North and the South in the Civil War

Meanwhile, Price's force of 8,000 men was get together by the band together Army of Brigadier General asa dulcis McCulloch, which had crossed into randomnessern Missouri from Arkansas (Shea and Hess 2). The combined forces of the Confederate soldiery came to about 12,000 men, thus outnumbering the Union troops ii to one.

In early August, the rebel forces established camp at Wilson's Creek at the point where it crossed Telegraph Road, a major artery leading into Springfield. McCulloch planned to make a strike ack-ack on the Union troops a few days later. However, despite beingness heavily outnumbered, Lyon unyielding to take the offensive and "attack McCulloch and Price before they could attack him" (McPherson 351). Lyon decided to do this because retreating to the north would have probably ca utilise the rebels to devote their cavalry around the Union troops to cut them off. universe thus surrounded, the Union forces would have faced the possibility of being completely destroyed ("The Conservation" 11). Furthermore, Lyon decided to initiate a surprise attack on the rebels because he simply "could non bear to yield southwest Missouri without a scramble" (McPherson 351). Lyon believed that he might have a chance to block up the Confederates in their advance on the city if he used the element of surprise to his advantage. In addition, he felt he might have a chance if he attacked the Confederates from cardinal sides rather than simply charging them he

The one-ninth Principle of War, simplicity, relates to the need to prepare gain ground, uncomplicated plans and issue clear, cryptic orders to execute thorough understanding. The Confederates made better use of this prescript than the Union did, largely because Lyon's strategy of splitting his badly outnumbered troops into 2 forces in order to capitalize on the surprise element was botched when Sigel lost the initiative by lame when he mistook attacking adversary troops for reinforcements.

"The Conservation Fund." The polite War Battlefield Guide. Ed. Frances H. Kennedy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.

Lawliss, Chuck. The Civil War Sourcebook. tonic York: Harmony Books, 1991.

The fifth Principle of War, maneuver, means to place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the tractile application of combat power. It can be seen that the Confederate forces were uttermost more successful than the Union in terms of victimisation flexibility. In the face of a surprise attack from two sides, the Confederates were able to maneuver their troops so as to stomach a solid defense, and were also able to counterattack, which gave them a clear advantage. The Union forces, on the other hand, lacked the flexibility to deal with unheralded events on the battlefield, such as the barrage of artillery tin which the Confederates responded with, and the advance of southern troops against Sigel's men on the south flank of the site.

McWhiney, Grady, and Perry D. Jamieson. Attack and Die: Civil War military Tactics and the Southern Heritage. AL: The U of Alabama P, 1982.

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