6. Battle Of Gettysburg (1863)
Two battles that helped decide the fate of a nation: the Battle of Vicksburg and the Battle of Gettysburg. The latter is the more famous and the more important, as it ended General Lee's major advance into the north. It's worth noting that, for those who aren't aware, Gettysburg is in Pennsylvania, north of Washington. At this stage in the Civil War, the Confederacy was winning. The battle wasn't organised, with a majority of each side's forces not at Gettysburg at the beginning of the fighting. Lee ordered his 71,000 men to assemble in the town and set up defensive positions. Union General A.P Hill's divisions arrived first, and found themselves being shot at when searching for boots. By the end of the day, 27,000 confederates and 22,000 Union soldiers were embroiled in battle. Both sides formed U-shape lines - miles long due to their size. The decisive action came on third day, when General George Pickett's 14,000 troops advanced through open fields. Union bombardment and rifle fire made sure that, when the Confederate troops did reach Union lines, only 200 did so. Lee chose to retreat south to Virginia. Lee hoped that victory at Gettysburg would ease the tension on Virginia, which his army had spent most of their time defending. Coupled with the loss at Vicksburg, the momentum was now on the Union side. Had Lee won, or, as one commander hoped to do, avoid the battle, outflank Meade, and pressure Washington, he could have gained armistice from Lincoln.