GDG- Lost Cause and Inevitability

[William Richardson]

From: "CWMHTours at aol.com" <CWMHTours at aol.com>
To: gettysburg at arthes.com 
Sent: Monday, January 23, 2012 4:07 PM
Subject: Re: GDG- Lost Cause and Inevitability

Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
"Failure of will of will in the South".

The concept is good, Jack, but in light of the situation in  winter '65 
wouldn't you say that it was obvious to everyone in the South, except  for Jeff 
Davis who had flies in his eyes, that the war was lost?

At some point, regardless of the strength of your will to  fight, after 
taking some bruising you eventually have to admit that you just  can't win in 
the face of the odds.

"Will to fight" had nothing to do with it in the South at the  end of the 
war.  
By that time staying in the fight for Southernors was almost a  matter of 
suicide.

Hence the high level of desertion in Richmond/Petersburg, some  200 a day?

Circa/post Appomattox, the South DID have options.  There  was serious 
consideration to just taking Johnston's and Lee's armies into the  Appalachians 
and beginning a REALLY BIG guerilla war.  Which easily could  have been done 
and was quite a concern to the Union high command.

Jay Winik in his EXCELLENT book (Look! I am praising a  book for a change)  
"April 1865" Jay goes into the issues rather  well.  Loved his book and he 
is a speaker not to be missed.  A nice  man.  Professor at U. Md in College 
Park.

To risk a HOOK(!) in jumping to the modern times George W.  Bush read his 
book, passed it onto his staff, and invited Jay to dinner at the  White House 
where he proceeded to pump his brain for  perspective on insurgent/guerilla 
warfare. 

Will to fight...  You could enter a boxing ring to box  with Michael Tyson 
(THNX George) with the hughest-ever will-to-fight and once he  beats the 
crap out of you and you are lying on the canvas barely alive you can  still 
have the will to fight.  Won't do you much good,  tho. 

"Just  the facts, ma'am." 

Your Most Obediant Servant
Peter   

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Peter,

  The North just out willed the South is all..........:)  They didn't need an army they had Lincoln. :)
As it's been said many times " As long as Lincoln was president the South could not win" 

By the way Peter very good response.
 
Respectfully,

     William Richardson
     Mount Gilead, North Carolina

" The direct cause of the outbreak of the War Between The States was slavery; the direct object of the prosecution of the war was the preservation of the Union. "