Civil War Advantages

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According to Give Me Liberty, the Civil War is often referred as the first modern war. In addition, the "death toll in the Civil War nearly equals the total number of Americans who died in all the nation's other wars, from the Revolution to the war in Iraq" (508).

First advantage for the Confederates during the Civil War was that they were motivated to fight and defend their homes. Also, GML states that "the importance of heavy fortifications and elaborate trenches and giving those on the defensive- usually southern armies- a significant advantage over attacking forces" (508). Another advantage that the South had was a brilliant officer, for example, "`Robert E. Lee, a brilliant battlefield tactician" who "chose to fight for the Confederacy because of his devotion to Virginia" (512). The most important advantage that the Confederates had over the Union was that they fought in the South. In other words, the southerners knew
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Another disadvantage was that there was a problem of purchasing and distributing food, weapons and other supplies.

The disadvantages of the North were that they had no accurate maps of the South and they had to occupy large areas of the enemies territory. A disadvantage that affected both the South and the North was that "medical care remained primitive" (508). According to GML, diseases such as typhus, malaria, dysentery, and measles killed more men than did combat.

I believe that the advantage that proved most important to the Union was that they had more railroad tracks because they were able to distribute supplies to the soldiers. For the South, I believe that fighting in their own land was the most important advantage to them because they were able to get around.

The most troublesome disadvantage for the North and South was that their men were dying of diseases instead of