1863: Military Turning Points, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Tullahoma

• Published in: Magazine of history Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 23 - 27
• Main Author: Reid, Brian Holden
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bloomington Organization of American Historians 01.04.2013
• Subjects: Abolition of slavery; Aircraft maneuvers; American Civil War; Battlefields; Bayous; Civil wars; Courage; Document titles; Emancipation of slaves; History instruction; Military strategy; Navies; Political campaigns; War
• ISSN: 0882-228X; 1938-2340
• DOI: 10.1093/oahmag/oat008

Students of the conflict are easily overwhelmed by the number and diversity of battles across the three major theaters of war. Here, Reid models an explanation that operates across month-long campaigns rather than day-long battles. "Warfare knows no inevitabilities" and despite having the largest battalions, the North could not assume God's favor. If manpower, resources, and capital decided wars, the sesquicentennial activities might have only occupied a few months in 2011. But exhausting the Confederacy's resources demanded a mobilization of the North's own resources and people that nearly exhausted the national will. He shows how the North developed a grand strategy whose ultimate success depended upon political skill, military might, and superior generalship in the face of a tenacious foe that fought to the death for the survival of their slave society. In managing a long and costly war, Abraham Lincoln had to cultivate popular support. Neither side possessed a monopoly on political unity indeed, both sides were racked by dissension.