Union and Confederate Civil War Strategies

Like most wars, the Civil War was fought for political objectives. Although the emancipation of the slaves is often stated as the reason for the South’s secession, and thus the reason for the war, the political background is more complex. The war was primarily about economic causes, and not humanitarian questions regarding the morality of slave ownership. The southern states depended on slave labor for growing certain crops, particularly cotton. With the coming of the industrial revolution, and because of the fewer rural areas in the North, the northern states utilized other means to grow their economy, which meant that the economic rift between North and South widened, causing increased tension and discontent. Like many leaders when declaring war, the politicians believed that the conflict between the northern and southern states would be short-lived. They certainly did not expect it to take several years and cost hundreds of thousands of casualties to resolve the issue politically and militarily. Nor did they expect it to take a century and a half, and counting, to resolve the issue socially. 

President Abraham Lincoln reacted initially to the secession of South Carolina, the other slave states, and the “rebels” by “calling for 75,000 volunteers for three months service to suppress an insurrection.” Through the eyes of an outsider; a European, for example, who had grown used to the quick decisions of the Napoleonic wars, the American Civil War seemed rather disorganized, as if fought by two untrained and amateurish mobs clashing with each other without clear direction, and without a strategy to guide their tactics. Since many of the men who stepped forward and volunteered at Lincoln’s request were not properly armed and equipped, and since the regiments were hastily assembled, the northern army came to look like a ragtag establishment, with soldiers wearing a variety of uniforms and equipment. However, since their European heritage was not too distant, they would naturally attempt to base their warfare on European developments and standards, and fight the war in true Napoleonic fashion. 

The advantages the French had gained during the Napoleonic wars, and which had allowed them to fight quick wars of offense rather than protracted wars of defense, are worthy of mention and were based on the political objective: the annexation of relatively small land areas or provinces, which prevented enemy retreat and eased the difficulties normally associated with occupying a larger region of land. The American Civil War could not be fought in the same manner, however, because the political objective was not the same. While the French were fighting for limited objectives, the North in the Civil War needed to secure the entire South, which encompassed a huge land area and a long coastline. In fact, the North needed to secure the complete “extinction of the Confederate States of America.” The land could therefore not be occupied successfully the way France had occupied the smaller European countries. Furthermore, while the French were superior in using new infantry tactics and technology, neither the North nor the South had easy access to the same innovations. 

It was also not unusual for politicians to seek military command. Because of their political background, they had a good understanding of the objective and, naturally, strong opinions about how the war should be fought. A factor that complicated the war, however, was that both officers and soldiers on both sides came from essentially the same background and shared the same history. Americans had fought side-by-side in the Revolutionary War and understood each other’s sentiments well. Neither side could therefore rely on surprise tactics to outwit the opposing force. 

At the start of the war, the North possessed a bigger population than the South, and was clearly the economic superior. The South was also at a disadvantage because of the number of slaves it possessed, who could not be trusted to participate in the war, but on the contrary might switch sides when the opportunity arose. The advantages the southern states enjoyed were their combined large landmass, much in the form of wilderness, which would complicate travel for the northern armies and the ability to supply themselves. The Regular Army of the United States remained largely loyal to the Union, except for some three-hundred officers who resigned their commissions. The Regular Army was soon supplemented with large numbers of volunteers from the militias. The Union generals quickly realized that they must engage in an offensive strategy with the purpose of destroying the southern states’ ability to gain and maintain sovereignty. The Confederate forces, too, understood that they must seize the initiative and adopt an offensive type of strategy. 

 

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