Download Chapter 12

The Balance Sheet of War
 Known
as the first “modern” war
• First extensive railroad used
• First combat with iron plated ships
• Greater use of rifled field artillery
• First combat use of a submarine
 South
was greatly outnumbered in able
bodied men
 South
 Set
became desperate for troops early
up a draft which became very
unpopular
 South
became even more desperate and
the conscription law was strengthened
 Many
rich southerners paid others to be
substitutes
 Without
the draft the South couldn’t have
carried on the war past 1862
 South
didn’t have to invade the North
 Geography
favored the South
• Appalachian chain provided a barrier
• Southern woods provided cover for armies on
the defense
• South had wretched roads making invasions
difficult
 Union
supply lines were extremely long
compared to the Confederates
 Confederates
 South
knew the land much better
had “Interior lines”
• Armies fighting within a defensive arc could
move supplies and troops quicker
 Objectives
were to disrupt supply lines,
disrupt communications, and keep
invaders from accurate information
 Southern
congress authorized official
formation of partisan ranger companies
to be enrolled in the army
 No
more than 10,000 men functioned as
guerrillas
 Cavalry
• Confederates rode circles around the Union
cavalry
• Used horses more for transportation
 Artillery
• North had advantage in artillery because of it’s
better industrial society
• South stole most artillery guns until 1863 when it
started producing more of their own
• South also had a crude machine gun
 Infantry
• Most important
 80% of Union army
 75% of Confederate army
• Inflicted and suffered 80-90% of all casualties
• The rifle was the main weapon of the infantry
 The rifle
• Union had more rifles to start the war
 Started with smoothbore muzzleloaders
 Eventually some Union infantry got breech-loading
repeaters
 Union Chief James Ripley opposed breech-loaders and
was eventually fired by Lincoln
• Confederates had a shortage of rifles at the start
 South imported rifles and stole even more in 1862 to better
supply their army
 Eventually stole some breech-loaders as well
 Confederates had some successes
• The Ordnance Bureau created many factories
and Confederates recycled anything and
everything
• Confederates also had marvelous mobility
 Union had better success overall
• Northern industry poured out uniforms, shoes,
and food
• Had an advantage because of greater resources
and better productivity
 Economy
was not ready for war
• Forced to print paper money causing extreme
•
•
•
•
inflation
In 1861 imposed a small direct property tax
Many Southern states also loaned money to the
Southern lawmakers
Eventually more taxes were imposed due to
inflation but they ultimately failed
Main failure was the unbalanced agricultural
economy
 Congress
levied an income tax
 Government also offered bonds directly
to the public
 Creation of Greenbacks
• Provided government with money
• Ended the banking crisis
• Greenbacks did depreciate in relation to gold
but it wasn’t a horrible inflation like the South
• Taxes helped keep inflation at a minimum
 War Bonds
• “Five-twenty” bonds raised more than $600
million for the government
• Jay Cooke helped promote war bonds again
after Southern victories
 National Banks
• Helped create a market for war bonds
• Created a more stable banknote currency
• National Banks created a uniform national
system instead of previous state systems