![]() ![]() President Jefferson Davis agreed early in the war he seems to have envisaged a strategy like that of George Washington in the Revolution. ![]() Just as England during the revolution had to give up conquering the colonies so the North will have to give up conquering the South." No war of independence ever terminated unsuccessfully except where the disparity of force was far greater than it is in this case. It is one thing to drive the rebels from the south bank of the Potomac, or even to occupy Richmond, but another to reduce and hold in permanent subjection a tract of country nearly as large as Russia in Europe. The military analyst of the Times of London offered the following comments early in the war: The large territory of the Confederacy-750,000 square miles, as large as Russia west of Moscow, twice the size of the thirteen original United States-would make Lincolns task as difficult as Napoleons in 1812 or George III's in 1776. The South could "win" the war by not losing the North could win only by winning. Confederates looked for inspiration to the heroes of 1776, who had triumphed over greater odds than southerners faced in 1861. The basic war aim of the Confederacy, like that of the United States in the Revolution, was to defend a new nation from conquest. In their contrasting offensive-and defensive-mindedness, Beauregard and Johnston represented the polarities of southern strategic thinking. Johnston, a small, impeccably attired, ambitious but cautious man with a piercing gaze and an outsized sense of dignity. Heading the Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley was Gen. Beauregard, the dapper, voluble hero of Fort Sumter, Napoleonic in manner and aspiration. The Confederate commander at Manassas was Brig. Link To This Page - Contact Us - Confederate Strategy ![]()
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