July 3, 1863: America's future was much in doubt on this day in 1863 — as the final day of the Civil War's most pivotal battle, Gettysburg — unfolded. Many historians call the Battle of Gettysburg the turning point of the Civil War, when Robert E. Lee's invasion of the North was stopped. But the Union victory came at a horrendous price. The battle lasted three days and produced the greatest number of casualties in the entire Civil War: 46,286 dead, wounded, or missing. The Civil War killed some 618,000 Americans in four years — about 2 percent of the nation's population.
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