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 became desperate for troops early  Set 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 knew the land much better  South 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