Population, Industry, and Generals †How the Confederacy...

The Civil War was an unusual war- and the odds were very bleak for the Confederacy at the start, yet they won most of the conflicts early on. The reason the confederates were not immediately beaten is largely due to the impressive tactical genius that they brought to the battlefield which allowed them to outmaneuver and slow Union forces until they finally ran out of money, soldiers, and supplies. The Civil War had almost the same number of casualties as all other wars in US history combined (McPherson and Bruce vi-vii). The Confederacy faced impossible odds, with almost all of the Union’s industry having been in the North even prior to the secession. The Confederate forces were about equal in size to those of the Union at the start,†¦show more content†¦The Confederacy had hardly any naval strength, which was critical. If the Confederates had had a large navy, they might have been able to break the Union blockade. Their clients for cotton did not come to their aid either; despite some talk of intervention in the war, no action was taken by Britain or France (McPherson 384). The â€Å"allies† of the Confederacy simply did not want the trials, costs, and casualties of a war on their hands because of another country’s civil war. Such an action could potentially spark another war, something that Britain and France simply figured that the Confederacy was not worth. At the time, medicine in both countries (truthfully worldwide) was still very primitive. There were surgeons who were part of the military, and medics were very sought after. There was little they could do to help, however. According to the Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, â€Å"the great majority of wounds and of sickness should be treated by the regimental surgeon,† (Sherman 393). The treatment given back then to a wound from a gunshot wound was amputation without anesthesia- as it would not be invented yet for about a century- and after surgery, doctors did not wash their hands or instruments, exponentially increasing the likelihood of infection of a wound and lowering the likelihood of survival. The Union had an advantage in this, though not due to superior doctors or medicine. The Union had roughly four and a half times as many citizens as theShow MoreRelatedImpact of Science on Society38421 Words   |  154 Pagesour housing, clothes, and food, our methods o f transportation, and, indeed, even the length and quality of life itself, science has generated changes in the moral values and basic philosophies of mankind. Beginning with the plow, science has changed how we live and what we believe. By making life easier, science has given man the chance to pursue societal concerns such as ethics, aesthetics, education, and justice; to create cultures; and to improve human conditions. But it has also placed us in theRead MoreImpact of Science on Society38427 Words   |  154 Pagesour housing, clothes, and food, our methods of transportation, and, indeed, even the length and quality of life itself, science has generated changes in the moral values and basic philosophies of mankind. Beginning with the plow, science has changed how we live and what we believe. By making life easier, science has given man the chance to pursue societal concerns such as ethics, aesthetics, education, and justice; to create cultures; and to improve human conditions. But it has also placed us in theRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagesauthority to the office of President of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. One senses, however, that the British academic accounting community may be less able to fulfil these roles in the coming years. In part this reflects a more general decline in the academic world as falling relative salaries and status have reduced the intake of talented academic entrepreneurs. But I also think it reflects the cumulative impact of regulatory and careerist pressures in the academic world itself