How did the Union win the civil war?

Answer 1

Most historians agree that the Union victory in the American Civil War was inevitable for the following reasons.

1) The economic superiority of the North in terms of manufacturing and food production.

2) The inability of the Confederacy to be recognized diplomatically by any of the major European Powers, specifically Great Britain.

3) The large slave population of the South which had to be controlled whilst defending territory against the various Union Armies.

4) The failure of political leadership in the person of Jefferson Davis.

5) The spectre of defending the institution of African Slavery which had been abolished 30 years before in most of the civilized world.

These are but a few of the reasons for the Union victory, but they are the ones almost every historian will agree on without argument.

Answer 2

By appointing U.S. Grant as General-in-Chief. He recognised the biggest single factor - that if he ended prisoner-exchange, the Confederates would run out of manpower before he did.

IMPROVEMENT

After the appointment of Grant as General-in Chief the Union armies operating in the various sectors moved and acted in a coordinated manner following a single strategic plan dictated by the Commanding General and his General Staff.

Answer 3

The south had the better military force and leader's. What changed the tide of the war was the change brought forth by President Abraham Lincoln in making it about Slavery instead of the industrial revolution which was the leading cause of the South's wanting to cede from the Union.

The North started gaining momentum with the printing of 'Green backs' (Lincoln's money), and the South losing the financial backing of the British. That and the South rushing ahead of its supply lines giving the North the chance to cut them off and fight them without giving them the chance to replenish supplies and troops.

This came to a head in Gettysburg PA. Were Union General George Meade defeated Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia after a bloody 3 day battle. This battle starting on July 1st and ending on July 3rd 1863.

The Civil War raged on with victories for both the South and the North for almost two more years. It wasn't until finally on April 9th 1865 that General Lee finally surrendered to General Grant in the Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

Sadly while Celebration broke out in Washington D.C., on April 10th 1865, President Lincoln was shot and later died.

Answer 4

The Battle of Fredricksburg was not won by the Union. Instead it was won by Confederates on December 14th, 1862 when Burnside asked Lee for a truce to attend to his wounded, which Lee graciously granted. The next day the Federal forces retreated across the river, and the campaign came to an end.

Additional Info:

Burnside planned to lead his men from the Ninth Corps against the wall himself, hoping they would follow him enthusiastically. Once again, leaders doubted his plan would prevail. Even so, Burnside called a conference the next day, only to receive criticism. With almost nowhere to turn, Burnside desperately thought of a way to not destroy the morale of his troops. He decided that if the town was held, the men's morale would not die. Because of criticism, Burnside abandoned his final idea. When one looks back, people might say that Burnside never accomplished anything because of pressure from his lower officers. Whatever the case, Ambrose Burnside knew that he would no longer be in Command of the Army of the Potomac. On the morning of the 14th, the fighting had subdued, almost completely ending. On Marye's Heights, the wounded Union men lay without water, without food, only with the noise of occasional Confederate fire. Richard Kirkland, a Southern officer, crossed the wall with canteens of water. With this movement, fire ceased, and Kirkland began giving water to the dying men on the field. With tears in his eyes, on the night of the 15th Burnside ordered his army to leave Fredericksburg, leaving all they had fought for on the bloody field. Artillery crossed first, followed by infantry. By 4 a.m. Franklins troops had crossed and the engineers began taking apart the bridges. Last came the guards, bringing any latecomers. The battle was over, and the Confederacy had won. Once the battle was over, the town was alone. It lay in ruins, every house had been shot and looted, and many had been destroyed completely. Once the Federals crossed, Confederate troops began stripping the bodies of the Union soldiers for any salvageable materials. Over the next days, 918 bodies would be counted; only 5 could be identified as officers. Besides having an effect on the town, the battle had a great effect on the fighting armies. 12,653 men of the Union army had been killed at Fredericksburg, more than 60 percent had been killed near the stonewall. This was more than McClellan had lost at Antietam, the Civil War's bloodiest battle. Less than 5,400 Confederate men were killed. The battle demoralized the Union soldiers, yet Sumner convinced Burnside not to resign. Newspapers criticized the Union leaders; Burnside took full responsibility to the battle. Even so, Burnside carried on. He planned a winter campaign, but Lincoln ordered to not carry out his orders, denying his plans. Burnside then went to Washington to dismiss 8 officers, including Hooker, Franklin, and Smith. Lincoln then dismissed Burnside, on January 25th, 1863. Burnside then gave his command to the man whom he least wanted to: Joe Hooker. Burnsides career as command of the Army of the Potomac was finally over. Life would move on, as always. Hooker would fail, forcing his Army back to Falmouth Camp. He soon would be replaced; General Grant would take over the Union army and lead them to victory. Lee would march on to Gettysburg, finding more trouble than the Union faced at Fredericksburg. Back in Fredericksburg citizens began to come back and start their lives over again. Life would go on.

Answer 5

The appointment of Grant as General-in-Chief in March 1864.

First, he ended the system of prisoner-exchange, so the Confederates were bound to run out of men first.

Then he cornered Lee at Petersburg, and kept him there till his lines were too thin to hold.

Meanwhile he authorised the destruction of farms and rairoads, which helped to starve the Confederate troops in the field.

Answer 6

The Confederate advantage had a lot to do with the prospect of exporting cotton in exchange for war supplies, and gaining official recognition and military aid from Britain and France.

This advantage turned out to be false. Thanks to the Union naval blockade, almost no exchanges were possible. And the Confederacy never received recognition from European nations.

Answer 7

There were enough reasons that a dissertation for a Doctorate degree could be written on that topic- but a major factor was the lack of an industrial base in the Confederacy. The South had one major ironworks (Tredegar in Richmond) and a few facilities to make cannon, rifles, or gunpowder. The South also lacked the railroad network of the North, along with mills to make cloth, shoes, etc. War is a matter not only of strategy and tactics, but of logistics. The Confederacy was primarily an agricultural economy, and not a manufacturing economy.

Answer 8

They made a deffensive line waitng for confedrates to attack.That so they shot and stabbed ther enemies .