Civil War Narrative Paper

Some people may feel that the Union had better generals, and that’s why the Civil War was won. However, that is clearly fictional. Some people may feel that the Confederacy only lost because of Sherman’s march to the sea. But that is clearly fictional, as well. It is my belief that the South won the early Civil War because of Stonewall Jackson, and because they never invaded Pennsylvania before his death; the North won in the end because they had a lot more troops, and many other things.

In April 1861, the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, which caused the War Between the States. A stunning Confederate general named Stonewall Jackson served under Robert E. Lee and defeated the Union Army by winning his nickname “Stonewall” at Manassas. The Federals made a disastrous charge at Fredericksburg, thereby slaughtering their troops at Jackson and Longstreet’s lines. Though twice outnumbered at Chancellorsville, Lee sent Jackson to attack the Federals under Hooker, an event which brought victory for the Confederate cause. The South had won the early Civil War.

However, Jackson was shot down by his own men at Chancellorsville which helped to turn the tide of the war. In June 1863 with an army of 75, 000 troops, General Lee invaded the North, but was defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 1-3, 1863, by the Union Army, under General George Gordon Meade who had 80,000-90,000 men. Lee returned to Virginia and defeated General Grant in the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, but his troops were far outnumbered, and lost the siege of Petersburg, as well as the battles of Sailor’s Creek and Appomattox. At Appomattox, he surrendered his army of northern Virginia to General Grant. The fighting of the Eastern Theatre was over.

As we can see why the Confederacy won the early Civil War, we also see why the Union Army won in the end, as well. After all, the Union had many more advantages than the Confederacy. Not one man could defeat the other army alone, but by the supply of more troops, canons, factories, and numerous other things, we understand why the South lost the War.