Test One

Andy Wilson

February 9, 2006

History 448/558

2. At the beginning of the Civil War both the North and the South were prepared for

conflict in different capacities. Each side possessed its own advantages and

disadvantages that would become vital to the outcome of the war. It is therefore unfair to

say that one side was more prepared than the other because both sides were well suited

for war; just in different aspects. The North held advantages in population, industrial

capacity to wage war and economy. The advantages held by the South were favorable

war aims, their martial mentality, defending their home ground. These advantages of

each side were of great importance and proved to be vital to the aims of both the North

and the South.

Contrary to what many believe the North was not at a complete disadvantage at

the beginning of the war. First, the North had a population edge of 5 to 2 in sheer

manpower. Its population of 22.5 million dwarfed the South’s 9.1 million, of which 3.5

million were Blacks. This was crucial to the Northern war effort because in order to win

the Northern armies had to invade the South and would therefore need a much larger

number of men not only fight but also defend the lines of supply from guerilla attacks.

The Second advantage of the North was their gigantic industrial capacity and

ability to produce war materials. Before the war, ninety percent of the nation’s industrial

capacity came from the North. The North produced eleven times as many boats as the
South, fifteen times as much iron, 24 times as many locomotives, thirty two times as

many fire-arms, and had two times the density of railroad mileage per square mile. This

allowed the North not only to produce more weaponry but to also easily supply troops

with the provisions needed to fight. The North’s superiority in industrialization can be

reflected in their superiority in artillery. The North was capable of producing not only

better cannons but also better charges and projectiles. This is in contrast to the South

which did not have the industrial capacity of the North and there fore produced cannon

which were not of the same quality as those in the North.

The North also faired better than the South due to their ability to finance the war.

Financially both the North and the South were not suited to fight a war. The depression

following the Panic of 1857 and the recession associated with secession crisis had created

a four year federal deficit, the Treasury was nearly empty and previous administrations

had left an antiquated financial structure. Under the guidance of Secretary of the

Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, the North decided to create a national banking system, sell

war bonds and raise taxes. All three attempts were fortuitous and yielded the funds

needed to fight the war. The South on the other hand, fearing a lack in patriotism,

decided not to raise taxes and instead printed large amounts of money which created

uncontrollable inflation.

The South also had possessed significant advantages. First, the war aims of the

South were very favorable. The South did not need to attack the North they needed to

simply defend and allow the Northerners to become tired of fighting. Many Southerners

looked to the American Revolution as an example of how a much smaller power defeated
a larger one by demoralizing the enemy. The North, on the other hand, had the daunting

task of invading and subduing the South.

Second, the South possessed a martial mentality which was not present in the

North. Many Southerners knew how to ride a horse because of poor Southern roads and

were excellent with a rifle or musket because of experience in hunting. Southern society

also promoted activities which enhanced the military abilities of their men. However,

even though Southern soldiers were raised in an atmosphere were martial prowess was

glorified; they were not as well trained or supplied as the Northern troops. Often time’s

Southern troops could not fight because they lacked shoes and were unable to march to

the battlefield.

Finally, many of the battles were fought on Southern soil which was favorable to

the South because they new land and were inspired because they were defending their

homes. Southern soldiers would follow trails through forests which Northerners would

be unable to follow or detect. This allowed Southern generals to easily move troops

without being seen by Northern forces. Fighting on home soil also gave Southerners the

advantage of interior lines. Interior lines allowed the Confederate armies to fight within a

defensive arc, allowing them to quickly move troops from point to another over shorter

distances than the invading Northern armies outside the arc. It was also much easier for

the Southern armies to supply their troops because their supply lines were much shorter.

This was a problem for the North which had to not only fight but also protect their supply

lines.

It is also necessary to examine some of the similarities between the North and

South. First, both the North and the South had leaders who were well suited for war.
Even though Lincoln had seen combat as a company grade officer in the Black Hawk

wars of the 1830’s, he had little military knowledge. His real strength came in his ability

to learn and grasp military ideas quickly as well as listen to his generals and grant them

wide concessions if necessary. Lincoln realized that he did not have the military know

how to actually plan strategy, instead he appointed generals who had the experience and

knowledge vital to winning military campaigns.

On the other side of the Mason-Dixon Line was Jefferson Davis. Jefferson Davis

was a West Point graduate and had been a colonel in the Mexican War. He had also been

Secretary of War under President Pierce. These three experiences made Davis no

stranger to war and all of its trappings. He had been exposed to it from three different

angles; frontline combat, strategy and tactics and policy. His experiences and the

knowledge gained from them made Davis an ideal leader in time of war because he had

seen and experienced war from many different angles and was therefore better suited to

deal with it than someone who had not.

The Second similarity is that both sides drew on similar sources of command

expertise. Officers trained at West Point held command positions in both armies. The

South had an edge in the East and the North had an edge in the West. Officers on both

sides also shared a common heritage. These officers had learned from the same

professors at West Point, learned some of the same lessons in the Mexican War and also

subscribed to the same military tactics. Officers on both sides recognized the advantage

that rifled muskets and cannons gave to a defender and thus the need for the avoidance of

the frontal assault.

 The North and South both had advantages which greatly helped them in the war

effort. The population and ability of the North to produce large amounts of equipment

allowed for the eventual defeat of the South; and the South’s knowledge of their territory

and their indomitable spirit allowed them to nearly defeat a nation much larger than

themselves. However, despite their advantages, the two warring factions had similarities

which also proved of equal to importance. The advantages of the North and the South as

well as their initial preparedness played a large role in the conflict and its eventual

outcome.