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360,000 dead) and the South about four hundred thousand casualties (about 258,000 dead) out of a population of perhaps 32 million for the entire nation (all these are estimates). This puts the military casualty total at about 1 million out of 30 million; thus, a 3 percent casualty rate.[129] The total number of men who were under arms was over 2.2 million in the North and just over 1 million in the South; thus, over 3 million men were under arms, which was 10 percent of the population at the time. Most nations in critical wars manage to field about 10 to 20 percent of their population, and thereafter, they are scrapping the bottom of the manpower[130] barrel. This was the bloodiest war in US history as of 2010 because all the dead and wounded were American.

Strategy—the North

General Winfield Scott designed the North’s war strategy. Scott’s plan was to established a naval blockade and then split the South into sectors which could be defeated one by one if necessary. The first thrust went down the Mississippi to New Orleans. Once the Mississippi River was under Union control Texas would be isolated and could not give aid to the east. The second splitting thrust started in Tennessee and drove to the coast of Georgia, thereby breaking off the resources and men of the Deep South from states farther north. This was termed the anaconda strategy after the boa constrictor snake because it squeezed the South into submission; however, except for the naval blockade this was anything but a strangulation strategy. This was an aggressive plan that required extensive offensive action.

General Scott’s strategy required extensive sets of armies and a large navy. Southern coastlines were long and peppered with small bays and harbors. A blockade of such a coastline required a substantial navy. The South gained an army and good military leadership upon secession as many excellent officers moved south to support their states. The strategy of General Winfield Scott recognized the need to conquer a map. To split the South into parts required at least two armies, both very large. The same applied to the naval blockade. The North had neither a large army nor navy, but it soon would have. The Federal navy expanded rapidly, and the blockade was one of the most important parts of winning the war. The blockade destroyed the South’s economy which was just as important as other strategic moves since it substantially weakened the ability of the South to fight. The other naval contribution was the riverboats that successfully bombarded the southern troops and forts in the west as the Union moved down the massive river systems into the South.[131]

Throughout the war Lincoln ran an efficient and focused government. Immediately seeing the strategic weakness of the South, Lincoln knew victory would be his if he just kept fighting. Even after disasters such as Fredericksburg, he knew losses the Union sustained could be replaced, but Southern losses could not. Lincoln also recognized the importance of the blockade. Lincoln threatened war when Great Britain neared the completion of two powerful commerce raiders for the South. England wisely refused delivery. Lincoln became a good military strategist, and decision makers in the Union government were clear on their goals from the moment the war began.[132] All Lincoln needed was a set of generals equal to his resolve to win. It took time to find them, but after he appointed Grant and Sherman to assault the South the war was won.

Strategy—the South

The South decided on the classic cordon defense strategy, wherein their armies protected invasion routes around the Confederate perimeter and awaited attacks from the North. This strategy is teeming with problems because the defender cannot quickly mass forces against the enemy. When the blow falls the defender is weak at the point of attack and must rally troops to stop the advance. The power of the North also enabled it to invade simultaneously from several directions requiring the South to spread its forces thin. When reading about Hitler’s Europe in WWII, we