Battle of Gettysburg

Where this fits. After Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee invaded the North again in June 1863. Gettysburg (July 1–3) ended that invasion the same week Vicksburg fell in the West, a double turning point toward Union victory.

Lee enters Pennsylvania. Lee marched the Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania for shoes, food, and a victory that might convince Northern voters to end the war. Union General George G. Meade took command of the Army of the Potomac only days before the fighting.

Three days of battle. On July 1, Confederate troops pushed Union defenders through the town toward Cemetery Hill. On July 2, fierce fighting raged at Little Round Top, the Peach Orchard, Devil's Den, and Culp's Hill. On July 3, Lee launched Pickett's Charge, sending roughly 12,000 men across open fields toward the Union center on Cemetery Ridge. Artillery and musket fire shattered the attack.

Cost and meaning. About 50,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing, the bloodiest battle ever fought in North America. Lee retreated to Virginia; the Confederacy never again mounted a major invasion of the North.

Gettysburg Address. In November 1863, President Lincoln dedicated the soldiers' cemetery. In about 272 words, he defined the war as a test of whether democracy could survive: government of the people, by the people, for the people.