What were the South's two main military strategies at the beginning of the war?%0D%0A%0D%0A(1 point)%0D%0AResponses%0D%0A%0D%0Ablockade Union ports along the Mississippi River and capture border states%0D%0Ablockade Union ports along the Mississippi River and capture border states%0D%0A%0D%0Apreserve its small armies while doing enough damage to erode the Union's will to fight%0D%0Apreserve its small armies while doing enough damage to erode the Union's will to fight%0D%0A%0D%0Amass troops in northern Virginia and capture Washington, D.C., to force a quick Union surrender%0D%0Amass troops in northern Virginia and capture Washington, D.C., to force a quick Union surrender%0D%0A%0D%0Adestroy northern railroad lines and raise an army of enslaved African American soldiers

Answer 1

At the beginning of the American Civil War, the Confederate States of America, often referred to as the South, had a couple of key military strategies:

1. Defensive War of Attrition: Preserving their smaller armies while inflicting enough damage on Union forces to erode the North's will to fight. This strategy relied on the belief that if the Confederacy could hold out long enough and make the war costly for the Union in terms of resources and lives, Northern public opinion might turn against the war effort, and the Union might eventually seek a negotiated peace that would recognize Southern independence.

2. Offensive-Defensive Strategy: This involved defending Confederate territory from Union invasions while launching offensives when opportunities presented themselves. This could potentially include an attempt to capture Washington, D.C., or other strategic points in the North. The goal was to deliver significant blows that would sway public opinion in the Northern states against the war, as well as to possibly gain foreign recognition and support.

The strategies mentioned regarding blockading Union ports along the Mississippi River and capturing border states, massing troops to capture Washington, D.C., and destroying northern railroad lines and raising an army of enslaved African American soldiers were not the main strategies of the South. The Confederacy did attempt some offensives into Union territory (such as the invasions of Maryland and Pennsylvania), but these were not the primary strategies at the start of the war.

The most accurate response among the options given would be:
"preserve its small armies while doing enough damage to erode the Union's will to fight".