Gettysburg and Vicksburg

Gettysburg and Vicksburg were the turning point for the war because the union started winning the battles. The confederacy was having problems: southerners were losing slave labor, soldiers were poorly supplied, and the economy was falling apart. Vicksburg was important because the union officially controlled the Mississippi River after General Grant’s siege of the Mississippi River. Gettysburg was General Lee’s last chance to foreign help. There was over 50,000 casualties and Lee’s army retreated to Virginia. President Abraham liked General Grant because he wanted to fight and he was aggressive enough to finish off the south. General Grant’s plan was to tire out the south and force them to no other option then to surrender. The south surrendered at Vicksburg and they never regained the offensive side of the war. 28,000 southern soldiers were killed, injured, or went missing at Vicksburg, this was nearly 1/3 of the southern army. Gettysburg and Vicksburg were crucial battles in the war.