The question that I chosen to write about in this essay is, what were the strengths and weaknesses of the Confederate States of American and the strengths and weaknesses of the Union at the time of the Civil War. This is a very great question because when you look at it, there are some very obvious strengths and weaknesses to each side. Then again there are some little things that made a great impact throughout the war. Such as the number of troops that were in the armies, the leadership, the mens moral, and many more other things that contributed to the armies. Too start off the Confederate States of America had far less people in the whole population than the Union. There were almost twenty million people that lived in the twenty-three
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The Confederate States called for about 100,000 men for one year of service. At the start of the war, the Union was struggling to get a decisive battle victory. At the Battle of Bull Run/Manassas, the Union Army suffered a blowing lose. The Union had around 3,000 wounded, missing, or dead. When the Union forces started to retreat back towards Washington D.C the Confederates let them run. They let them live to see and fight another day, which was called The Great Skedaddle. During the First Battle of Bull Run hundreds of people came to watch the battle to see the Union be triumphant against the Confederates, but they were very wrong. The Confederates crushed the Union lines and then let them run. They probably could of charged and captured more of men and possible taken Washington early on in the war, which would have been a vital blow to the Union, but that didn’t happen. Even later on in the war the Confederates were still doing well in the field. In the west they were slowing down Ulysses S. Grant, but Grant would later fight back. Most of this was because the Confederates had the advantage of fighting on well know ground. It was their home turf, so they had a since of pride and wanted to defend their homeland. That was a big advantage to the south. Being able to fight a defensive war and kind of pick where you want to fight. A big advantage to the Union was the use of Railroads and being able to control the waterways. The Union could transport supplies and troops without hesitation. They were able to keep replacing soldiers on the battlefields and keep them well clothed and fed, unlike the
The Confederate States called for about 100,000 men for one year of service. At the start of the war, the Union was struggling to get a decisive battle victory. At the Battle of Bull Run/Manassas, the Union Army suffered a blowing lose. The Union had around 3,000 wounded, missing, or dead. When the Union forces started to retreat back towards Washington D.C the Confederates let them run. They let them live to see and fight another day, which was called The Great Skedaddle. During the First Battle of Bull Run hundreds of people came to watch the battle to see the Union be triumphant against the Confederates, but they were very wrong. The Confederates crushed the Union lines and then let them run. They probably could of charged and captured more of men and possible taken Washington early on in the war, which would have been a vital blow to the Union, but that didn’t happen. Even later on in the war the Confederates were still doing well in the field. In the west they were slowing down Ulysses S. Grant, but Grant would later fight back. Most of this was because the Confederates had the advantage of fighting on well know ground. It was their home turf, so they had a since of pride and wanted to defend their homeland. That was a big advantage to the south. Being able to fight a defensive war and kind of pick where you want to fight. A big advantage to the Union was the use of Railroads and being able to control the waterways. The Union could transport supplies and troops without hesitation. They were able to keep replacing soldiers on the battlefields and keep them well clothed and fed, unlike the