- Professor Gary Gallagher (2000) argued that the South had every chance to win the war; because it had ‘’ of defence.
- The historian Shelby Foote (1990) thought that the North “fought that war with one hand behind its back” – ie the North had a much greater industrial capacity, many more railroads, a much larger population and (by the end) three times as many soldiers – in a long war, it was always going to win.
At first, the Confederate side was successful:
- July 1861: an invasion of Virginia by the Union in was defeated at the battle of Manassas/. In 1862, three further attempted Union invasions failed.
- 1862: an invasion of Maryland by Confederate General got to within 60 miles of Washington DC and was only stopped at .
- May 1863: Lee won defeating another Union invasion of Virginia at in Virginia.
However:
- 1862-63: Union General captured the Mississippi valley after the long siege of , splitting Texas from the rest of the Confederacy.
- This was the ‘ strategy’ which, together with a naval blockade, strangled the Confederacy.
- 1 January 1863: Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. 186,000 Black soldiers and 29,000 Black sailors fought for the Union – a tenth of all Union forces
- July 1863: a second invasion of the North by Lee was defeated at .
- 1864: Grant adopted a strategy of ‘’ – destroying homes, farms, and railroads; ie the South’s ability to wage a war.
- 1864: a Union invasion and General Sherman’s ‘’ destroyed a fifth of the farms in Georgia, and split the South in two.
- November 1864: Lincoln won a landslide in the Presidential election; Southern politicians in the South realised there was no hope of a peace.
- 1865: Lee surrendered at . The Southern States surrendered.
- Professor Gary Gallagher (2000) argued that the South had every chance to win the war; because it had ‘INTERIOR LINES’ of defence.
- The historian Shelby Foote (1990) thought that the North “fought that war with one hand behind its back” – ie the North had a much greater industrial capacity, many more railroads, a much larger population and (by the end) three times as many soldiers – in a long war, it was always going to win.
At first, the Confederate side was successful:
- July 1861: an invasion of Virginia by the Union in was defeated at the battle of Manassas/BULL RUN. In 1862, three further attempted Union invasions failed.
- 1862: an invasion of Maryland by Confederate General ROBERT E LEE got to within 60 miles of Washington DC and was only stopped at ANTIETAM.
- May 1863: Lee won defeating another Union invasion of Virginia at CHANCELLORSVILLE in Virginia.
However:
- 1862-63: Union General ULYSSES S GRANT captured the Mississippi valley after the long siege of VICKSBURG, splitting Texas from the rest of the Confederacy.
- This was the ‘ANACONDA strategy’ which, together with a naval blockade, strangled the Confederacy.
- 1 January 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. 186,000 Black soldiers and 29,000 Black sailors fought for the Union – a tenth of all Union forces
- July 1863: a second invasion of the North by Lee was defeated at GETTYSBURG.
- 1864: Grant adopted a strategy of ‘TOTAL WAR’ – destroying homes, farms, and railroads; ie the South’s ability to wage a war.
- 1864: a Union invasion and General Sherman’s ‘MARCH TO THE SEA’ destroyed a fifth of the farms in Georgia, and split the South in two.
- November 1864: Lincoln won a landslide in the Presidential election; Southern politicians in the South realised there was no hope of a peace.
- 1865: Lee surrendered at APPOMATTOX. The Southern States surrendered.
