While the North fought to preserve the Union, the South fought for independence. Though often romanticized, the war was one of the bloodiest and most divisive events in U.S. history. The conflict claimed the lives of more than half a million soldiers, wounded four hundred thousand, and cost $20 billion.
The Civil War raged for four years, with little movement toward victory on one side or the other for the first two years. Though the Northern or Union army outmanned the Confederate army nearly three to one (2.2 million Union troops vs. 800,000 Confederate troops), it lacked strong leadership and a cohesive battle plan. The Confederates, on the other hand, had the gifted General Robert E. Lee at the helm and the strength of conviction on their side. Southerners believed firmly in their right to secede and-much like the colonists of the American Revolution-fought for their right to independent rule.
Before the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, the North had little moral ground or rationale to bolster their effort except for preservation of the Union. For this and other reasons, patriotism in the North waned after the onset of battle.
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