Um, that battle was a decisive loss for us and turned the tide of the war into the Union’s favor.
“Um, that battle was a decisive loss for us and turned the tide of the war into the Union’s favor.”
The good guys won.
For “us”, Kemosabi? My family fought for the Union.
I had ancestors and relatives on both sides. One great-great-grandfather was a Missouri Unionist--his brother was a Confederate. Their first cousin died as a POW at Camp Chase, Ohio. Another great-great-grandfather was a Confederate in Virginia who survived being a POW. I think the relatives who fought for the South outnumbered those who fought for the North--it mainly depended on where they lived in 1861.
Without the war, slavery would probably have lasted much longer. It directly benefited only a small number of wealthy people but they were also the politically powerful people and determined to protect the institution--I find it hard to imagine them agreeing to abolition. Even Delaware, which did not secede and where the majority of black people were free persons of color, not slaves, was very resistant to ending slavery.
The unfortunate tendency nowadays is to oversimplify history and make the war solely over slavery. Without slavery, no civil war, but the men who fought in the war did not have ending slavery or preserving slavery as foremost on their minds.
Not really. It was a decisive battle but the south might have lasted longer if they would have made the right moves.
If I were one of the southern supporters of that war that are on here I would lay the blame for that loss directly at RE Lees feet.
The bigger loss was at Vicksburg believe it or not. When they lost Vicksburg, they lost that war. Then came Atlanta and then the March to the Sea.