Why the Confederacy Lost essays

Why the Confederacy Lost essays Throughout history many historians have tried to put their finger on the exact reason for the Confederacy losing the war. Some historians blame the head of the confederacy Jefferson Davis, however others believe that it was the shear numbers of the Northern army that won out. Yet others have blamed almost every general that the Confederacy had, according to James M. McPherson: Among them Robert E. Lee himself for mismanagement, overconfidence, and poor judgment; Jeb Stuart for riding off an a raid around the Union army and losing contact with his own army, leaving Lee blind in the enemys country; Richard Ewell and Jubal Early for failing to attack Cemetery Hill on the afternoon of July 1st and again for tardiness in attacking on the 2nd; and above all, James Longstreet for lack of cooperation, promptness, and vigor in the assaults of July 2nd and 3rd.(P.19). Hopefully, this paper will shed some light on the true reasons for the Confederacy losing the war. There are two categories that interpretations can fall under, one is internal- internal is looking only at the south, what they did right and what they did wrong. The next one is external-external is looking at both the North and the South, seeing the problems and the successes of both sides. For and example of an external explanation, when Pickett was asked what he thought was the reason for the Confederacy losing the Battle of Gettysburg he said, Ive always thought the Yankees had something to do with it (19). The idea that the Yankees had way too many resources, has long been an explanation for the reason of the Confederacy losing the war. When Robert E. Lee gave his farewell address at Appomattox he said to his soldiers, The Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources (20). That statement was very important to the South because, it allowed them, and s ...