Why Was The Submarine So Pivotal? The Civil War?

The authors considered the psychological effect of the blockade to double as a mode of deterrence when it came to blockade running. A presence of Union ships on the southern coast was enough to deter Confederate ships from running through blockades and risk losing vessels of the small Confederate navy (Bonner and McCord 378). In relation to the authors’ thesis, the presence of a psychological effect forcing the southern populace to realize the consequences of the blockade, and reduce the number of raiders attempting to breach the blockade.

A submarine is defined as “something that functions or operates underwater; specifically: a naval vessel designed to operate underwater.” This definition holds true today but started at the beginning of the Civil War when submarines originally became a popular choice of weaponry. In general, submarine crews were composed of a commander, who steered the boat, and six or more men who used hand cranks to move the boat. Many inventors intended on creating electric motors to move the boat, but they were unable to produce enough torque. Submarines were primarily used in combat because they could travel invisibly. Innovations like submarines did not just change the way people fought wars–they also changed the way people lived.

Submarines, also known as U-boats. This U-boat was able to attack ships underwater without being spotted. The only Major problem is that it broke the International law. When the Germans attack a neutral ship, they are supposed to warn them beforehand but

Before World War II, the submarine was very predictable and easily managed with detection systems, depth detection, and antisubmarine forces. The aircrafts were harder to manage, and could easily penetrate enemy territory. It was not so predictable.[xii]

It can be debated where exactly the Union was able to claim its victory during the War Between the States. Most people could narrow the turning point in the war to Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The battle of Gettysburg was a very tragic loss for the South, but the battle at Vicksburg was the largest victory for the North. In this lone battle, the Union created an economic problem for the South. The Union Army’s troops, helped by gunboats and river ironclads took control over the Mississippi River. This action virtually split the Confederate territory in two while also seizing control over the South 's main artery of transport. When Vicksburg fell to Union troops on July 4, 1863, the Confederacy lost its last chance to control the Mississippi River.

McPherson’s account that the Confederates were unable to fight is not supported by his claims that the two groups of the Confederate soldiers continued waging war on two fronts even with the limited supplies occasioned by the cutting of the Texas supply corridor and the passage from Arkansas (McPherson, 2009). How could soldiers who were reeling from deprivation of all food supplies still engage in warfare?

In capturing Vicksburg, the Union had severed the Confederates into two halves entirely removing the Trans-Mississippi from the Confederate war effort. Removing the Trans-Mississippi from the war fatally crippled the South as the Trans-Mississippi had contained “nearly one million horses, 800,000 oxen, over 300,000 mules, and millions of cattle. The area was likewise a source of manpower. During the course of the war Texas furnished 58,000 men for Confederate armies, Louisiana provided 53,000, and Arkansas sent 45,000. Missouri and Indian Territory did not secede from the Union, but nonetheless sent 40,000 and 5,000 men, respectively, into rebel service.” (Prushankin, 2015). All of this and more, including huge quantities of molasses, cane sugar, sheep, oxen, cattle, mules, sweet potatoes, butter, wool, and salt, were transported through Vicksburg, until its surrender (Civil War Trust, n.d.). The capitulation of Vicksburg eliminated all of these supplies from the Southern war effort and wreaked havoc on the already struggling war machine of the South to provide food, arms and men to the army. Moreover, the loss of Vicksburg as an access route across the Mississippi cut off all of the Confederacy’s imports from Europe (Franklin, 2013). Routed through Mexico, European guns and machinery managed to partly offset the South's lack of industry and arms manufacturing businesses (Civil War Trust, n.d.). When this supply of new guns and machinery was ended, the South was forced to rely solely on its own insufficient manufacturing capabilities. The lack of new weapons and munitions factories would severely hinder the success of Southern armies as they struggled to keep their troops armed and ready to fight. Lastly, when the Union, by capturing Vicksburg, seized control of the Mississippi River or aptly called by biographer Lloyd Lewis “The spinal column of

nation of mechanics…You are bound to fail.” Union officer William Tecumseh Sherman to a Southern friend.

The Civil War was the bloodiest war in American history, as the schism between the North and the South turned friends into foes and brothers into sworn enemies. While this war is widely known for the battles that took place upon the land, the United States Navy contributed to the war effort upon the sea and rivers as well. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles had three objectives for the Navy during the Civil War and one of them was to blockade the Confederate State of America. The overall goal of the blockade was to stifle the Confederacy so that it could easily be defeated by the Union forces. However, the blockade was not the Navy’s most important contribution to the preservation of the Union, as the blockade failed to smother the Confederacy due to the poor ships that it was composed of and the inefficiencies that they presented.

The Civil War was an unusual war- and the odds were very bleak for the Confederacy at the start, yet they won most of the conflicts early on. The reason the confederates were not immediately beaten is largely due to the impressive tactical genius that they brought to the battlefield which allowed them to outmaneuver and slow Union forces until they finally ran out of money, soldiers, and supplies. The Civil War had almost the same number of casualties as all other wars in US history combined (McPherson and Bruce vi-vii). The Confederacy faced impossible odds, with almost all of the Union’s industry having been in the North even prior to the secession. The Confederate forces were about equal in size to those of the Union at the start,

The Confederates had a lot of success in their manufacturing venture. To be more specific, the Confederate Armies Ordnance department had done great piece

Therefore, the Border States felt they would be safe staying in the Union while the confederates fought a destructive war. The confederacy had the ability to persuade these states to secede in 1861 when President Lincoln ordered supplies to be brought to Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The north claimed they just wanted to keep the men in the fort alive, but there actions were provocative. Foolishly, the confederates fell for their plan and fired upon the fort. This made the South look like the aggressors in the war rather than the north, and persuaded the Border States not to secede as they felt their lifestyle was not going to be ruined by the north. If the South avoided this unnecessary conflict and instead waited for the north to attack first, it would confirm that the North wanted the confederates to succumb to their ideals and change their society to conform to their standards. The South almost certainly won if they had the Border States on their side. If acquired, they would double the confederates’ manufacturing and increase the white population by forty-five percent. The states also had a large supply of grain and edible goods, which the rest of the cotton-focused south lacked. Missouri and Maryland were especially important for their strategic locations. Missouri would protect the Mississippi River, while Maryland surrounded the Union’s capital in Washington D.C. on three sides.

“For better or worse, the political philosophies underlying the creation of the Confederate States of America, with its emphasis upon a strong state and a weak central government, coupled with its vast investments in a slave-labor-based agricultural economy, meant that the South had neither the ability nor the desire to develop the kind of industrial economy or centralized financial system required to sustain a “modern” war. By contrast, the Union’s willingness and ability to vastly increase the influence and footprint of the federal government not only contributed directly to its military success in the war, but it also transformed many other areas of national life, including industrial, economic, agricultural, mechanical, and financial realms.” (“Industry and Economy during the Civil War”) The Confederates States of America, was established by eleven states that left the Union. The Constitution for the Confederacy protected slavery, by viewing slaves as mere property. Also, they were devoted to a free market. The South believed in states’ rights. “A consistent source of tension was

The South was viewed by many in the United States and elsewhere as a robust, self-sufficient economy (Surdam, 2001, p. 1). It produced much of the world's supply of cotton and Texans bragged that their cattle could feed the world. What the South lacked in manufacturing was compensated for by the immense wealth produced from raw cotton, cattle, and corn exports. Obviously, the predictions that the South could survive a war with the North due to its economic self-sufficiency were wrong. This essay analyzes the possible reasons for the failure of the Confederacy to win the Civil War.

Submarines were effective and best known for sneaking on the enemy. They were lightly armored and served as easy prey if discovered. It also had small crew numbers which made it hard to take prisoners from captured steamships. Despite these reasons, the Germans were non reluctant to break the international rules of warfare. The Germans attacked and sank the British passenger ship carrying American civilians on board. The American people were in disbelief and accused Germany of violating international rules. However Germany disagreed to the accusations.