The North had certain advantages. (1) More than twice as many people lived in the
North as in the South - 22 million in the North and 9 million in the South. Of the 9 million
people in the South, two out of every five were blacks, most of whom were slaves.
Slaves were not expected to fight. The slaves, however, might do the work at home and
thus release white men to join the army. (2) Not only did the North have more people,
but it had more resources and supplies. Most of the factories which could make guns,
ammunition, uniforms, and the thousands of articles needed in war, were in the North.
The North had more railroads to move goods and more men to do the fighting. It also
had more shipping. (3) Furthermore, the United States government, its army, and its
navy were already established and working. The South had to build these things as it
went along.
On the other hand, the South possessed certain advantages over the North. (1) For
one thing, the South was fighting for the most part on its own soil. Men fight harder
when they are defending their homes than when they are invading enemy territory. Also,
they know the territory much better than the invaders possibly could. (2) In addition, the
South had many outstanding military leaders who had resigned from the United States
Army to fight for the Confederacy. Among these men was Robert E. Lee. Although Lee
belonged to an old southern family, he did not believe in slavery and had already freed
his slaves. Lee was also against secession and opposed to the war. But he could not
bring himself to bear arms against his beloved state, Virginia. When that state seceded,
therefore, Lee cast his lot with the Confederacy. Thus the South gained a brilliant
general – the ablest and most thoroughly experienced in the whole United States Army.
