Gettysburg - turning point of the war?

Gettysburg - turning point of the war?

In 1861 and 1862, Confederate armies achieved many victories over their Northern counterparts. By the summer of 1863, the brilliant General Robert E. Lee was in command of the Army of Northern Virginia. He decided upon an invasion of the north, which would pull both armies from war torn northern Virginia, where most of the fighting had previously been. By invading the north and particularly, winning a victory in the north, it might cause disenchanted northerners to pressure the Lincoln administration to seek a settlement toward peace, thus ending the war. This decision eventually brought the war to the doorsteps of a small, rural south central Pennsylvania town called Gettysburg.
General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, 75,000 strong, was traveling north to central Pennsylvania. On June 30, Lee learned that the 95,000 men of the Union Army of the Potomac, led by Maj. General George G. Meade, were pursuing them.
July 1, 1863
Lee ordered sever...