Confederate/Union Strengths and Weaknesses, Fort Sumter, and Bull Run

Both the Union and the Confederacy had certain strengths and weaknesses during the war. The Union had most of the population, farms, factories, railroads, telegraphs, and they controlled the Navy. However, they had to attack land. The Confederates only had to defend, and they had most of the really good generals in their army. But, they lacked population, factories, railroads, telegraphs, and were not respected as their own country by other nations.

There were a few very important battles at the beginning of the war. The first battle was Fort Sumter. It was a Union fort in a Confederate state. The very first shot fired of the war was at Fort Sumter. The Union lost the fort and the battle.

The second battle was the Battle of Bull Run, or Manassas. Many people around this time saw battles as a form of entertainment. The Union was very confident with themselves as they went into this battle, and thought that they would win the war within a few months. However, during the battle, they started to see that the Confederates were fighting back and that it wouldn't be an easy win. Many Union soldiers fled, and those who didn't were very disappointed with the outcome of the battle.

Fort Sumter
Bull Run