Dominic Pagan Professor Smith AMH2010 MW 2:00-3:15 13 December 2017 The North had a decided advantage over the South, both militarily and economically. The North had a much larger population from which to draw troops, had a decided advantage in heavy industry to produce armaments and had the majority of the nations railroads which could move troops and materiel rapidly. The North also had a more organized government which allowed for efficient prosecution of the war. The South had only one major foundry, the Tredegar Iron Words in Richmond, and was dependent on "cotton diplomacy" to secure aid from Europe. The South had no real economic advantage; but enjoyed a military advantage. Commanders in the South were far superior to those of the …show more content…
They had a larger population which meant they could have a larger army. They had an industrial base which meant they could produce the supplies needed to fight the war. But the Confederates had many advantages, too. The best military leaders (Robert E. Lee, Thomas Jackson, and James Longstreet to name a few) fought for the South. The Confederate armies could fight a defensive war, which was much easier to do than invade and conquer an area. Because the Union would have to invade and conquer the Confederacy, most of the fighting would take place on southern soil. This is an advantage militarily for several reasons. The Confederates would be defending their homeland, giving them a stronger incentive to fight. Fighting on southern soil meant shorter supply lines for the South, and longer supply lines for the North. Finally, the Confederate army would be fighting among friendly …show more content…
There was always the hope that Britain and/or France would come to the aid of the Confederacy, but this never materialized as both nations did not want to risk war with the United States and Britain developed cotton production in Egypt. The South produced better officers and higher quality soldiers early in the war, as more Southerners came from rural backgrounds and were proficient in the use of firearms, but by the end of the war many of these young men were killed or maimed; the quality of the Confederate soldier diminished accordingly. The South had a long coastline which would take years to fully blockade—the last Confederate port was not closed until February 1865. The Confederate strategy was to hope for a protracted war which would lead to European intervention and the North losing the will to