You keep saying Lee knew what he wanted but Davis wouldn't give it to him. Therefore Davis was the one who caused the South to go home to no home. If I do not see Davis not giving Lee what he wanted as a problem, that's my interpretation. It is another way of thinking it through. Davis didn't take a few other problems out of the field til it was almost mutiny and mayhem. He allowed Bragg to stay in command in the field when he should have been brought into the office. Bragg was good at training troops but fell short in leading them. Maybe if Davis had sent him a few thousand armed former slaves he would have improved. I really do not think that would have been the case.
There are so many angles and twist to the entire mess that one reason cannot be why the South didn't stay independent. That is my opinion though. A few days ago I said that Davis and the gang also had to consider the matter of property rights. Yes, slavery was abominable. We all agree on that. The thing is, it was legal at the time this war took place. Yes, they were property. In a reply to another poster you made reference to the 'property' post. As much as we may wish to change things that happened 150 years ago, we cannot. We must understand what the entire picture was about. Not the short clip. We also need to understand that all of the Monday morning quarterbacking isn't going to give us the answer on how they could have won.
This war, the one we are talking about, was fought on Southern soil. It was saturated with blood. Seems like both sides blood was the same color. Homes were destroyed. Lives were destroyed. It was a disaster for those who fought for the Confederacy and had to come home and see what little was left. Three of my GGGrandfathers fought for the South. All three of them went home to nothing. They all moved here around the same time and had very little to start over with. It was brutal. Not even going into the fact they could not meet together because that was forbidden. Not gonna mention the carpetbaggers. Everyone knows they were scum. It had to be very difficult for them to leave the area they knew as home and bring their wives to a strange new town but they adjusted. They didn't seem to be all that angry at Lee, Davis or any other. Oh, 2 of those 3 had no slaves before the war started. One had 2.
JakeO, you keep saying Lee knew what he wanted but Davis wouldn't provide it. I've got to admit, I do worship Robert E. Lee. He was one of those people that almost make you think of sainthood. Just because one request something doesn't always mean they must get it though. Yes, he knew what he wanted. He wanted Pickett to take his men across an open field and up a hill while the enemy was firing real cannons, rifles and anything else they may have on em. Maybe Davis remembered that.
Pam