Battle of Gettysburg (1863)

The Battle of Gettysburg stands as the most decisive engagement of the American Civil War, permanently ending the Confederate invasion of the North. The failed Pickett's Charge on July 3 cost the Confederacy 6,000 soldiers in under an hour. This battle effectively sealed the Union's ultimate victory, a fact later underscored by Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, which redefined American democratic ideals and still resonates today.