Why the Confederacy Lost

Why the Confederacy Lost Review of "Why the Confederacy Lost Although may consider it to be conventional wisdom to suggest that th South 's political and military defeats during the American Civil War few bother to question or investigate the intricate historical details which , taken together , set the South on an inevitable course of defeat Gabor S . Boritt 's critical study , Why the Confederacy Lost (1993 offers a set of five essays by as many contributors , which , taken as a whole , provide not only a complex and far-ranging historical survey of the

roots of Southern defeat in the American Civil War , but also bring into the question , the prevalence of widespread certainly regarding the inevitability of the South 's defeat . As mentioned in the essay "Upon their Success Hang Momentous Interests

by Gary W . Gallagher , regarding military considerations alone "Lee 's strategic and grand tactical skills more than once threatened to translate hopes for an independent Confederacy into reality " 1 and a deeper examination of the essays in Boritt 's capably edited and arranged study reveals many other wrinkles or historical divergences from the commonly accepted idea that Southern defeat was inevitable

Because it is a fact that the Civil War cost more American lives than any other war in history , re-examining the war with a view toward understanding just what did or did not have to happen as a result of natural disposition of resources , economic capacity , military might , and generalship , is a crucial aspect for historians . While...