"Wholly abandoning the principle of voluntary enlistments, the date of this law, February 17 [1864], was such that with proper foresight and statesmanship the new organizations could speedily have been formed into an army of the second line, which, opportunely brought to the support of the hard-pressed troops in the field, might possibly have insured the triumph of the Confederate arms."
That's profound. He is stating that as late as 1864 the Confederates could have won if they had managed their enlistments properly.
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David Upton