Which 1863 battle is routinely cited as the turning point of the American Civil War?

The Battle of Gettysburg is routinely cited as the turning point of the American Civil War.

Fought in Pennsylvania from July 1 to July 3, 1863, Gettysburg ended Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s second major invasion of the North. Union forces under Major General George G. Meade held the battlefield against Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, producing a decisive Union victory.

The battle was part of a crucial sequence in July 1863. On July 4, the day after the fighting ended, Union forces captured Vicksburg, Mississippi, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River and splitting the Confederacy. The combination of Gettysburg and Vicksburg sharply weakened Confederate strategic prospects.

Gettysburg is also remembered for Pickett’s Charge, the failed Confederate assault on July 3. The battle caused roughly 50,000 combined casualties, the largest total of any Civil War battle. The war continued until 1865, so “turning point” means a major shift in momentum rather than the conflict’s immediate conclusion.