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The Battle of Gettysburg was fought from July 1 – July 3, 1863 and is most commonly considered as the turning point in the American Civil War. It was fought between the Union, which was the North, and the Confederacy, which was the South. The majority of this war was based on slavery and whether it should be allowed in America or not, however, state sovereignty also took on a major role in the conflict. The Confederacy, consisting of eleven southern states, had seceded from the Union, which consisted of 23, in hopes of being recognized as an independent nation with their own rules and regulations, but the Union was not about to let that happen. Arguments over slavery became a heated topic, and eventually led to violence. An example of this would be the Charles Sumner incident, or the various fistfights in Congress. Regardless of what had gone on in the past, war now seemed inevitable. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: The battle began on July 1, 1863, just Northwest of Gettysburg on Cashtown Road. It was here that the Confederate cavalry ran into Union horsemen. The first shots were fired and both sides sent for reinforcements and back up. Unfortunately, the Confederacy recruits arrived first, and by afternoon had driven the Union South of town, where they rallied into defensive positions on Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill.
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