civil war

[Danzig]

as everyone knows, its the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the civil war.
148 years ago today, the gettysburg battle ended with an astonishing loss of life. at the same time that battle was being fought between lee and meade, grant was succesfully ending the siege of vicksburg in mississippi. they would officially surrender that city to grant on july 4, the same day that meade was victorious at gettysburg, with the finding that lee had left the field and was moving as quickly as possible south. his accomplishing keeping his army intact, and returning across the river into va, is what led to meade losing his command, and grant coming east-against sherman's advice(he said d.c. was an awful place, and would ruin grant).
vicksburg was what 'won' the west for the union, with the closing of the mississippi to all confederate traffic, and dividing the eastern confederacy permanently from the western. the loss of men and supplies from texas and other states did much harm to the southern cause.
meade allowing lee to escape prolonged the war in the east, with lee's surrender essentially finally ending the war two years later.