[Clemenza]

Nope, have read about twenty books on the subject (I'm more of a revolutionary war guy than a civil war guy), have attended lectures sponsored by the League of the South in Greenville, SC, and have read the writings of many of the main protagonists, North and South.

The war should have been avoided. As one of my heroes said after losing an election by refusing to play to the extremes of either side, "I'd rather be right than be president."

[Praxeus]

"The war should have been avoided."

You are right about that. The South miscalculated badly, there.