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The Emancipation Proclamation was a turning point in the war because it served the sole purpose Lincoln intended it to serve when he wrote it: Up to that point, there was a good chance that England and France would back the Confederacy. Once Lincoln made it about slavery, there was no longer any chance of that happening. While England and France didn't care if the south had slaves, they did not want to be put in the position looking like they were supporting it.
As for the dissension in the Union army, that's where it almost backfired on Lincoln. The men in the Union army were not fighting to free the slaves, they were fighting to preserve the Union, that's what they signed up for. When Lincoln issued the proclamation, many of them in all ranks were near ready to call it quits, stating as such in diaries and letters.
Lincoln was definitely shrewd, he was able to use the slavery issue to keep England France out of it, and still keep his troops fighting to preserve the union.
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