The 6 Confederate Victories That Cost Far Too Much
7.4K views · Sep 21, 2026 · People & Blogs
Comments · 13
@michaelgirodat6955 · 2 days ago
Lee knew that a protracted conflict could only end in confederate defeat, thus he had no choice but to take great risks. Victory for the South consisted of survival, not conquest.
2
@georgecoventry8441 · 5 days ago
Good analysis. Lee's tactics were extremely aggressive, and usually very costly as well in terms of the lives lost. The South couldn't survive that in the long run. The North could, as long as their will to keep fighting held firm. It was a war the South could <b>only</b> win if the North simply lost the will to continue paying the bloody price of victory....and they did not, primarily, I think, because of Lincoln's leadership (and once he got Grant in command of the Union Army, the South was doomed).<br><br>A somewhat comparable situation was Napoleon's narrow and very bloody tactical victory against the Russians at Borodino in 1812. The French had won the field by nightfall, but they had failed to destroy the Russian Army, which withdrew in good order during the night. Napoleon then moved forward to take Moscow without a fight, but the city was empty, and whether by design or by happenstance much of it was soon in flames. Napoleon thought that occupying Moscow would cause the Russians to sue for peace. It did not! They had no intention of surrendering, and their army was still in the field, there was no food or other supplies in Moscow, and winter was coming. Napoleon had found himself in a trap, occupying an empty city that was useless to him, and the only thing he could do was march all the way back to the distant borders of the French Empire...through the Russian winter. It was a catastrophe, and he lost almost the entire Grande Armee in the retreat from Moscow. It was a loss of veteran troops the French Empire never recovered from. The Russians had played their hand very well, and Napoleon's tactical victory at Borodino meant little in the end, while costing a terrible price in blood (for both sides). A classic case of a tactical victory which led to a strategic defeat of epic proportions.
4
@athirumba · 4 days ago
The Battle of Franklin didn't make the list?
2
@MoeHapuku-Uri · 2 days ago
It must be great being able to share your so called wisdom about General Lee's conduct in the war ....AFTER THE FACT!.........I doubt any of you could have done better in his circumstances
1
Up next
He never said "War Is Hell" until years later. Atlanta burned so Cold Harbor wouldn't repeat.
The Price of Command · 930 views
What Did People in Ancient Rome Actually Do All Day?
Rome Unscrolled and Before Civilization · 1.3M views
The Civil War in the Old West: 10 Forgotten Battles
Marshal Nathan · 19K views
5 Times Stonewall Jackson Did the Impossible | With Historical Photos
Blue & Gray Briefing · 457 views
No American Unit Had Beaten the Japanese Army Until That Night
Filed under fire · 212K views
Stuart Went Looking for Glory. Lee Went Looking for His Cavalry.
The Price of Command · 1.5K views
The Night an Entire Army Walked Past the Confederacy
Valor Of History · 1.8K views
The Entire Battle of Gettysburg| war history for sleep
war historian sleepy and Historian Sleepy · 117K views
The ‘Ugly’ Knight Who Broke the English Army: Bertrand du Guesclin
Modern Historians · 13K views
The "Crude" Sponson Gun That Put A 75 mm Into The Desert A Full Year Early
The Blueprint Vault and WW2 Tactics · 40K views
The Tragic Story of the 51st Highlanders — the Division Sacrificed While Dunkirk Escaped
WW2 Regiments and 3 more · 12K views
The 6 Confederate Generals Who Nearly Destroyed Their Own Armies
Blue & Gray Briefing · 585 views
Why Confederate Trenches Became Death Traps at Petersburg
Blue & Gray Briefing · 165 views
The Room Where the Civil War Ended
C-SPAN's American History TV · 223K views
5 Times Robert E. Lee Was Almost Completely Destroyed
Blue & Gray Briefing · 249 views
The Victory That Destroyed the British Army
Ravelin · 137K views
What Really Happened to Confederate Generals After the War (Most People Don't Know)
Civil War Minutes and The Civil War Host · 20K views
7,000 Men Lost in One Hour — The Order That Went HORRIBLY Wrong
WAR WISER · 19K views
The Doomed Story of the 2nd Shock Army — the Soldiers Their Own General Betrayed
WW2 Regiments and WW2 Ruins · 28K views
22,717 Casualties in 12 Hours: The Bloodiest Day That Changed America Forever #HistoryDocumentary
The War Dossier · 845 views
Why British Officers Were STUNNED By American Training
German POWs WW2 · 124K views
The 5 Foolish Decisions Robert E. Lee Made
Blue & Gray Briefing · 118 views
Jackson rose from colonel to general in 19 months. At Chancellorsville, it needed three commanders.
The Price of Command · 803 views
Why Japanese Night Raids Worked on Every Army Except American Marines
WW2 Dispatch and WW2 Records · 596K views
Every Iconic Civil War General Explained in 27 Minutes
History Reload Quest · 13K views
Napoleon's Frozen Hell: 685,000 Enter Russia, 40,000 Return | 1812 Disaster
Dark History Class · 776K views