The American Civil War

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The American Civil War

On paper the North was far stronger than the South. It had

two and a half times as many people, and it possessed far more

ships, miles of railroad, and manufacturing enterprises.

Southerners, however, had the advantage of fighting on home

ground with better military leadership. But Union superiority in

manpower was not so great as the gross figures suggest. Half a

million people scattered from Dakota to California, could make no
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substantial contribution to Union strength. And every year Union

regiments were sent to the West to fight Indians. Hundreds of

thousands of Americans in loyal border states and in southern

Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois worked or fought for southern

independence. Though, every state furnished men for the other

side, there was little doubt that more Federals than Confederates

"crossed over."

The South had superior officer personnel. For twenty years

before Lincoln's inauguration, southern officers had dominated

the U.S. Army. Another source of southern confidence was cotton.

Secession leaders ...

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