Confederate generals such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are considered to be brilliant military tacticians, which McPherson emphasizes in chapter 15. Their resourcefulness is a common explanation for why the South was able to hold out for as long as they did; however, this portrayal has always puzzled me somewhat. Indeed, Lee and Jackson contributed greatly to their side's war effort, but for all their tactical successes, the South still suffered very heavy casualties. For example, McPherson remarks that during the Seven Days Battles, a series of noted successes for the Confederacy, the South's “total casualties in these six contests exceeded Union casualties by 20,000 men (89,000 to 69,000). (p. 476)” The vast majority of Lee's triumphs
