How the North Won the Civil War - Research Paper Example

?How the North Won the Civil War When one thinks of the American Civil War, thoughts will no doubt return to the big Hollywood movies such as Gone with the Wind and the miniseries North and South, both films which depicted the glorious battles fought long and hard by the Union (the North) and the South (Confederate States of America). The dramatization of the events and the corresponding battles bring to mind epic battles led by the greatest generals in the history of the United States. Although everyone knows that the North won the war, not everyone clearly understands how they managed to topple the better equipped and financed Confederate armies. This paper will delve deeper into the history of the war and how exactly the North managed to turn the tide of battle in order to win the war. At the beginning of the war the Northern states had a combined population of 22 million people. The Southern states had a combined population of about 9 million. This disparity was reflected in the size of the armies in the field. The Union forces outnumbered the Confederates roughly two to one. 1 The sheer size of the population alone should have assured the inevitable victory of the North. However, due to the financial abilities of the South they managed to fend off the advances coming from the northern challengers for quite a long time. The bigger population of the North translated into more soldiers enlisting for the war. Since the North had a steady supply of soldiers enlisting for service in the war, they managed to keep a decent number of soldiers on the battle front as opposed to the South whose soldiers came from the ranks of the privileged and therefore did not always have the mettle with which to fight a battle. However, not every person who fought for the Union was in the war of his own volition. Most of these young men were serving in the army coming from the farmlands. hoping to fight in a batthle that would not last more than a few months at the most. Those who managed to dodge the draft did so to the tune of $300.2 Money which was used to help keep the war machine of the North well oiled and quipped. Those who served in the military action were mostly men in their 20's who held strong onto their ideals. Being part of the government troops meant that they were better equipped than their Southern counterparts. Since the south was known mostly for the cotton that they produced, their military uniforms were made of the same material, which made it quite uncomfortable for the soldiers who had to wear the material during battle since the material tended to absorb sweat and become heavy when wet. The Union soldiers on the other hand, wore uniforms made of wool. The reason was that wool would not take in water, or remain wet like cotton in the event of rain, and it was also more durable. Union soldiers also wore woolen caps which had leather visors to provide shade when aiming in the blazing sun. 3 Uniforms must keep the soldiers comfortable at all times in order for them to effectively face their battles. After all, these battles were fought under the unforgiving heat of the sun or the cold temperatures brought about by incessant rains or snowing. The Union had better designed uniforms in this case that helped them fend off the weather and seasonal problems brought about by changing weather patterns. Aside from the consideration of the treatment of soldiers during active duty, there were also a number of other reasons that the Union far out ranked the Confederates during the civil war. I will be discussing some of these other reasons in the succeeding paragraphs. It is believed that the North enjoyed a manpower advantage ratio of 5:2. In actual figures, this ratio translates into 2.100 Union fighting men (50 percent of the military age population) against 800.000 to 900,000 Confederate soldiers or roughly 80 percent of the 1860 military age males. 4 Although the number of forces that fought at the beginning of the war seemed to be very high, both sides experienced a decline in the volunteering forces and eventually had to start drafting soldiers to fight the battle. Needless to say, both camps were affected by dessertions of soldiers who felt a need to return to their families since the war they were fighting ended up going on for far longer than either camp expected it to. The Union had Westpoint trained leaders heading up their military forces and planning their battle strategies. These men were far better trained for their leadership jobs when compared to the soldiers fighting for the South. Their soldiers were led mostly by men who felt that they had leadership abilities but were not worth their salt when it came to strategy development and battlefront experience. Their lack of skilled leaders definitely affected their ability to mount strategically sound and winnable battles against their highly trained Northern counterparts. 5 Financially, the North was also the leader of the slowly emerging industrial era of the United States. According to Gallagher, the North managed to employ more people in the factories and other manufacturing establishments. The North had at least 1,300,000 workers employed while the South had a mere 110,000 workers in their manufacturing sector. 6 Due to the higher number of workers employed by the government, they had better roads and firearms at their disposal. Since the central point of employment was located in the North, they managed to have a lock down on the production of fire arms. With 98 percent of the firearms used int he war coming from the North. As such, the South never had a chance to gain more firearms with which to fight their battles. Aside from the economic aspect of the war that the North clearly had a significant control over, there was also the matter of military logistics that had the North in an unbeatable lead over their southern counterparts. After all, the North was already a long established military leader whereas the South found itself needing to create its own forces on what could be called a spur of the moment decision. When President Lincoln entered the war, he did so knowing very well that he had the military logistics to back up his declaration of war. He had the army and navy at his disposal by now while his counterpart, Davis, needed to build and equip their army from scratch. Davis could only scramble together something that could be considered to have the logistics of a navy force by that point. 7 A major reason for the success of the North during the civil war can be attributed to the naval blockade that President Lincoln ordered to be placed around the South. By cutting off the supplies to the region, the military maneuver worked since the South did not have any ships of naval force equivalent to try and quash the government block around their waters. Neither did they possess the know how with which to create their own naval ships with which to provide their own defense. 8 Although the geography of the Southern states proved to be quite expansive, the North still managed to mount a decent blockade that got the job done, most of the time. The North and South both had specific ideas as to how they would eventually win the war. General Sherman on the side of the North thought that the best way to fight and win the war would be to simply blow up everything that the South could use to win the battle. That included the capture of the Mississippi River which meant that the Union would then have an over all control on the South. In order to deal what the general thought would be decisive blows to the Confederate cause, the naval forces of the North were called into play. Their job was to secure the blockade around a key southern port and prevent the entrance of weapons, ammunition, and other war equipment. These were not to reach the Southern troops. Sadly, the military blockade was only 60 percent effective since they did not have a proper naval force to do battle against. It was easy for the South to get around the military blockade in order to get their military supplies in. However, the military blockade was highly effective in dealing blocks that had an adverse effect on the economy of the South. The lavish living Southerners refused to adjust their lifestyles to the wartime era. They needed their expensive wines, clothes, and other accessories that told the world of what their financial status in life was. It was this insistence upon living an unrealistic lifestyle that led to the demise of the Southern economy and the success of the blockade. Since the goods that they purchased had to be jacked up in price and they could not haggle the price down because of the war. 9 Due to the lack of proper roads and other modes of transport in and out of the South, the supplies were often short in comparison to the demand. This was because the docks were heavily guarded and the south did not have any sound infrastructure that could be used as options to their regular shipping and delivery routes. The U.S. Navy played a more critical role in winning the war for the Union than is generally acknowledged. The blockade severely impacted the South’s ability to supply its armies and feed its people, contributing to lost opportunities on the battlefield, dissatisfaction at home, and massive desertion. 10 That is not to say that the South entered into the civil war ill prepared. On the contrary, they had been preparing for the eventuality of war for quite some time prior to the declaration of war. A close study of the reasons that the south went into a headlong battle with the north can be seen in the mindset that the Southerners had when it came to the war. Their faction was arrogant enough to believe that they could easily win the war because all they had to do was defend their area and persevere during the battle. They wished to achieve independence from the union and they would do so during this civil war. They would portray the North as occupiers and invaders, thus bringing the public support and sympathy to their cause. But that was provided that the North did not wish to spend too much time fighting with the South due to the high financial cost that it would have on their own region. The South believed that they could win by simply tiring out the North and having them finally surrender because of their lack of commitment to winning. 11 A little known fact about the Civil War and the victory of the North over the South is that the African Americans who fought in the war had a great impact on the outcome of the war. With the Emancipation Proclamation done by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, the blacks were finally freed, regardless of the point of view of their “owners”, thus allowing them the free will to serve under the Northern military forces if they so chose to do so. 12 Even though the order freed only about 1 million slaves, since the slaves int he Confederate states refused to set their slaves free, the emancipation proclamation made it clear that their slaves were freed by presidential decree and the government recognized their freedom and would not do anything to prevent them from exercising their rights as free men. It was clear however, that Lincoln did not encourage the freed African Americans to join in the plight of the civil war. Those who did so, knew what they were getting into and had their own ideals that they wished to stand for. Which is why then ended up in the civil war movement upon being freed. President Lincoln knew that the slaves would want to help fight for their freedom but he refused to let them enlist into active military service until he had declared the emancipation, thus making it legal for them to join the military ranks oftentimes in their own units that were led by the Whites. 13 It is believed that around 180.000 African Americans willingly served in the Union Army and Navy during the civil war by their joining one of the 163 existing army units at the time. The African American soldiers were mostly either freed or runaway slaves and at least a third of them died in the pursuit of the Black Rights during the civil war era. Although the Blacks were allowed to fight alongside their White counterparts during the civil war, one must also remember that these people still answered to policies of segregation and discrimination. This meant that although both the Black and White soldiers fought the same ware, the Blacks were paid far less than their White counterparts even though they were both fighting in the same war. 14 Just like in any other battle, it was of the utmost importance that the soldiers of the North and South had proper doctors and medical equipment available at the battlefront in order to address the needs of their wounded soldiers. Try as the South did to provide for the medical needs of their fallen soldiers, they simply did not have the proper financial resources and manpower to deal with their problem. The Union soldiers on the other had were better cared for due to the fact that they were fighting on behalf of the government. As such, it was the duty of the government to build and maintain government hospitals at the battlefront. They also managed to create the foundation of the modern ship hospitals that we now send around the world on medical missions. By addressing the medical needs of their soldiers on the battlefront, the North was able to help the soldiers easily recuperate in order to once again return to the battlefield. 15 The South did not have the same medical logistics with which to address the needs of their soldiers, thus creating a medical complication for their troops. They had no decent hospital to bring their wounded to, they did not have any medicine to administer, and therefore, they could not do anything to prevent the onset of infections and other complications. One might even go so far as to hazard a guess as to how many soldiers needlessly died on the side of the South all based upon the inadequacies of their medical team. Unlike their Southern counterparts, the Northern soldiers were not treated at the battlefront. Instead, they were brought to the medical camps in order to get ample treatment and prevent the onset of infection. This simple solution to their medical problem resulted in more lives being saved that lost at the battlefront. Whereas the Union soldiers were treated with actual medicines, their counterparts were treated with home remedies such as coffee, whiskey and quinine. Real medical treatment seemed to be reserved for those in power, the Union soldiers. 16 Needless to say, the Union soldiers were also treated much better than their Confederate counterparts when it came to food. The Union soldiers were definitely better fed even though some of the soldiers still managed to suffer from intermittent food poisoning. 17 This was because of the lack of sanitary cooking and food keeping conditions that existed at the time. Since the Union soldiers had the privilege of government support, everything was done within the power of the government to help ease and improve the plight of the soldiers fighting for the cause. They say that history is written by the victors. In this case, the North won and therefore had the right to tell the story of their success on their terms. To this very day there is still a distrust between the residents of the North and South, although it is no longer enough to spark a civil war. However, the Southerners will still say that the history of the civil war as we know it is inaccurate, incorrect. After all, the history books were written by the victorious Northerners. I choose to believe that through this paper, I was able to accurately present the decisive reasons that led to the victory of the Norther during the civil war. By delving deep into the underlying causes that not many people know about, and not looking at the military battles that took place during the war, my research was able to shed the proper light upon the topics that clearly spell out how the North won the civil war. Considering the ability of the North to mount the proper logistics and their economic superiority over the Confederates, their win was inevitable and the South knew that they had entered into a battle that they would never win. The South went into battle armed only with arrogance and the self confidence of knowing that they would win, hopefully because the secessionist states in the south would support their cause and hopefully, bring forth the victory that they mistakenly thought they could easily achieve. History has judged the story of the civil war and we have a lot to learn from it if we as a country are to avoid repeating the mistakes that led to the civil war in the first place. Bibliography “African Americans: The Union Army During the Civil War”. Accessed March 24, 2013. http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/african-americans-union-army-during-civil-war Barden, Cindy. The American Civil War. New York: Carson - Dellosa Publishing, 2002. “Civil War Facts. Accessed March 21, 2013. http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/. Gallagher, Gary W. The American Civil War: The War in the East 1861 - May 1863. New York: Osprey Publishing, 2001. “Union Civil War. ” Accessed March 22, 2013. http://www.civilwarsoldier.com/cws_union_soldiers.htm Veit, Chuck. “How the U.S Navy Won the American Civil War”. navyandmarine.org. Last modified 2004. http://www.navyandmarine.org/historicalref/HowNavyWonWar.htm. Read More