The Civil War started after several little things the South and North did not agree with. After years of Compromisesthe Union split. It would only take a spark to start the Civil War. April 12, 1861 the Civil War started at Fort Sumter when a federal outpost in Charleston, South Carolina was attacked by Confederate troops. The North and the South rushed into battle, yet they were both unprepared. In the end, about 620,000 lost their lives throughout the 4 years of fighting.
The North’s (Union) advantages were they had more population than the South’s, its network of roads, canals, and railroads and the North had money and industrial economy, banking system, and currency. The South’s (Confederates) advantages were its strong military tradition and brilliant officers into battle, food for its armies, and its strategic advantage. The Union’s strategy was constructed of two-parts: destroy the South’s economy with a naval blockade of southern ports and gain control of the Mississippi River to divide the South; others urged an attack on the Confederate Capital. The South strategy was to wear down the North and to capture Washington, D.C. Confederate president Jefferson Davis also tried to win foreign allies using cotton diplomacy.
The North’s (Union) advantages were they had more population than the South’s, its network of roads, canals, and railroads and the North had money and industrial economy, banking system, and currency. The South’s (Confederates) advantages were its strong military tradition and brilliant officers into battle, food for its armies, and its strategic advantage. The Union’s strategy was constructed of two-parts: destroy the South’s economy with a naval blockade of southern ports and gain control of the Mississippi River to divide the South; others urged an attack on the Confederate Capital. The South strategy was to wear down the North and to capture Washington, D.C. Confederate president Jefferson Davis also tried to win foreign allies using cotton diplomacy.