Battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg

1. Battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg Turning Points of the Civil War

2. Vicksburg and Gettysburg “See what a lot of land these fellows hold, of which Vicksburg is the key! The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.... We can take all the northern ports of the Confederacy, and they can defy us from Vicksburg.“ -Abraham Lincoln

4. Except for Vicksburg, Mississippi, the Union army controlled the Mississippi River from Memphis to New Orleans. From this major point on the river, the rebels were sending food and supplies from Texas and Louisiana to the rest of the Confederacy. In the spring of 1863, Major General U.S. Grant laid siege to the city, after four unsuccessful attempts to take it by assault. The Confederate army and the citizens of the city refused to give up, although conditions were so bad that many of them were living in caves and eating rats to survive. They melted everything in the town (door hinges, nails, metal furniture, etc) to make bullets and cannon shells. Finally, on July 4, 1863, the Rebel army surrendered and the siege ended. With the loss of this vital stronghold on the Mississippi, the Confederacy was effectively split in half. Grant's successes in the West boosted his reputation, leading ultimately to his appointment as General-in-Chief of the Union armies. Battle of Vicksburg-Turning Point

5. At the same time that Vicksburg was falling, far away in the East, Confederate General Robert E. Lee led his troops into Pennsylvania to meet Major General George Meade’s Union soldiers. The Confederates hoped to win a victory here in order to encourage England to join the fight on the side of the South. During three days of fighting-July 1-3, 1863-Northern troops turned back wave after wave of Rebel attacks. On the afternoon of the last day of fighting, General Lee ordered 15,000 men under General George Pickett to charge the center of the Union lines. Lee believed that the Union troops had been weakened by cannon fire, but he was wrong. Artillery and rifle fire from prepared positions broke up the brave but suicidal “Pickett’s Charge” before it reached the Union lines. The next day, Lee began to withdraw, but was trapped by flooded rivers. If Meade had pursued the retreating Confederate soldiers, the war might have ended there, but he didn’t. However, the Confederacy would never again launch an attack in Northern territory. During the Gettysburg campaign, Lee lost almost 25,000 men, including many of his best officers. July 1863, was the beginning of the end for the Confederate States of America. Gettysburg-Turning Point

6. Write news flashes home from the battlefields at Vicksburg and Gettysburg from the viewpoint of the North and the South.

7. Vicksburg • North: • South:

8. Gettysburg: • North: • South:

9. Exit Ticket • What is the significance of the Battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg? Why are they considered the turning point of the Civil War?