JimBowie1958
Old Fogey
- Sep 25, 2011
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- #121
The South should have committed to a defensive strategy, drawing the lines at Vicksburg, Chatanooga and Fredericksburg for the duration of the war until Lincoln could be defeated in the 1864 election.Well, once the war was under way, it was not clear the north would win. For the 1st couple years, the south was winning bigly. It wasn't until they ventured north of Virginia (Antietam, Gettysburg) after losing Jackson at Chancellorsville that they started losing. Chancellorsville was a huge victory for the south, and some argue that Antietam was close to a draw (Lee retreated, however). The north could had wiped out Lee's army at that time, but elected not to go after him.
This was the most vulnerable facet of the war for Lincoln, his growing unpopularity in a bloody war no one wanted.
But the South did not expect the North to last that long. They underestimated the grit and determination of Yankee resolve.
"You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing! You mistake, too, the people of the North. They are a peaceable people but an earnest people, and they will fight, too. They are not going to let this country be destroyed without a mighty effort to save it … Besides, where are your men and appliances of war to contend against them? The North can make a steam engine, locomotive, or railway car; hardly a yard of cloth or pair of shoes can you make. You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical, and determined people on Earth — right at your doors. You are bound to fail. Only in your spirit and determination are you prepared for war. In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start with. At first you will make headway, but as your limited resources begin to fail, shut out from the markets of Europe as you will be, your cause will begin to wane. If your people will but stop and think, they must see in the end that you will surely fail. "
- General William Tecumseh Sherman 1860
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