civil war

[dave01]

could the south have won the american civil war?

[Johnmof]

Possibly. The main turning point was the battle of Gettysburg. Had the rebs taken the high ground on the first day, which they should have, they would probably have won the battle or at least forced the Union army off the field. This would have left the road to Washington clear. Once they had lost the capital, the North would have sued for terms. Losing the battle put the South into retreat and it was then only a matter of time before the North's greater resources wore the South down.

[sparker90]

on south park, cartmen lead the south in the re-enactment and took over america, therefore, the south could've won =)

[Clanad]

While Johnmof's assesment is fairly accurate, the early stages of the engagement on July 1, 1863, ended with the Union troops in full retreat through the streets of the hamlet of Gettysburg and ended when daylight failed with the beleagured Union now commanding Cemetery Ridge just south of town. Unique in the history of the War of Rebellion was the fact that the southern army approached from the north, while the northern army approached, initially, from the south. The defining moment of the battle occurred on July 3, however, with the massive, failed charge across a mile of exposed ground into the center of the Union line by General George E. Pickett... two brass markers just inside of the Union lines sums up the end of the charge.... one reads "Double Canister at 20 Yards (near a cannon battery, while the other, just a few feet away reads "High Water Mark of the Confederacy". Although the War continued for almost another 2 years, it was, as Johnmof states, downhill for Lee following this disaster...
I've walked the distance from the onset of the charge to it's end... it's truly a humbling experience...

[vehelpfulguy]

In the long term no.

The north had all the industry and factories. All the South had was Cotton fields.

The South had to import much of its heavy machinery like Trains etc and once the North blockaded the south they could not get this heavy machinery (and other supplies) in.

They also could not get the cotton OUT to earn money.

[shammydodger]

To answer your question, Dave, I would have to say "dunno", but in the early months of the war the British government's sympathies and implicit support lay with the Confederacy. How much this had to do with the supply to Britain of Southern cotton is a subject for debate. Maybe if this support had continued, events would have taken a different turn and the War might, at least, have been prolonged, even if the final result had been the same. But, when Lincoln published the Emancipation Proclamation, British support for the Confederacy ebbed away.

[shammydodger]

Missed something out of my post. I ought to have added that the South, for a time, burned cotton that was stood on the wharves waiting for export to Britain, in an attempt to secure Britain's continued support.