Could the South have won?

[KG_SSpoom]

Just to start a little healthy debate.
What do you think and why.

[KG_Soldier]

Not in a conventional war because of the North's industrial capacity. However, if the idea of insurgent warfare had been around, the South could have held off Northen occupation indefinately.

[KG_SSpoom]

Remember the south would not have had to conquer the North to win.
A southern victory could have just been holding on to their own.
What if the border states had swung to the south? That alone would have cut down on the Norths manpower and Industrial advantage.
If male slaves would have been offered freedom to take up arms(highly unlikely especially early) they could have affected more than just numbers.
Possibly opening the door for European Intervention/recognition.

[KG_SSpoom]

Actually near the end Insurgent/guerilla war was contemplated. R.E. Lees own nephew Fitzhugh Lee left Appomattox with his calvary and was planning on doing just that, but returned 2 day later having had a change of heart.
There are also the examples of Mosesbys raiders who actually raided into Ohio. Also the bloody very unconventional war out west by poeple like Bil Quantrill in Kansas and Missouri and his Northern counterparts,both sides filled with criminals who were taking advantage of the war raging in the East by flying the flags of the North or South to cover their cmostly criminal actions.
Some also say that the Norths policies in the Shenandoah valley and Shermans march to the sea were nothing short of terrorism, that being the war waged upon civilians by burning homes, crops and anything that could potentially support the Southern war effort. So late in the war it was not just conventional.

[KG_Soldier]

Without question, looking back, if the South had recognized the political power freeing the slaves would have given them, they could have easily won the war. Very interesting Steve, I never thought about that before. However, this is a good example of how easy it is to know what decisions SHOULD have been made. It's a little harder "in the moment" huh.

[KG_SSpoom]

There were some Southern Generals who thought that slaves should have been offered freedom for serving right from the beginning.Richard Ewell actually suggested this to Jefferson Davis at the beginning of the war.
It was basically political or Militarily suicide to feel that way early on though.
This thread is a what if thread. So all theories or options are open for debate =)

[KG_Kharkov]

A Southern win at Gettysburg forces the Union to the peace table. Jackson's death at Chancellorsville is a pivotal point in World history. With his Corps under his command and not split amongst three generals, it's quite possible that Lee wins at Gettysburg on Day 1 or Day 2. A forced peace is negotiated, the US never intervenes in World War 1 and historical changes abound.

[KG_Jag]

The South wins only if it can convince the North to quit.

The North won the war in the west. In the east until the very end of the war when never ending waves of constant attack and attrition was conducted by Grant, the North was too strong to lose militarily and the South was too smart to lose.