3 ms·

General Lee was a tactical genius. The only advantage the North had was numbers of bodies. The only northern general willing to blithely leverage that fact was

by Mz 10y ago

General Lee was a tactical genius. The only advantage the North had was numbers of bodies. The only northern general willing to blithely leverage that fact was Grant. Lincoln kept him in charge even though civilians were haranguing Lincoln to remove him because they were appalled by the high death toll. Then, when Lee finally surrendered, Grant broke with the long standing human tradition of punishing the loser with war reparations. He had only three conditions of surrender, one of which was that the South would accept help from the North to rebuild. His merciful position is credited with being the reason the US has only had one civil war. In most countries, the end of one civil war merely sows the bitter seeds for the start of the next. Grant later became president.

labster 10y ago
The Union had other advantages other than people; namely a vastly superior industrial base and a much stronger navy. They were just as critical as the greater numbers of forces. But the showing of mercy to the vanquished foe has proven repeatedly to be great public policy, and should be remembered whenever one hears a politician talk about taking the spoils of war.
Amezarak 10y ago
> Lincoln kept him in charge even though civilians were haranguing Lincoln to remove him because they were appalled by the high death toll. Most of the complaints started and ended with the Battle of Shiloh. Grant was, by most accounts, a merely able tactician, but he did see the bigger picture, like Johnston probably did, while Lee did not. If the South had fought a purely defensive war and avoided decisive battles wherever possible, the North would probably have been forced to concede for political reasons. Grant fought so offensively and aggressively because he knew this. Lee really blew it from a strategic perspective, although to be fair, there were political pressures on him. I'm also inclined to give more credit to Grant's tactical abilities than most, because, well, he did beat Lee on the field pretty handily. I would also add that Grant felt the terms he offered Lee were what Lincoln would have wanted.

by Mz 10y ago

labster 10y ago

The Union had other advantages other than people; namely a vastly superior industrial base and a much stronger navy. They were just as critical as the greater numbers of forces. But the showing of mercy to the vanquished foe has proven repeatedly to be great public policy, and should be remembered whenever one hears a politician talk about taking the spoils of war.

Amezarak 10y ago

> Lincoln kept him in charge even though civilians were haranguing Lincoln to remove him because they were appalled by the high death toll. Most of the complaints started and ended with the Battle of Shiloh. Grant was, by most accounts, a merely able tactician, but he did see the bigger picture, like Johnston probably did, while Lee did not. If the South had fought a purely defensive war and avoided decisive battles wherever possible, the North would probably have been forced to concede for political reasons. Grant fought so offensively and aggressively because he knew this. Lee really blew it from a strategic perspective, although to be fair, there were political pressures on him. I'm also inclined to give more credit to Grant's tactical abilities than most, because, well, he did beat Lee on the field pretty handily. I would also add that Grant felt the terms he offered Lee were what Lincoln would have wanted.