The Battle of Gettysburg is generally considered to be the turning point of the war. After Gettysburg, the Confederate armies generally went on the defensive. The South never recovered from the loss of 28,000 soldiers.

Antietam could also be seen as a turning point in the Civil War. Up until the time of Antietam the North, under the Lincoln Administration, had stated that its prinicipal objective was to re-unite the States. Ending slavery wasn't an official reason given by the higher ups during pre-Antietam fighting (nor was it really thought of by MOST of the Union army, they were fighting for the Union). Because slavery wasn't THE reason for fighting the Civil War, England and France thought of our Civil war as a polictical affair and felt that they could interfere (England did allow for blockade runners to be built and was considering a negotiated truce based on seperation). Lincoln KNEW that he had to have better reason for fighting the Civil War then re-establishing the Union because Union itself wasn't a strong enough reason to fight a war that was costing tens of thousands of casualties and there had to be a goal that would exclude overt help to the South from England and France. Slavery was THE issue that could give the North the strength it needed to continue fighting the war as well as keep France and England from interfering. But there had to be a victory or else the cry of freeing the slaves would be seen as the cry of a desperate Administration grasping at anything that would sustain their campaign against the South. Antietam really wasn't a Union victory, all the really happened was that the invasion of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was halted and compelled to march back across the Potomac into Virginia. But the Union did get possesion of the field, and a victory could be declared. Afterwords, with the Emancipation Declaration, ending slavery became the cause of the North. It was one thing for Europe to play power politics, England and France so long as it was a political war, but with the Union taking up a moral cause, the freeing of the slaves (slavery was repugnant in Europe) France and Britain shelved the idea of a negotiated settlement and decided to wait and see how the war played out. Lincoln got the time he needed to wage war without European interference. While there were still spectacular defeats looming in the Eastern Theater such as Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville, in the West under men like Grant, Sherman, Rosecrans(until Chickamauga) and Thomas, victories were being won that helped cut the Confederacy in two and bring about ultimate victory for the North.

Ehe siege of Vicksburg ib Missisippi was the turning point considered by many historians because it split the Conferdracy in half. The battle was fought around the same time as Gettysburg,

I would agree that the Siege of Vicksburg was probably the main truning point of the Civil War. One of the objectives of Lee's march into Pennsylvania was to threaten the U.S. Capital, hopefully putting pressure on the Administration to pull Ulysses Grant from the Siege of Vicksburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was a major battle, but that loss to the South as well as the fall of Vicksburg were the beginning of the end for the South. Even with these terrible losses, General Lee was able to fight a defensive campaign for a long time before he was eventually forced to surrender his Army at Appamatox.

It is really all a matter of opinion. There are many possibilities including the battle(s) of Gettysburg, Antietam, Atlanta, and the capture of Vicksburg. However, it is possible that there is no single turning point but a series of equally important events that contributed to the downfall of the Confederacy. I am of the opinion that the Capture of Vicksburg (July 4th 1863) was the most important military event of the Civil War for several reasons: 1. It was one of two strongholds left on the Mississippi River (the other being Port Hudson, LA). The surrender of Vicksburg made Port Hudson untenable for the Confederates; meaning that with the surrender of city the Mississippi River would be under Union control. 2. With the Mississippi River firmly under Union control, the Trans-Mississippi (the Confederate States West of the River) could no longer provide the, as Abraham Lincoln said, "hog and hominy without limit." The Trans-Mississippi provided every major Confederate Army with a bulk of its supply. 3. Related to #2. Vicksburg possessed a vital railroad link that connected to most major rail systems east of the River. This rail link was rendered impotent when it was cut off from the Trans-Mississippi. 4. The MidWest suffered economically from the begining of the Civil War. The region depended on cheap water transportation and a lot of the region's economic viablity depended on trade with Europe. When the source of transportation, the Mississippi, was cut off the economy went into instant disarry. This gave rise to the Peace Democrat movment in the butternut regions of the Midwest. The Butternut regions threatened to secede and form a "NorthWest Confederacy" that would negotiate peace with the South. Nothing short of the reopening of the Mississippi could relieve the situation. The Capture of Vicksburg did just that. 5. The northern public, including the President, was unsure of U S Grant as a general. Grant had brought them victory, but many were not sure whether or not he could win the war. Vicksburg proved that he could, and led to his rise to command all the Union Armies. 6. Finally, the surrender of Vicksburg, coupled with the defeat of Lee at Gettysburg on July 3, boosted the morale of the Armies and the Public. Hope that helps

Saratoga

Whose Civil war? The one in the US or one that they have started?

I just did an 8 page research paper on why the Battle of Antietam was the turning point of the Civil War. I think I'll know. The person above me is exactly right. Without a victory at Antietam, Lincoln would not have been able to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Thus, Great Britain would have stayed on the Confederate side, rather than the neutral position they eventually took, possibly giving them financial or even military aid. The Union then would've been, in historical terms, SOL. Sh*t outta luck. BUT. Because the Union "won" at Antietam (it was technically a draw, but since the South ended with less men, the North called it a victory), Lincoln was able to issue the Proclamation, making the war about moral ideas, as Darth Belal stated above. Therefore, Great Britain and the rest of Europe did not want to interfere, leaving the South, in historical terms, SOL.

I think York, Antietam, or the battle of the bulge, though I am trying to cut back on snacks!

Gettysburg was the first major defeat suffered by Lee. It repelled his second invasion of the North and inflicted serious casualties on the Army of Northern Virginia. In fact, the National Park Service marks the point at which Pickett's Charge collapsed—the Copse of Trees on Cemetery Ridge—as the high-water mark of the Confederacy.

The battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of the Bulge

Gettysburg

Marston Moor 2nd July 1644 - unless you mean a civil war other than the English Civil War.

The battle of Getysburg. Lee was without his cavalry leader. The union forces finally got the hand at cavalry lead by charges by Custer who would later be killed at the little big horn.