The Guessing Game At Gettysburg

The 145th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg is no doubt worth commemorating.
As Civil War Blog (the blog between the states) reminds us - Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle on American soil and totaled  over 50,000 casualties.
It was also the turning point of the war. This was the point where both the Confederacy and the union changed their waring tactics - the Union becoming more offensive in the east and the Confederates where forced to run a more defencive war.
The Army of North Virginia was crushed at Gettysburg and would no longer be able to invade the north.

This is of course exactly the point in time to play the “If” game - changing one aspect to see what domino effect that would have had on history.
Civl War Blog says:

Had Lee seized the opportunity to secure the high ground on the first day. Or, if he would have flanked the Union army on day two. Perhaps the largest factor in the battle that could have altered its outcome and the conduct of the war was Pickett’s Charge. Had Lee not committed the men that he did to that charge, the Union victory would have been smaller and Lee would have retained a larger force after the battle to continue fighting.

Not only that but since history is written by the hands of the victors - how would history have been read today if the outcome at Gettysburg was different….