Gettysburg-"Turning point"of the Civil War?

[Rob Wick]

Herb,

I think the general consensus of many historians is that Gettysburg is less important than Vicksburg, and that it's more residue of the belief of the importance of the eastern theater over the western. I think much of the reason for Gettysburg's prominence has to do with Lincoln's address along with the way the battle has been remembered throughout the years. In 2003 Thomas Desjardin wrote These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory in which he not only gives a history of how the battle was remembered, but he attempts to debunk some of the myths which have grown up around it. Add to that the dramatic interpretation it received from Ken Burns, and you've got a recipe for mythmaking that's hard to defeat.

Personally, I think Vicksburg was far more important as it cut the Confederacy in two and opened traffic on the Mississippi again.

Best
Rob