The truth is, the only reason the south lost the war was due to Lincoln’s resolve to win it at any cost. Both side had several great Generals, good equipment, Good brave dedicated soldiers, and a strong will to win. But without European support, the south never could withstand a TOTAL WAR against the north at the time. One main reason the war lasted 4 years was largely due to the fact that the south had so many great generals willing to fight compared to the north, who also had great generals (just not in the right position at the beginning of the war).

Why the south lost the Civil War?

Government and populace on both sides had similar will and determination to win, however,

1. The south never received European recognition.
2. Manpower in the north was far greater then in the south.
3. Industrial capacity was far greater in the north then in the south.
4. The north had control of most of the nations warships.
5. The north had the advantage to continue commerce and trade with minimal disruptions.
6. Much greater wealth in the north.

Although the south had cotton (cotton is king), they overestimated the need for this raw material in Europe during the beginning of the war. So Europe never helped to break the north’s blockade, preventing easy commerce and trade to take place. Thus devastating the economy in the south.

Why did the north win? Abraham Lincoln, period.

I believe his best Generals on the attack were Jackson, his Shenandoah battles are legendary. He too was charismatic but in a different way than Lee. He was great on the offense but had the genius to avoid major losses;

Longstreet, he was well rounded and was able to be effective on both the offense and the defense. Had Lee listened to Jackson at Gettysburg I believe that the battle would have been a stalemate at worst, and a victory at best. Whether a victory would have allowed the South to eventually win is problematic at best. The variables are so enormous as to negate a clear outcome.

Stuart, he was arguably the best cavalry commander on either side. Again, he had the charisma to infect his troopers with the will to win in spite of the odds. His positive and negative trait was his flambouyancy. That he made the grave mistake of not being where Lee wanted him in the prelude leading up to Gettysburg will always be one of the big questionmarks regarding possible South victory at Gettysburg.

The south had numerous divisional commanders that were, in my opinion, superior to the North's. Unfortunately, great divisional commanders do not necessarily make good corps commanders. After the losses of Johnston, Jackson and many other broad thinking commanders, Lee had to rely on commanders who while they excelled on the line could not effectively command at the corps level.

To sum, in my mind the asolute best team of generals on either side of the civil war were the Lee, Longstreet and Jackson. While they were very different in personality and temprament, when united in battle they were virtually unbeatable.

No so with Grant. In my opinion, Grant won by superior numbers not in my mind by superior tactics or operational skills. He simply wore them down by attrition. Had the roles been reversed, by puttlin Lee in his place on the Union side, I believe Lee could have significantly shortened the war and the carnage that followed.

The Civil in my mind will remain one of our greatest enigmas.

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Combat losses and other losses together were not 110,00 verses 94,000

The dead were UNION 360,000 combat and decease
The Dead SOUTHERN 258,000 combat and decease

THE SOUTH lost 110,000 LESS than the NORTH did.

The south were always outnumbered, and yet they always inflicted the same or a greater Kill ration.

Best of all the battle II Fredericksburg the North had the High Ground and still the south had fewer loses. I regret to say that Lee needed Jackson then most of all. LEE became delusional that his men were unbeatable. Jackson could had convinced him that it was not worth fighting. THE SOUTH ALWAYS faired better as a DEFENSIVE ARMY

As for the Southern Leaders. Robert E. Lee was a much better Gen. than Grant.. HOWEVER, Lee depended on THOMAS Jackson as his right hand man. HE even stated "Jackson has lost his left arm and I have lost my right. Next when Jackson died due to the infection sickness that followed the wounds, LONGSTREET became Lees next best choice.

The Souths best Generals
Robert Lee
Thomas Jackson
Gen. Longstreet
Gen. Hood
Gen Braxton Bragg
Nathan Forrest not one of my choices.