Civil War Turning Point Analysis
In this paper I will discuss four points concerning the civil war in detail. The first issue discussed will be Professor McPherson's arguments in the text Ordeal by Fire and whether Antietam and Emancipation, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, represent the three critical turning points in the Civil War. Second, I will rank the three points from greatest to least in terms of their importance on the Civil War. Third, I will add a fourth event I feel was significant to the turning of the war. Antietam and Emancipation The Union and Confederate Armies met at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862, in the bloodiest single day of the war: more than 4,000 died on both sides and 18,000 were wounded. McClellan failed
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First, it guaranteed that the war would continue until the Confederate States conceded to the Union terms. Second, it allowed Lincoln to put his plans for reconstructing the union into effect before his assassination. Had McClellan been elected to the presidency, there is a high degree of likelihood that the fighting would have decreased in its intensity, prolonging the war. McClellan and his advisers had decided that union interest had to come before peace interest, however, this does not instill in me the confirmation that McClellan would have fought to end the war. His agenda was that of tentative action, and complacency. Lincoln’s win in the election insured that the war would put an end to slavery, and the Union would be restored. While every moment in history is important to the coming moments, none were more important than the moments discussed supra. I believe that I have discussed them in the order of importance, however, I am sure that many historians would challenge my stance and denote the Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga battles as the main turning point in the war. I believe that they are significant only in their magnitude of destruction of the Confederate Army. More important is Lee being stopped cold in his march South, had he been victorious, he would have walked to the nations capital and placed the Confederate flag on the White
First, it guaranteed that the war would continue until the Confederate States conceded to the Union terms. Second, it allowed Lincoln to put his plans for reconstructing the union into effect before his assassination. Had McClellan been elected to the presidency, there is a high degree of likelihood that the fighting would have decreased in its intensity, prolonging the war. McClellan and his advisers had decided that union interest had to come before peace interest, however, this does not instill in me the confirmation that McClellan would have fought to end the war. His agenda was that of tentative action, and complacency. Lincoln’s win in the election insured that the war would put an end to slavery, and the Union would be restored. While every moment in history is important to the coming moments, none were more important than the moments discussed supra. I believe that I have discussed them in the order of importance, however, I am sure that many historians would challenge my stance and denote the Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga battles as the main turning point in the war. I believe that they are significant only in their magnitude of destruction of the Confederate Army. More important is Lee being stopped cold in his march South, had he been victorious, he would have walked to the nations capital and placed the Confederate flag on the White