Postings that indicated that there were surplus supplies in certain Confederate states are well founded. We need to be aware of the fact that many "privateers" or smugglers were rampant during the WBTS.

Many fortunes were earned by the purchase of goods in Western European Countries, i.e. England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain as well as Islands i.e. Burmuda, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, etc.

Some of the privateers were making purchases solely under the auspices of the Confederate Quartermaster Corps and for the sole benefit of the Confederate Government.

A great majority of these privateers were owned and operated solely for the benefit of their private owners.

In other words...invest in goods in a foreign country at a low price per unit; risk being sunk by a Union or Confederate ship on the high seas; risk being capured while attempting to run the blockade established around the major Confederate ports and having the entire cargo confascated; if all of these "risks" were avoided...the goods were then sold to the "highest bidder" and sometimes the "highest bidder" was the government of one of the Confederate States.

Governors Brown of Georgia and Vance of North Carolina were two of the most independent minded of the Confederate State governors. There are several documented instances of both Governors refusing to ship men and materials to the centeral Confederate government. Most states who suceeded from the U.S. had the idea of a very weak central government and a very strong state government within the Confederency. A weak central government was likely one of the contributing reasons that the Confederate's were finally defeated.

This post should generate much discussion amoung the "Choir" on this board and will likely generate many counter-points to the statement.

I do not have a specific source for my opinions and ramblings but these thoughts have been gleaned from much reading from various historical Civil War writings as well as government documents from the Civil War era.