As a result, neither general surpassed the other in military strategies, which rather debunks Shaara's description of Longstreet's advanced knowledge of modern warfare. Despite the importance of the Battle of Gettysburg, often marked as the turning point of the war, General Longstreet should not obey an order that resulted in a significant loss of men who would be extremely difficult to replace at that time. Already limited by the number of men still capable of fighting, pushing additional forces into open battle would almost completely exhaust the Confederate soldiers. Since this battle continued until the majority of camps were exhausted, the South should have played it safe against the Union's near oversupply.