Strategies of North and South

Since the Antebellum days there has been a tendency to view the South as martially superior to the North. In the years leading up to the Civil War, Southern elites viewed Confederate soldiers as gallant cavaliers, their Northern enemies as mere brutish inductees. An effort to give an unbiased appraisal, this book investigates the validity of this perception, examining the reasoning behind the belief in Southern military supremacy, why the South expected to win, and offering an cultural comparison of the antebellum North and South. The author evaluates command leadership, battle efficiency, variables affecting the outcomes of battles and campaigns, and which side faced the more difficult path to victory and demonstrated superior strategy.

Gerald L. Earley is a lifelong student of the Civil War and has visited all the major battlefields of the Second United States Sharpshooters as well as written articles for Civil War magazines. He is a graduate of Wichita State University and a veteran of the Vietnam War.

Gerald L. Earley
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 310
Bibliographic Info: 59 photos, bibliography, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2021
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8566-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4316-8
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
1. American Antebellum Martial Perceptions 5
2. 1860: Pre-War Motivation and Morale 12
3. 1861: America Stumbles into Civil War 19
4. 1861: The North Initiates Comprehensive Warfare 45
5. 1862: A Disastrous Year for the Confederacy 65
6. 1863: The Year of Northern Ascendency 138
7. 1864: The Decisive Year 185
8. 1865: The Confederacy Collapses 268
9. Comparisons and Conclusions 280
Chapter Notes 289
Bibliography 297
Index 301