In the North vs South comparison, in the context of the American Civil War, we can see there were stark differences between the two political and military contenders during this armed struggle. Why did it take four long years for the Union to win the American Civil War despite its industrial advantage? The reason it took so long lies in the North vs South military differences and their industrial resources. Although the Union had a great economic advantage over the Confederacy, with 70% of the total American population, the South had better army officers, riders, and marksman shooters. Thus, the reason for the North to win the war was its industrial capacity, but the basis for this armed conflict to become protracted was the military superiority of the Rebels over the Union.
The American Civil War (1861-1865) broke out at the beginning of the Second Industrial Revolution and it saw the full flowering of industrialized warfare, with the use of railways and armored steam ships. The industrial capacity the Union States had stressed the economic difference between the North and the South. Thus, the North won the war because of the industrial and technological superiority it had over the agricultural South. About 90% of the factories, with 93 percent of pig iron and steel plants, and 97 percent of firearms production, lay in the northern States. Therefore, the Union possessed critical advantages from the outset of the Civil War.
Military difference
On the other hand, the South had brilliant generals, such as Robert E. Lee, and an army motivated by the desire to defend its way of life. A South’s soldier already knew how to shoot a rifle and a pistol by the time he was recruited, because he was poverty-stricken as most of the time he had to hunt for a living. This is the reason this military struggle lasted for four long years. The Union commander, Ulysses S. Grant, realized this. That is why he decided to cut the Confederacy in two and destroy the South’s railroad and communication system (the telegraph), cutting the supply lines. Thus, he strangled and isolated the South’s best asset, which was the military.
In the American Civil War, the Northern Army’s soldier could fire at a rate of four rounds per minute as extended lines proved more effective than the massed columns of Napoleonic warfare. On the other hand, the Confederate Army’s soldier could fire up to 8 rounds per minutes as they proved to be more courageous when charging the enemy with the bayonet. Thus, the North resorted to protective earthwork entrenchments, such as breastworks and rifle pits, and to “wait for the enemy” to resist the aggressive manner of fighting of the Southern soldier. An example of this was the historically renown Pickett’s Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg (1863). It was a vicious yet suicidal Confederate Army’s assault on the Union Army’s defensive positions and marked the defeat of the South in this battle.
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| The steel industry was a decisive weight that tipped the balanced in favor of the North and against the South, in the American Civil War North vs South comparison. The steel industry made it possible mass production of weapons, railways tracks, and steam locomotives and ships. |