Which one pivotal event in the Civil War could have changed the outcome had it ended differently?
Had the Confederate forces pressed towards Washington, D.C., there wouldn’t have been much organized federal resistance to stop them in light of the rout of the federal forces earlier that day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Bull_Run http://www.multied.com/CivilWar/Bullrun.html Had Gen. Beauregard shown uncharacteristic drive late on that July day, the most likely result would have been a federal retreat from the District of Columbia and the capture of it by the Confederacy. Considering the mindset of the time, there is an excellent chance that the war would have ended shortly afterwards. Douglas Southall Freeman was of the strongly held opinion that had Robert E. Lee been in charge of the Confederate forces, Washington would have been in Confederate hands by morning. (See my widget.) Had Washington fallen, the war wo
It’s hard to pick one event and say it would have changed a specific outcome, especially if it was the direct proximate cause of that outcome. For example, there were one climactic battle that, by itself, determined the result of a war, that event would be a proximate cause, and a change in that outcome would directly effect the result of the war. On the other hand, the events that led up to that ultimate battle are further removed from the result, and a change in those circumstances would be somewhat less likely to have an effect on the end result. Sorry if I’m not clear on that, but many of these questions assume that you can change one thing in history and something else automatically changes. That’s just not the case. Historical events are like the threads on a tapestry. Change one and it may change the end picture, but it may not. Having been longwinded about all that, I have to say that the pivotal turning point in the Civil War were the Union victories at Vicksburg and Gettysbur
Most likely the “turning point of the war” Gettysburg In June, 1863 Lee had invaded the North. Confederate hopes were high that Washington and other Northern cities could be threatened or captured. There was also the possibility that the Union Army would again be defeated causing the Union to sue for peace. The greatest hope of the South was that a European power, such as England or France, would recognize the Confederacy as a nation. This would require Lee to achieve a Confederate victory on Northern soil. Such a victory would demonstrate that the South was indeed able to wage more then a defensive fight. European recognition would serious impact on the Union claim that the conflict was a rebellion. It would make Southern independence a near certainty. Had Lee won the battle he could have taken Washington, or Baltimore, or Philadelphia. It would have embolden the Confederates to make more invasions of the North. After the defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg, the South stayed on the def
The traditional pivot was the Battle of Gettysburg. It was a close run thing and, if Bobby Lee had been successful he would have been in a position to threaten Washington and end the war or at least force a negotiated settlement. More complicated but probably more pivotal was Lincoln’s success in keeping Maryland in the Union and preventing Washington from being surrounded on all sides by the Confederacy. That would have required moving the Federal Government (probably to New York City) and made it a whole lot harder to invade and conquer the South. The 1964 election was a close thing too and, if the South had had a few more successes or inflicted a little more damage, McClellan might have won and negotiated a peaceful separation of the Confederacy which would have been the end of the United States and led eventually to the Balkanization of North America.
Most likely the “turning point of the war” Gettysburg In June, 1863 Lee had invaded the North. Confederate hopes were high that Washington and other Northern cities could be threatened or captured. There was also the possibility that the Union Army would again be defeated causing the Union to sue for peace. The greatest hope of the South was that a European power, such as England or France, would recognize the Confederacy as a nation. This would require Lee to achieve a Confederate victory on Northern soil. Such a victory would demonstrate that the South was indeed able to wage more then a defensive fight. European recognition would serious impact on the Union claim that the conflict was a rebellion. It would make Southern independence a near certainty. Had Lee won the battle he could have taken Washington, or Baltimore, or Philadelphia. It would have embolden the Confederates to make more invasions of the North. After the defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg, the South stayed on the def
