The events which would lead to the succession of the six states and the beginning of the American Civil War took place long before the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, or the adoption of the "Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union", in fact, one could argue that it was set in place from the moment the Thirteen Colonies broke free from their British tyrants.
Long has been debated the blame for the war, and long shall it continued to be debated. This is not a history of the causes, or of the moral justification of the actors involved in the Civil war, but an examination of the events therein.
1st July 1861
The ratio of land is not stacked in the favour of the Confederacy, however much of the land in the west of the Union is undeveloped farm land, the key industrial centers of the Union lie in the east, and it is expected that this is where the most Union resistance will lie. To attain our goals we must prevent the Union from shattering our armies and from taking our territories.
This will not be easy, and will require superhuman effort from all involved.
Our three generals, J.E.B. Stuart, Robert. E. Lee, and Thomas Jackson, lead their forces in the east, with Lee holding with Army of North Virginia near Manassas, facing the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James River across the state border, lead by Generals Grant and Sherman respectively.
Our armies are formed of regular soldiers, dragoons and artillery, and our technology is equal to that of the Union.
Our biggest problem is our economy, with General Scotts blockade snaking its way around the east coast and no access to the west coast, there is no way to export our main industry of cotton to Europe. This is a problem that will need to be solved, however our navy consists of the CSS Sumter, Alabama and Florida, small commerce raiding vessels.
The CSS Florida, prior to the outbreak of war.
So, the first actions of the Confederate government is to send diplomats to the nation with the largest navy in the world, Great Britain, to improve our relations with an eventual goal to bring them into the war on our side. Great Britain and Europe depend heavily on our cotton, so a subtle diplomatic indication of the effect the war will have on cotton supplies should help bring them to our side and away from the aggressors in the Union. At the same time, our army will require reorganisation and improvements to match the Union forces, and our navy will require...creation.
The decision is made not to challenge Sherman and Grant in Northern Virginia, but to pull back to Southern Virginia and form a defensive line with reinforcements from the west. At the same time, a call will go out for citizens to join up to the army of the Confederacy and receive training in order to face the Union forces.
