , believing defeat was inevitable.

Answer 2

The Union won two battles in July 1863, one at Vicksburg, along the Mississippi, and one at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.

The control of the Mississippi River was important to the Union forces. Control of the river would cut the Confederacy in two and would allow the Union to use the Mississippi River for shipping supplies. In 1862 both New Orleans and Memphis had fallen to Union troops but Vicksburg was still in Confederate hands, along with 200 miles of the Mississippi, south to Port Hudson, LA. On July 4th 1863, after six weeks under siege by Gen. U. S. Grant's troops, the Confederate troops in Vicksburg were forced to surrender. A few days later Port Hudson fell, leaving the Mississippi River under Union control. Communications between Richmond the capital of the Confederacy and its western states were cut.

At about the same time in the east, General Robert E. Lee was starting his second invasion of the North. No one had planned on fighting at Gettysburg, Gen. Meade in command of the Union Army had planned on making a stand in Maryland. When Confederate Gen John Buford's cavalry came into contact with remnants of Union Gen. Hill's forces the battle started July 1st.

After three days of intense fighting, Confederate forces on July 4th retreated back to Virginia, leaving Union forces in control of the battle field. This was the last real attempt by the Confederacy to bring the war to the North and the Confederacy fortunes declined.

Answer 3

The Battle of Gettysburg is thought by most Historians to be the turning point of the Civil War for the Union. Some of the reasons for this are as follows... First, Lee's second attempt to invade the north had failed. This pretty much guaranteed that Confederate support by European powers, namely Great Britain, was lost. Not the Britain would have ever allied itself with a Confederacy that still recognized the institution of slavery. Second, the amount of casualties lost by Lee at Gettysburg all but decimated his Army of Northern Virginia. These were men he simply could not replace. Unlike the north's unlimited supply of manpower the south was short of fighting men. It has been said that the Union had fought the Civil War with one arm tied behind it's back. If they wanted to call up more troops at any given moment they could. Finally, the affect on southern morale following the loss at Gettysburg was very powerful. Southern citizens began to speak out against the end of the war. The casualties of Confederate men coming back to the south by this time in the war was too much for the people to handle. One must understand that the south lost 30,000 men at Gettysburg alone whether by death, wounding, illness, or some other reason.

Answer 4

A good number of historians cite the Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg as turning points in the US Civil War. A closer look at the results of these battles indicates that these were not turning points at all. After each Union Summer of 1863 victory, the South still remained a strong opponent in the war.