What advantages and disadvantages did each side have as the civil war began?
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Within days of the fall of Fort Sumter, four more states joined the confederacy: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. The battle lines were drawn. Show
The Union outweighed the confederacy in almost every way; the number of states as well as the number of people. Despite the North’s larger population, the South had an army almost equal in size, during the first year of the war. The North had a greater industrial advantage. The Confederacy had only one-ninth the industrial capacity of the Union. In 1860, the North manufactured 97% of the country firearms, 96% of its railroads, 94% of it cloth, 93% of its pig iron and over 90% of its boots and shoes. The North also controlled the Navy so the seas were in the hands of the Union. Still the South was not without resources and willpower. The South could produce all the food it needed but transporting it to soldiers and civilians was a major problem. Seven of the eight military colleges in the country were in the South; providing the South with trained officers. The South also proved to be resourceful and by the end of the war, the south had established armoires and foundries in several states. The military and political objectives of the Union were much more difficult to accomplish. The Union had to invade, conquer and occupy the South. It had to destroy the South’s capacity and will to resist. Southerners enjoyed the initial advantage of morale: The South was fighting to maintain its way of life, whereas the North was fighting to maintain the Union. Slavery was not a moral cause of the Union effort until Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The North looked much better on paper, but many factors undetermined at the outbreak of war could have tilted the balance sheet toward a different outcome. When the Civil War began, both the North and the South imagined it would be a swift and easy victory. But what made the North think they could win so easily? And what about the South? Well, it came down to their respective advantages. Keep reading to learn about these advantages as well as the disadvantages each side would face. They would determine the strategy of each side and the eventual outcome of the Civil War. Advantages of the North in the Civil WarAt the Civil War outbreak, the North possessed many fundamental advantages, including its manpower, expansive railway network, superior navy, and higher output of industrial production. Let's go over these in more detail below. Advantages of the North in the Civil War: Military AdvantagesThe North possessed a population of 22 million, whereas the South had a population of only 9 million people--3.5 million of whom were slaves. This advantage in manpower meant that:
On land, the Union had a much more comprehensive railway network for moving supplies, men, and material. And at sea, their navy reigned supreme, as they had begun the Civil War with full possession of the United States warships. The naval superiority of the Union lent itself to the Anaconda Plan, a Northern military strategy that called for a blockade of all Confederate ports. The idea was to strangle the South into submission by cutting off their key trade networks with European powers. Advantages of the North in the Civil War: Economic AdvantagesThe North also had an upper hand economically, as it had a larger number of financial institutions and a much more developed industrial base. Much of the United States's manufactured goods were made in the North, leaving the Confederacy to use what equipment they already possessed or what they could get from Europe. In contrast, the North could manufacture their own supplies and remain self-sustaining. Advantages of the South in the Civil WarThough the South was at a disadvantage in terms of population and industry, they possessed some advantages of their own. Advantages of the South in the Civil War: Military AdvantagesThe most crucial advantage of the Confederacy was that they had a more limited war aim that would not require as much military power to accomplish. Their goal was to preserve their independence from the Union, meaning all they had to do was defend their territory and put up enough of a fight that the Union lost its own will to fight. In contrast, the Union would have to conquer vast swathes of unfamiliar territory. Additionally, the further Union forces pushed into the South, the more stretched their own lines of supply would become. Thus, if the Confederacy could inflict enough losses on the Union Army by fighting in favorable battles from strong defensive positions, they could win the war through attrition and compel the Union to give up on trying to reconquer their lost territory. It certainly helped that the Confederacy had arguably more experienced military leaders than the Union. The Historiography of Military Leaders in the Civil War Though there is ultimately subjectivity involved in assessing the skills of the generals and presidents on either side of the conflict, it is a commonly discussed subject in the historiography of the American Civil War. Some histories put forward that the Confederacy possessed, in general, a greater quality of commanders in the form of generals such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, referencing cases of them outmaneuvering Union armies in Virginia and suggesting that clever and intelligent leadership from Southern commanders gave the Confederacy an advantage over the Union in battle.1 Others reference Lincoln's dissatisfaction with some of his commanders, notably George McClellan when making the argument that the Confederate had superior generals. While many important generals on both sides experienced both tactical and strategic victories as well as failures, what can be said certainly is that seven of the eight military colleges in the United States at the time of the secession crisis were located in the South, though not all of their graduates would be sympathetic to the Southern cause at the outbreak of the war. Advantages of the South in the Civil War: Economic AdvantagesWhile the South might have had less industrial production, they had control over agricultural production, mainly cotton and tobacco. The Confederacy hoped they could use "King Cotton Diplomacy" to influence European powers such as the United Kingdom or France to intervene on their behalf. These nations relied on cotton imports for their own industries, namely the textile industry, so the South believed the restriction of its trade would force their hand. In conjunction with enough significant military victories, the Confederacy thought they could surely sway powers like Britain and France to give them recognition and some level of support. Disadvantages of the South in the Civil WarEssentially, the advantages of the North in the Civil War were the disadvantages of the South. The South had a smaller population and lacked access to supplies, and it was because of these disadvantages that the fine military prowess of military leaders like Robert E. Lee was so useful. Enlisted soldiers:
The Confederacy had to be strategic in order to earn a victory with a shortage of manpower and supplies. European intervention would have helped the South immensely when it came to this supply shortage, but the Emancipation Proclamation dashed any hopes of support. The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln that freed all slaves in rebelling states and territories. It shifted the Union's war aim from preserving the Union to ending slavery. This not only increased morale in the North but ruined the chance of a European intervention because no European power would support a cause that explicitly endorsed slavery. Interestingly, the Confederacy had the ability to increase both its manpower and funding, but its commitment to states' rights prevented any real action. For example, the Confederacy was unable to:
Disadvantages of the North in the Civil WarWhile the North might have been fighting in unfamiliar territory with a relatively inexperienced military, these disadvantages could be easily overcome with the advantage of manpower and supplies to spare. The real threat to the Union war effort was a lack of morale, as that was what the Confederacy was hoping to target but failed. What advantages did each side have at the start of the Civil War?The Union had many advantages over the Confederacy. The North had a larg- er population than the South. The Union also had an industrial economy, where- as the Confederacy had an economy based on agriculture. The Union had most of the natural resources, like coal, iron, and gold, and also a well-developed rail system.
What advantages did the North and South have in the Civil War?Despite the North's greater population, however, the South had an army almost equal in size during the first year of the war. The North had an enormous industrial advantage as well. At the beginning of the war, the Confederacy had only one-ninth the industrial capacity of the Union.
What disadvantages did the North have in the Civil War?The North had several big weaknesses. The men in the Union army would be invading a part of the country that they were not familiar with. They would not be defending their own homes like the army in the South. It would be harder to supply the Union troops as they got farther and farther away from home.
What were 2 advantages of the North in the Civil War?The North had a greater industrial advantage. The Confederacy had only one-ninth the industrial capacity of the Union. In 1860, the North manufactured 97% of the country firearms, 96% of its railroads, 94% of it cloth, 93% of its pig iron and over 90% of its boots and shoes.
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