Advantages And Disadvantages Of The South In The Civil War

By: Jeremy Beaudet

Course: United States History

Coach Greer

13/1/2016

Northern Advantages

•The North had large factories

ㄴIn war, this meant more and better weapons, like cannons. In fact, in 1860, Northern factories made 97% of the nation's firearms. The combined factors of manpower and weaponry made it seem that the Union's infantry would dominate the battlefield.

•When the South seceded, the entirety of the United States Navy remained in the hands of the North.

ㄴThis meant they could easily blockade all of the South. While they had blockade runners that weren’t too dangerous, and could bring in small amounts of foreign goods, the South did have trouble transporting large amounts of infantry and cavalry, because they

Around the time of the war, the South Carolina population was approximately 75% slaves. The North’s soldiers were much more expendable, for lack of a better word, to the generals during the Civil War.

Southern Advantages

•The South was fighting on the defense

ㄴ While the North was fighting to invade the Confederacy and reunite the United States, the South only needed to fight enough that the Union troops lost morale, and didn’t want to continue fighting.

•The South was home to many powerful military leaders

ㄴQuite a few strong leaders were from the North, but the South was home to famous generals such as Robert E. Lee. On top of that, many of the Southerners fought in the Texas war, so they already knew how to fight.

•The South had a strong cavalry

ㄴThe South was mostly rural farmland. A big majority of the people fighting for the South had been riding horses their whole life. They also commonly used horseback for hunting back then. This meant many of the Southern cavalry-men already had training.

J.E.B.

Hunley, and owned by the Confederates. In 1864, the first submarine attack was launched. The H.L. Hunley was ordered to stick a “Spar torpedo”, or, a 22 ft. stick with Gunpowder on the end, to the USS Housatonic. The 8 man crew quietly turned the hand powered propellor through the night, creeping closer and closer. They weren’t spotted until it was much too late. Union soldiers began firing their rifles and pistols at the submarine. The H.L. Hunley was only 100 ft. away at the time of detonation.

Battle of Vicksburg

•It was a part of Grant’s campaign against Vicksburg

ㄴ Other battles involved in this campaign include the Battle of Raymond, Port Gibson, and Champion Hill.

•There were 110,000 soldiers involved

ㄴ77,000 belonged to the Union, and 33,000 to the Confederacy

•37,000 estimated casualties

ㄴ4,910 for the Union (including 806 deaths)

ㄴ32,492 for the Confederacy (including 805 deaths, and 30,000 missing/captured)

•The 30,000 soldiers captured include the forces captured due to the Confederate Commander, John C. Pemberton surrendering.

•Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln saw Vicksburg as the key to the civil