Leslie Cliburn

History 330- Section 2

Paper #2
Defeat of the South
There are various theories and speculations as to why the South lost

the Civil War, but after studying the course readings there are several

reasons as to why the South lost. During the Civil War the South fought a

style of warfare known as guerilla style. This type of small group fighting

could not and would not be a sufficient way of measuring up to the Unions

organized Federal Army. Not only would these small militia armies of the

Confederacy not stack up well against trained soldiers they also had internal

problems as well. The most common problem with the Confederacys internal

problems was that a high percentage of the soldiers serving would dessert

the army. With the Union army having trained soldiers and the fact that

Confederate soldiers were leaving left and right only could mean a definite

victory for the Union army. This seems to be one of the biggest and most

valid reasons that the South would not win the war.

As the South had problems fighting the North in the Civil War, the

home front also experienced problems as well. The readings painted a pretty

picture of what the home front was like for the South. The people of the

South were afraid to leave their homes because of the fact that the war was

taking place outside of their homes. This war was not taking places on

battlefields during each battle but was fought on peoples lands and homes.

Throughout the readings we see that people were shot on accident while in
their own homes because the war was taking place right outside. These

people were scared for their lives. Not only were they having to take care of

themselves but they were having to take care of injured Confederated

soldiers as they were shot in battle. The women of these households would

make meals and try to tend to these injured soldiers. We see in one story a

women who let the soldiers dip their bacon in her grease just to help provide

them a tasteful meal. The experience on the home front was not a pleasant

site and would not see any normality until after the war.

The experience of Mississippi during the Civil War was different from

that of the states in the North. The war was fought in a majority of

Mississippi unlike those of the Northern states. As we have seen the war was

fought on the properties and homes of Mississippians making it much

different from the non-war zones of the North. This was one reason that not

all Mississippians agreed or were supporters of the Confederacy. This also

could be part of the reason the South had so many deserters. It is hard to

fight for something that you do not want any part of. Another reason not all

Mississippians were enthusiastic supporters of the Confederacy is because

most Mississippians were not slave owners and this was a war over slavery.

There would be no reason to fight a war when there were not any benefits for

them and for these reasons, unlike popular belief, not all Mississippians were

in support of the Confederate army.

The slaves on the other hand had multiple reactions to the Civil War.

Once the Union army arrived in the South some of them joined and helped
fight for the Union army while others stayed and helped their masters wife.

This shows that there were different popular beliefs about slavery. Some

wanted to remain slaves because they had a place to stay and food to eat

while others wanted to escape and fight for a bigger cause which was their

freedom. Slaves also had different views upon the news of their freedom.

Many of the slaves took the news with great pride and many migrated to the

North to enjoy their new freedom and way of life. On the other hand others

stayed in the South and though they were technically free they remained

working for their previous masters in return for room and board. Either way

the African Americans took freedom in different ways.

In conclusion, the Civil War impacted the South greatly. Wars were

fought on the home fronts and many lives were taken. The Confederacy

could not establish an army strong enough to out match the Union army and

therefore would fall. Upon news of their defeat some slaves gladly received

their freedom while others remained working on the plantations for their

masters. In the end though, the Civil War had a major impact not only on

American History but Mississippi History as well.