The battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1 through July 3, 1863, considered by most military historians the turning point in the American Civil War (Johnson 84). The Battle of Gettysburg was a decisive engagement in that it arrested the Confederates’ second and last major invasion of the North, destroyed their offensive strategy, and forced them to fight a defensive war in which the slowness of their manufacturing capacity and transportation facilities doomed them to defeat (McPherson 25). The …showed first 75 words of 988 total…

…showed last 75 words of 988 total…lack of vigorous pursuit showed Meade as being too cautious. Lee hurting from Gettysburg, was forced to return to Virginia. The war was far from over and lasted another 2 years (Johnson 192). The Gettysburg Address, a famous speech, was delivered later that year by United States president Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (McPherson 192). He presented it in dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery honoring those who died in the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg.