by Rachael Lee

Created on: October 24, 2008

The South lost the Civil War due to the traits that made the South, and Southerners, unique. The South was the voice of our Country. While freedom from England may have begun with those in the North, it took a Southerner to give it a voice. That Southern Voice, to be allowed to do things as they pleased, was a bone of contention that did not rest until after the Civil War.

The South had many good generals and many honorable men who fought because they believed in the cause of States Rights and they wanted to protect their homeland from the 'damn yankees' who were invading it. They almost succeeded in their gallant quest with less food, less ammunition and less men to fight than their opponents, dragging on a contest that should have been over in a matter of months given the many advantages the North had, for nearly five bloody years.

Southern attitude, while one of the most important things about the South, caused its undoing. The South was not organized with munitions, people or supplies to fight a war. They formed a government and an army using the principal that 'everyone was created equal' without realizing the implications it would have on their army. An army, like a government, must have a head. They realized too late that they needed that head and placed General Lee at the head of the army. He had to fight as much with command and other generals as he did with his opponent. He was too much of a gentleman to not respect the authority they represented. Granted, he advocated some ideas that may have not been very popular in that government - recommending that President Davis free the slaves before Lincoln brought it to bear as the main cause of the argument. The cause was states rights until the emancipation proclamation turned it to bear on other agenda items. General Forrest, however, may have had the better idea - hit 'em "firstest with the mostest!"

The South was much more suited to fight a guerrilla war than the formalized war that was fought. During the Revolutionary War in the South, guerrilla warfare caused more damage to the British than did the formal warfare that was waged. Both psychologically and physically exhausting on those being attacked, guerrilla warfare took a far greater toll on the enemy than pitched battles. It also kept them off 'kilter' because they never knew when to expect an attack. Forrest was an expert on that type of warfare, some called him a genius while others called him a 'devil'. He played tricks on the enemy, making them think he had many more men that he actually did and the people loved him, sharing what little they had with his men.

In the end, it was truly the lack of so many vitals - food, ammunition, guns, horses and people that was the South's undoing. Only their stiff-necked pride and their honor kept them fighting, some with their bare hands because they no longer had guns, marching in bear feet and nearly naked in the cold snow of Northern Virginia. They fought for their Country, their families, their brothers-in-arms and because they could bear to lose the fight.

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