Civil War History - "What if..." DiscussionsWhat if they had attacked instead of digging in...? What if he was in charge of the army instead...? Did you ever have a "What if..." question, and you weren't sure where to post it? Here's the place to ask these speculative questions!
Hi, this is only my second post, I just registered today.
I think the what ifs can be interesting, but I wonder what the effect of two nations would have on:
1. the great migration, the biggest internal migration of Americans in history, of Southern blacks to Northern cities.
2. North America's ability to confront Germany in the first war, and then in the 1940s, and then meet the challenge of Communism.
IMO it was logistically impossible for the Confederacy to win the war unless the North gave up. IMO if the South had won then the rest of the Union would have fragmented apart. That is until England (or any other country) tried to invade our continent again. Then they would have reformed some sort of union or learned to live under British rule. Eventually the British would have taken over the entire continent one state at a time. A Southern Victory would have been the first step for an eventual British takeover.
__________________ "We made a great mistake in the beginning of our struggle.... We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies, and all our best generals to edit the newspapers"
- Robert E. Lee
The Battle Flag of The Madison Light Artillery (Louisiana) MOODY'S BATTERY - 24 Pound Howitzers
Alexander's Battalion
Longstreets Corps
If you are asking me? I have never read anything from McPherson so I don't know what his position is. My position is this; England did nothing unless it benefited them directly. They were not anxious to go at it with the USA again unless we imploded. IMO if England decided to support the South then it is likely that France, Spain, and Prussia would have taken advantage of England's spread out forces and a three thousand mile long supply line. They were forced to stay out of the war by European and logistic issues more than anything else. If the Union imploded and the South gains independence then other Union states like New York would have seceded too. Each state standing on their own would have been easy pickings for England. Would North Carolina have come to the aid of South Carolina if invaded in late 1865 by England? I doubt it as they had little use for each other before the war and by the time the war was over, did they have the manpower to help them out?. What about Georgia, Illinois or anyone else? After such a devastating war it is not likely that any single state would receive much help. Even during the war southern states were holding out on the others. Many examples of this were found by Sherman's men during their march from Atlanta to North Carolina. Sherman's men were feasting while Lee's army was starving and half naked. They found lots of Confederate uniforms and other war supplies wasting away in warehouses on hold for use by their states soldiers only. The South did not have the logistic support to manufacture or deliver the supplies needed to win the war.
This a very complicated issue to try to resolve in a few sentences but I think I have covered the main points.
Rick
__________________ "We made a great mistake in the beginning of our struggle.... We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies, and all our best generals to edit the newspapers"
- Robert E. Lee
The Battle Flag of The Madison Light Artillery (Louisiana) MOODY'S BATTERY - 24 Pound Howitzers
Alexander's Battalion
Longstreets Corps
Last edited by r_moody; 10-04-2005 at 11:28 PM.
Reason: Spelling
I'm sorry, are you asking me about something I have posted on this thread? I did not mean to ignore you, but I don't know if you are addressing me or someone else.
Sincerely,
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
I know I found this in one of McPherson's books, either Battle Cry of Freedom or For Cause and For Comrades. Let me do a little digging and see if I can find it again.
Sincerely,
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
If the South had won.....hmmm? The North would have gone on to become a commercial superpower of the world. Egyptian cotton would have ruined the South. Slavery would either be abolished or it would turn the Southern states into the pariah of the world. Without a strong manufacturing base the South would struggle for decades. Military expansion into the Caribbean and/or Mexico could be necessary. Without a strong Federal government, the west coast would be isolated. Southern California might go with Mexico. The other states with Canada. Or perhaps the entire west coast would become a third country. The midwest (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa and Illinois) would probably not relate to the South nor the Yankee states and might have seceded (still a good idea). So, there you have it. Four new countries where there once was one.
Calicoboy
__________________ My dear mother:- I have come safely through two more terrible engagements with the enemy, that at South Mountain and the great battle of yesterday (Antietam). Our splendid regiment is almost destroyed. We have had nearly 400 men killed and wounded in the battles. Seven of our officers were shot and three killed in yesterday's battle and nearly 150 men killed and wounded. All from less than 300 engaged. The men have stood like iron....Maj. Rufus Dawes, 6th Wisconsin Volunteers
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