SECTION 4: Turning Points of the War
▲ Dead soldiers at Little Round Top
Drum from a Union regiment that fought at Gettysburg ►
WITNESS HISTORY 
AUDIO
Gettysburg: A Soldier’s Story
In early July 1863, North and South clashed near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A young Union officer described the fighting on a hill called Little Round Top:
“As we reached the crest a never to be forgotten scene burst upon us. A great basin lay before us full of smoke and fire, and literally swarming with riderless horses and fighting, fleeing and pursuing men. The air was saturated with the sulphurous fumes of battle and was ringing with the shouts and groans of the combatants. The wild cries of charging lines, the rattle of musketry, the booming of artillery and the shrieks of the wounded were the orchestral accompaniments of a scene like very hell itself….”
—Lt. Porter Farley, 140th New York Infantry Regiment
Objectives
- Explain what the Union gained by capturing Vicksburg.
- Describe the importance of the Battle of Gettysburg.
- Analyze how the Union pressed its military advantage after 1863.
Terms and People
- siege
- Vicksburg
- Gettysburg
- George Pickett
- Gettysburg Address
- total war
- William Tecumseh Sherman
NoteTaking
Reading Skill: Summarize As you read, use a timeline to trace how the tide of the war turned toward Union victory.
Why It Matters In the early stages of the war, the North had only limited success in achieving its military goals. But after months of difficult fighting and military setbacks, the Union enjoyed some stunning military successes in 1863. Though there was much bloodshed to come, that year marked the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. Section Focus Question: How did the Battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg change the course of the Civil War?
Union Victory at Vicksburg
Although Union General U. S. Grant’s troops battled the Confederates in Kentucky and central Tennessee in late 1862, the major focus of the Union’s western campaign remained the Mississippi River. The Anaconda Plan depended on gaining control of the river and cutting the South in half. Yet after two years of war, the Confederacy still had strongholds at Port Hudson, Louisiana, and Vicksburg, Mississippi. “Vicksburg is the key!” Lincoln proclaimed. “The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.”
Grant Faces a Formidable Challenge
Grant made several attempts to fulfill Lincoln’s goal, but it was a daunting task. The mighty Vicksburg fortress towered high above the waters of the Mississippi. Along the city’s western edge, Confederate gunners could rain deadly fire on any gunboats that might approach. In May 1862, they thwarted one such assault under Union Admiral David
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