If the Confederacy had successfully moved the conflict north, separating the home front and battlefront, perhaps it would have had a chance at victory. Lee's offensive strategy culminated in the Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest conflict of the war. The Confederate forces suffered a major defeat at the hands of a larger Union army. Lee's army retreated after losing 28,000 men, "more than a third of Lee's army" (McPherson, 664). The Battle of Gettysburg would be the last battle during the Civil War fought on the Northern Territory. For the South, with the retreat of Lee's army into Virginia, the home front and battlefront would remain