Turning Points of the American Civil War

Although most Americans believe that the Battle of Gettysburg was the only turning point of the Civil War, the war actually turned repeatedly. Events unfolded in completely unexpected ways and had unintended consequences. Turning Points of the American Civil War examines key shifts and the context surrounding them, demonstrating that the war was a continuum of watershed events.

The contributors show that many chains of events caused the course of the war to change: the Federal defeats at First Bull Run and Ball’s Bluff, the wounding of Joseph Johnston at Seven Pines and the Confederate victory at Chancellorsville, the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Federal victory at Vicksburg, Grant’s decision to move on to Richmond rather than retreat from the Wilderness, the naming of John B. Hood as commander of the Army of Tennessee, and the 1864 presidential election. In their conclusion, editors Mackowski and White suggest that the assassination of Abraham Lincoln might have been the war’s final turning point.

Presenting essays by public historians with experience at Civil War battle sites, this provocative collection offers fresh perspectives on political and military events in the eastern and western theaters.