The Peninsula The Seven Days.........A turning point more important than Gettysburg

Was the Seven Days Battle a turning point more important than Gettysburg ?

  • Yes Why

    Votes: 10 71.4%
  • No Why

    Votes: 3 21.4%
  • Maybe

    Votes: 1 7.1%

  • Total voters
    14
  • Poll closed .
Without the wounding of Joe Johnston and command going to R.E. Lee, I feel certain Richmond would have fallen and the war might well have ended shortly after. Had that happened, slavery would have remained intact. God knows where we'd be now.
 
Without the wounding of Joe Johnston and command going to R.E. Lee, I feel certain Richmond would have fallen and the war might well have ended shortly after. Had that happened, slavery would have remained intact. God knows where we'd be now.

Yes, if Johnston had not been wounded he would have retreated through Richmond. He was already on the outskirts of it. I concur the war would have ended sooner and slavery would have remained intact. Once Richmond fell the end would have came quickly for the CSA, but we know what took place and IMO that was a big turning point.

Respectfully,

William
 
I haven't watched the video, but I'll cast my vote anyway. I say Yes, the Seven Days was a major turning point because of R.E. Lee taking command of the ANV. That changed the direction of the war entirely. While I agree that Richmond probably would have fallen if Johnston remained in command, I'm not so sure that that would have been the end of the war. But anyway it definitely was a major turning point.

I'll add that this was an easy comparison for me, as I don't believe Gettysburg was much of a turning point at all. I do believe that events that happened simultaneously with Gettysburg - in Vicksburg - were a major turning point though. If the question was comparing the Seven Days to Vicksburg I would have to think a lot harder about that one. But it's early in the morning and I don't feel like thinking that hard just yet, so I won't. :D
 
Not a turning point but the start of a trend.

For 11 months in 1862 and 1863 Lee sought to inflict a major defeat on the main operating army of the United States, the Army of the Potomac. He wanted to destroy one of the corps of the A of P or sever its supply lines and render it hapless. In this he failed although he came close at Chancellorsville.

He failed because of his contempt for "those people" , his fractious subordinates and his mistaken conclusions drawn from his experience in the Mexican War.

The trend was the the destruction of the combat power of his army in fruitless offensive operations.
 
I agree with brass napoleon - Gettysburg was not a turning point at all. The strategic stalemate in the east was no more changed by Gettysburg than it had been by the Union defeats at Chancellorsville or Fredericksburg. The rest of the war, and the downward spiral of Confederate fortunes in the west, continued unchanged. The side that needed a turning point had not gotten one.

Not sure I would call the Seven Days a turning point either, but it was more significant. After the defeat of the hastily formed volunteer army at Bull Run, the Union spent most of a year organizing a force capable of taking the Confederate capital and dealing a crucial blow to the rebellion - and it failed to so. The Seven Days set the pattern for most of the war in the east and established the paradigm that Grant would identify in 1864 - "You fellows worry more about what Bobby Lee's going to do to you....."
 
I want to watch Gallaghers presentation first before I comment more but I would say in general he's right. The 7 days got the union army off of the doorsteps of Richmond and put Lee in command. The ANV then carries that momentum through 2nd manassas, antietam, fredericksburg and chancellorsville.

Secondly, Vickburg is always the right answer as to which was more important between it and Gettysburg. Even if Lee wins at Gettysburg he's coming right back to VA anyways due to supply and ammo issues.
 
In the sense that Major James B Ronan II uses in post #5: "...the start of a trend", the Seven Days, coupled with Manassas 2, represent one of the major Confederate 'tides' of the war (in the same way that Vicksburg and Gettysburg taken together was a major Union 'tide'). I'm not sure "turning point" is a good description for any single event or battle in this very 'see-saw' war.
That said, Carronade makes an excellent point: "The Seven Days set the pattern for most of the war in the east and established the paradigm that Grant would identify in 1864 - "You fellows worry more about what Bobby Lee's going to do to you....." "

I should watch the video before I say anything else, though...:laugh:
 
I don't know about "turning point" but in the annals of "reversal of fortune" it was a doozy. This article is from the Northern press when Little Mac was at the gates of Richmond:
McClellan (2).jpg
 
Every day a Virginia farm or town was destroyed, a western fort, city or state was captured by the Union Army and/or a supply ship was blockaded on the water was a turning point in the war
 
Yes, the Seven Days were a more decisive turning point than Gettysburg. It saw the emergence of Lee, and the Federal Army very nearly came to destruction at several points during the campaign. Had Lee's plans not been undone by poor subordinate actions, Jackson's envelopment might have led to the destruction a large part of the Union Army.
 
Agree with Pat Young on Antietam being the turning point. Or, perhaps Antietam was the opportunity for Lincoln to make the turning point.

Regard the first week of July 1863 as the week that made the victory of the United States inevitable. To often we focus on Gettysburg or Vicksburg and forget the Tullahoma Campaign. These three events, all at the same time, on both sides of the Appalachians insured the US would win the war.
 
Yes, because it brought Henry Halleck to command, and the Union simply couldn't press their advantage until he was removed.
 
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