In 1861, the United States faced division between the North and South. The territories split because of a difference of opinions. The South or the Confederates lost the Civil War for many reasons. Although the South lost the war many historians “extols the gallantry of Confederate soldiers and insists that they had not forfeited their honor in losing to a vastly superior foe” (Janney, 6). However, there are many factors that contributed to the loss. The reasons include limited amounts of money, weapons, food, soldiers, and leadership styles and policies. While the North won the war, the performance of the South and their defeat leave many wondering if they really lost the war.
Harrison (2015, 7) notes the reasons for the South losing the war as the North as being economical superior, the simple lack of strategy in how the South fought, the incompetent performance of the South in relation to foreign affairs, lack of a dominant civilian leader, and Abraham Lincoln. The reality is that the South had the advantage of the gigantic, 750 000 square miles of land mass, that contain a lot of natural resources. The miles of seacoast, which was a perfect source of food, many harbors and coves, created the ideal victory for the soldiers in the south, but they lost the war to the North as they were at a disadvantage in weaponry and money to finance their venture.
In fact, the North had the advantage of having the larger population and better-quality resources balanced by the geographical and tactical advantages of combating on Southern soil. In addition, Abraham Lincoln and his experienced generals possessed superior ability to Robert Lee in the South. However, many argue that Lee’s was as experienced as the generals in the North as he was first approached to fight for the North. His patriotism led him to stand by the Army of North Virginia. The South had an army equaling the size of the army in the North despite their small numbers. Nevertheless, the army in the South fought bravely. The Stuart’s and majority of the Calvary’s absence had a negative effect on the Lee’s army. The group represented his “eyes and ears” in the initial stages of the war, and deprived the Southern leader of very important information, that could have helped them otherwise.
However, they were at a disadvantage because of the industrial disadvantage they faced at the start of the war. The Confederacy boasted one-ninth of the industrial aptitude of the Union. “But that statistic was misleading. In 1860, the North manufactured 97 percent of the country's firearms, 96 percent of its railroad locomotives, 94 percent of its cloth, 93 percent of its pig iron, and over 90 percent of its boots and shoes” (US History, 7). As such, the South faced many problems with the manufacturing of guns and ammunition.
However, what the South lacked in physical weaponry, they made up for it by creating ammunition from the simple materials in the society. They made ammunition from the bells they melted and imported gunpowder. However, this was not enough. The South had difficulty transporting the food they produced and the weapons across the seas as the North controlled the navy. This lack of transportation cause serious damage to the plans of the South as their soldiers and supports suffered for the lack of food and military supplies; and added to their demise.
In addition, the Confederacy planned to fix the problem with the lack of materials by trading with European; however the North denied access to their waters, leaving the South at a disadvantage. In addition, states in the South were loyal to the Union and others in the eleven Confederate states were not committed to the cause of the South. This lack of patriotism hampered the Confederates as their population as a group was small and the supporters lessened as results.
Gary Gallagher as cited by Zebrowski (16 – 17) note that the main reason the lack of success on the part of the Confederates on the battlefield is that they only had one really talented army commander, Robert E. Lee. In addition, he notes that success that Lee’s amassed in the East compensated for the losses in the West and “for a good part of the war, but in the end there simply was too much bad news from the battlefield” (Gallagher as cited by Zebrowski, 16 – 17). This bad news coupled with the advance of the Union in the South, led to the destruction of the Confederate army and their infrastructure. Some historians argue that the South had the better army general, but the fact is that they only had one good commander, Lee. On the other hand, the North had the William T. Sherman, Grant,Philip Sheridan, George H. Thomas, among others.
Some critics go as far as to say that one of the reasons for the South losing the war is that they lost the will to fight, because the North fought on relentlessly with Lincoln at the helm. One would say that Abraham Lincoln’s determination to win cost the South the war, and the only way the Confederates could have won was the Lincoln decided to lose. The pressure that the Union applied on the Confederates forced persons to renege on their original beliefs. Many critics venture to say that under Lincoln’s leadership, the North better understood the reasons they were fighting. On the other hand, the South, under the Jefferson Davison, the Confederates were not motivated to fight as Davis’ justifications for the war, were no match for Lincoln’s. In fact, scholars today, note that the South did not have the will to make the necessary sacrifices.
However the patriotism of the Confederates speaks to the most Southerners continued as long and hard. The Southerners belief in religion was influential in their demise. With the increase in the death toll, they began to doubt whether God was on their side. Many Southerners firmly believed that God would guarantee their success in the war, as such many soldiers in the South associate the duty to God to their duty as soldiers in the Confederacy. However, their belief was no match for the power of the Northern army. The reality, nonetheless, is that the people in the South possessed a sense of belief in cultural values. The fact that slavery was rampant in their society also set them apart from the Union. They fought for liberty and freedom.
Nonetheless, the fight that the Southerners put up was largely defensive, and this strategy could not have won the war. General Joe Johnston represented the Confederate advocate of defensive warfare. He refused to fight and gave up large pieces of land without little or no struggle in the northern parts of Virginia in1862 and later in 1864 in the state of Georgia. This surrender did nothing to encourage the army and their morale. In addition, the general’s retreat from the Union soldier added to the loss of large numbers of soldiers. Fort Donelson in 18632 is a clear example of the large casualties that hit the Confederate armies and added to the decline in the numbers of soldiers. Undoubtedly, the reduction in the number of soldiers would ultimately lead to the reduction in man-power to stand up against the North. In addition, the attempts of the South to fight a guerilla style of warfare did nothing to help their cause as such a style would mean the loss of land space and slaves, which their main supporters.
In concluding, the South lost the war because the North limited the supply of food and ammunition to it soldiers along the coast. In addition, Lee was a brilliant commander but was no match against the multiple veterans from the North. They fought bravely against the North, with the weapons they made from inexpensive materials, the limited supplies of gunpowder and more advance weapons led to their demise.
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