The Modern War.

In comparison to other nineteenth-century conflicts, the American Civil War was a modern war. This is not surprising for, as historian James McPherson states, "every war is more modern than the previous one." Before 1861, wars, especially in Europe, were won by outmaneuvering enemy forces. Casualties were not excessive and efforts were made to respect private property and civilians. During the Civil War, however, enemy forces attacked each other in frontal assaults in which the victors suffered just as much as the losers. For the first time in American history, armies of more than one hundred thousand men fought in major battles ending in extremely high casualty rates. Confiscation of private property and uprooting civilians from their private residences also became common practice. In addition, innovations in weapons and military tactics forced Civil War commanders to revolutionize battlefield strategy; trench warfare, for example, moved the Civil...