The 3 Turning Points

Did the South have a chance to win the Civil War 1861-1865? In his book entitled Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, author James M. McPherson believes that there were three major turning points that concluded a Union victory. 1. The Northern Victory at the Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg in 1862. 2. Northern victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in July 1863. 3. The re-election of President Lincoln, 1864. Why was the Northern victory at Antietam/ Sharpsburg the first major …

…happened. Although the North had more resources than the South, what would have happened if the South would have clearly won at Antietam/Sharpsburg and gained foreign support? What if Lincoln wouldn’t have been re-elected? JMM stresses his point to his readers that the South could have won and these major turning points are what yielded a Union victory. What if the CSA would have won? These are questions that will be left unanswered.