question archive In your opinion - was there any way that the Confederacy could have won the Civil War? If so - how? Who was the superior military leader - Gen
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In your opinion - was there any way that the Confederacy could have won the Civil War? If so - how? Who was the superior military leader - Gen. Robert E. Lee of the Confederate States of America or Gen. Ulysses S. Grant of the United States of America? Please explain.
The best chance the Confederacy had to win the American Civil War were at the very beginning. Lincoln knew that if the South gained the military support of the British and the French, the Confederacy might survive. So the very beginning of the war, there was a real possibility that the South could successfully secede. South could have won by lasting long enough so that the North would quit. One way they could have achieved this was by having a more defensive strategy. While the South did have many brilliant generals, they failed to realize that the North simply had more men, money, supplies, and so much more. I believe that if the South would have gone on the defensive they could have lasted longer, ultimately causing the North to give up.
If the Thirteen Colonies could beat the world's strongest power in 1776, then certainly the Confederacy could have defeated the Union in the Civil War. However, they made a number of mistakes that greatly reduced their chances of securing their independence. One of the main weaknesses was their economy. They did not have factories like those in the North. They could not quickly make guns and other supplies that were needed. The South's lack of a railroad system was another weakness. The South's greatest strength lay in the fact that it was fighting on the defensive in its own territory. Familiar with the landscape, Southerners could harass Northern invaders.
Lee is usually accounted the superior commander. He scored outrageous victories against the Army of the Potomac up until Gettysburg 1863, fighting against superior numbers and better supplied troops.
Step-by-step explanation
The best chance the Confederacy had to win the American Civil War were at the very beginning. Lincoln knew that if the South gained the military support of the British and the French, the Confederacy might survive. So the very beginning of the war, there was a real possibility that the South could successfully secede. South could have won by lasting long enough so that the North would quit. One way they could have achieved this was by having a more defensive strategy. While the South did have many brilliant generals, they failed to realize that the North simply had more men, money, supplies, and so much more. I believe that if the South would have gone on the defensive they could have lasted longer, ultimately causing the North to give up.
If the Thirteen Colonies could beat the world's strongest power in 1776, then certainly the Confederacy could have defeated the Union in the Civil War. However, they made a number of mistakes that greatly reduced their chances of securing their independence. One of the main weaknesses was their economy. They did not have factories like those in the North. They could not quickly make guns and other supplies that were needed. The South's lack of a railroad system was another weakness. The South's greatest strength lay in the fact that it was fighting on the defensive in its own territory. Familiar with the landscape, Southerners could harass Northern invaders.
Gen. Robert E. Lee of the Confederate States of America is usually accounted the superior commander. He scored outrageous victories against the Army of the Potomac up until Gettysburg 1863, fighting against superior numbers and better supplied troops. Using his expert military skills and powerful actions, Robert E. Lee was distinguished as a national war hero after he fought and defeated many Mexican armies and made large contributions to U.S land gains which led to westward expansion and helped increase American dominance in the world. Lee is generally more praised for his tactical approach to particular battles, especially Chancellorsville, while Grant tended to be a more methodical leader, relentlessly putting pressure on the Confederate armies in order to exploit the numerical and material advantages that the Union possessed.