Union military superiority Flashcards
Topic sentence
Some historians such as Robert E Lee argue that the Confederacy lost the American Civil War because of Union military superiority
Evidence 1 - military superiority
Even before the war had begun, the Union was at an advantage to the Confederacy due to their strength of manpower, for example the Union’s population was 2 and ½ times as big as the Southern population, meaning that their forces were significantly stronger in numbers. This is evidenced through the North being able to draw 7 million white males for military service, whereas the South only being able to draw in 2 million white males. Therefore, it is apparent that Union military superiority contributed to the defeat of the Confederacy as initially, the Confederacy were at a significant disadvantage, their lack of men meant that they would have to put up a strong fight to even stand a chance against the Union. Alan Farmer argues, “from the start the North had a considerable manpower advantage”.
Counter analysis
However, James McPherson points out that victory is not always in favor of those with more men as the Netherlands won against Spain in the 16th century despite being the smaller nation.
Evidence 2 - Ulysses Grant
Furthermore, it can be argued that the South lacked Generals who possessed strategical abilities like Union Generals Grant and Sherman. For example, General Ulessys S Grant, had a topographical memory, meaning that he could visualise battels and their logistics before they had even occurred. He was not limited to one theater of war and was able to conduct his army efficiently through his clear instruction. On the other hand, it is argued that Robert E Lee’s strategic visions were limited as he neglected the Western theater of the war, many historians mark the loss of the Western theater the main reason for the Confederate defeat. If Lee had considered the Western theater, he would have been able to grasp victories there and prevented Union forces from advancing into the South, however he did not.
Evaluation
To evaluate, Northern military superiority was an important factor to the defeat of the Confederacy because the strength of Northern numbers meant the Confederacy had to fight harder than they had imagined. Robert E Lee argues that the Confederacy lost the war because the enemy had more men and guns, they didn’t lose it because of the Southern war effort.
