1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 630 Strength Comparison

There is no doubt that the strength of the North in multiple dimensions is much stronger than that of the South and the West.

In terms of population, as of the end of February 1861, the North had a total population of more than 23 million, the South had a total population of 10.5 million, and the effective population that the Western regime could control was about 5.2 million (including 1.3 million Mexicans).

At first glance, it seems that the population gap between the Southern Confederacy and the North is not very large. However, since the South practices slavery, among the 10.5 million people, more than 4.5 million are black slaves and slaves from Southeast Asia and Japan.

The free people in the South, that is, the population that can be mobilized and transformed into war potential, are only 6 million, which is only slightly higher than the West, and only a little more than a quarter of the total population of the North.

In terms of industrial output value. The North has a large-scale industry with an annual industrial output value of up to 1.73 billion US dollars.

After two five-year plans, the West has also initially established a relatively complete and self-sufficient industrial system, but in terms of industrial volume, it is still not comparable to the North. The industrial output value of the West is 550 million US dollars.

The industrial output value of the South is 250 million US dollars, not even half of that of the West, not to mention the North. The industrial output value of New York State alone in the North has exceeded that of the South.

There are industrial cities everywhere in the North, including developed industrial cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and countless small and medium-sized industrial cities. The West also has three industrial cities, Jinshan, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, as well as small and medium-sized industrial cities such as Portland, Liangzhou City, and San Diego.

The only cities in the South that can be called industrial cities are Richmond, Houston, and Austin. Compared with the industrial cities in the North and the West, Richmond, Houston, and Austin can only be regarded as medium-sized cities at best. As for New Orleans, the largest city in the South at this time, it is not an industrial city, but only a commercial city.

In terms of manufacturing facilities (including factories and small handicraft workshops), the North has 118,000 manufacturing facilities, the West has 33,000 industrial facilities, and the South has only 21,000 industrial manufacturing facilities.

Among them, many of these in the South rely on technology and professional workers provided by the North or the West to operate normally. If the connection with the North and the West is completely cut off, it would be a blessing if a quarter of the 21,000 industrial facilities in the South can remain in normal operation.

In terms of industrial workers, the North has 1.42 million industrial workers, the West has 380,000 industrial workers, and the South has only 180,000 industrial workers.

In terms of steel production, the annual steel production of the North in 1860 was 1.36 million tons (of which the annual steel production of Pennsylvania alone was as high as 600,000 tons), the annual steel production of the West was 430,000 tons, and the South was less than 50,000 tons, not even a fraction of Pittsburgh, the steel capital of the North (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has a steel production of 270,000 tons).

In terms of railway mileage, the railway mileage of the North is more than 25,000 miles, the South is 11,000 miles, and the West is 7,600 miles.

In terms of urbanization rate, the urbanization rate in the North is 35%, in the South is 8%, and in the West is 44%.

Even in the agricultural field that the South is proud of, the South is not as good as the North. Of course, the agricultural output value of the South is still much higher than that of the West, after all, the South grows high-value cash crops. The number of farms in the South is only half of that in the North, and the agricultural output value is less than half of that in the North.

In terms of crop types, the North mainly grows food crops such as wheat, vegetables, and fruits, the South grows cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, and sugar, and the West grows everything.

Because cash crops have squeezed out a large amount of agricultural land in the South, although the South claims to have developed agriculture, it cannot even be self-sufficient in food and bread freedom, and needs to export cash crops in exchange for wheat. In this regard, the South is not even as good as the Western region, which has achieved food self-sufficiency at least four or five years ago.

In terms of the navy, the Northern Federal Government Navy has more than 8,000 people and more than 90 ships of various sizes, including nearly 40 cutting-edge steam warships. The South's naval power is about 0, and only the Republic of Texas has a relatively high-quality green-water fleet.

The above data also includes the Republic of Texas' data in the South. If Texas is excluded, the data of the Confederacy will only be uglier.

Of course, compared with the North, the South and the West are not without any advantages.

Among the top leaders of the three parties, Davis, the top leader of the South, and Liang Yao, the top leader of the West, have a stronger military background than Lincoln, the top leader of the North.

Davis, the top leader of the South, graduated from the West Point Military Academy, served in the regular army, participated in the Mexican-American War, and was promoted to brigadier general. During the Mexican-American War, Davis commanded the army and even served as the Secretary of War of the United States. Davis is friends with many generals and has great prestige in the army.

Liang Yao, the top leader of the West, was also promoted to brigadier general before leading the three states on the west coast to withdraw from the federation. The Buchanan government also had the idea of ​​promoting Liang Yao to lieutenant general. This is recognized by the federal government. Although the federal government issued a statement that it did not recognize Liang Yao's rank of general, it still recognized Liang Yao's rank of brigadier general.

Liang Yao led his troops to participate in wars in the Far East and Southeast Asia, as well as the Second Mexican-American War and some local civil wars. He is the general with the most practical experience in the American military in recent years.

Lincoln, the supreme leader of the Northern Federation, had a poor record in the army. Lincoln served in the Illinois militia, the so-called straw-foot troops. He had no experience in serving in regular troops, and had never served as a middle or senior officer to command a battle.

Although Lincoln also participated in actual combat, it was against the Indian natives. Compared with the brilliant military resumes of Liang Yao and Davis, Lincoln's military achievements during his service were obviously not up to par.

Although Lincoln won the wrestling championship, it was just a brave man. Moreover, in terms of personal bravery, Davidson and Liang Yao were not inferior.

Lincoln was a politician and orator, but not a military strategist. This was the general view of all walks of life at this time.

In addition, although the North had an overwhelming advantage in military and war potential compared to the South and the West, in terms of preparation for war, it was obvious that the South and the West were more fully prepared.

America's important arsenals, military fortresses, and many naval bases are located in the South. After announcing their withdrawal from the Union, the southern states quickly took control of these military facilities. By the end of February 1861, there were only a few military facilities in the South controlled by the federal government.

It is estimated that after controlling these military facilities, the South obtained more than 250,000 rifles, more than 500 large and small artillery pieces, and countless military items such as gunpowder and detonators.

The Federal Government's War Department roughly estimated that the military facilities and related military supplies occupied by the South were worth more than 35 million US dollars.

Including the weapons inventory that the South already had, the South now had more than 430,000 standard rifles, nearly 1,000 artillery pieces, and relatively sufficient ammunition.

Backed by a sufficient arsenal, the South had enough weapons to arm a powerful armed force at the beginning of the war and enough ammunition to fight several large battles.

In fact, the South did the same. During the 1860 election, many knowledgeable people in the South had already predicted that Lincoln, the Republican Party, would win the election. Military organizations in various parts of the South sprang up like mushrooms after rain with the support of local gentry. By the end of February 1861, the South had assembled a volunteer army of about 100,000 people.

South Carolina has been providing military training to all men of military age since 1848, so it can be said that all men in the state are soldiers.

At this time, the North had organized no more than 50,000 military personnel, of which only more than 17,000 were regular soldiers.

At this time, the Southern Army was not only larger in number than the Northern Army, but also better in quality. The South has always been known for its tough folk customs, and most of the Southern soldiers have participated in the two Mexican-American Wars, and their actual combat experience is much richer than that of the Northern Army.

Although the South's industrial strength is weak, since 1850, the South has attached great importance to the military industry and has allocated a lot of resources to it.

The Richmond Arsenal can produce more than 70,000 guns of all kinds annually if the raw materials are sufficient and the production is at full capacity, and the Austin Arsenal can produce more than 35,000 rifles annually. These two military factories can basically meet the current demand for light weapons by the Southern Army.

Although the steel output of Richmond's Tredegar Steel Plant and Austin's Steel Plant cannot be compared with the large steel plants in Pittsburgh and Gold Mountain, the steel produced by the factory is of excellent quality and can be used to make weapons.

Moreover, both the Richmond Arsenal and the Austin Arsenal have the ability to produce heavy artillery, but the technology of Richmond Arsenal to produce heavy artillery comes from the North, and the technology of Austin Arsenal to produce heavy artillery comes from the West.

The so-called claim that the South cannot produce guns, artillery and bullets is a fallacy. It is not that the South has no industry, but that the industrial capacity and potential of the South are far inferior to those of the North.

If the South really cannot produce even a gun or a cannon, how can it arm a million-strong army? How can it fight a four-year battle with an industrial country in the North? It is a bit too shocking that an industrial country with a population of more than 20 million cannot defeat an agricultural country with only 6 million freemen in four years.

It is true that the South is an agricultural country, but it is not a classical agricultural country in the full sense. There is still a small amount of industrial economy, but the industrial economy of the South is in a weak position in the economic structure.

As for the shortage of military supplies in the South, it was indeed a common phenomenon after the South was completely blocked by the North from both land and sea in the middle and late stages of the war. But in the early stages of the war, thanks to the military supplies stockpiled before the war and the occupied federal arsenal, the supplies in the South were relatively sufficient.

As for the West, there are nearly 28,000 regular troops in the West that can be deployed at any time, and the younger militia in the West is also very sufficient.

The West prepared for war earlier than the South, and has trained a considerable number of militias over the years. Although the West is not as good as the North and the South in terms of the number of troops that can be mobilized. However, the West has the natural barriers of the Rocky Mountains and the Cordillera Mountains, which are better than 100,000 soldiers.

As long as the West does not take the initiative to advance eastward on a large scale to capture cities and territories, these troops are not aggressive enough for the West, but they are more than enough for self-protection.

In terms of military industry, the output of weapons in the West is higher than that in the South, and the quality is better than that in the North.

Weapons produced in the West are synonymous with high-end goods in the United States, not to mention that the West has General Liang's M1857 rifle and Sacramento cannon, which are advanced goods that the entire US army covets.

Even the same Colt pistol, due to the strict management of the Sacramento Arsenal, more advanced equipment, and higher quality and enthusiasm of the workers, the Colt pistols produced by the Sacramento Arsenal are of better quality than the original Colt pistols and are more popular in the market.

At present, the Sacramento Arsenal can produce 320 long and short guns per day and about 40 Sacramento cannons per month under normal circumstances. Moreover, compared with the South, the raw material channels in the West are more reliable, and most of the raw materials can be obtained locally.

In the Western armory, there are more than 100,000 rifles in reserve, 1,300 machine guns in reserve, and 840 cannons in reserve. Unlike the armory in the South, the guns and cannons stored in the armory in the West are mostly advanced General Liang M1857 rifles, Sacramento cannons, and the worst weapons are 23,500 retired and sealed Walter M1851 rifles.

The Walter M1851 rifle is only equipped by a small number of elite troops in the Southern Army and the Northern Army.

Therefore, in terms of equipment quality, the Western Army has a great advantage over the Southern Army and the Northern Army, which to a certain extent also makes up for the disadvantage of the relatively insufficient military strength in the West.

In terms of generals, the quality of Western and Southern generals is better than that of the Northern Army.

There are famous generals such as Liang Yao, Kruger, and Elvis in the West, and Davis, Robert Lee, Longstreet, two Johnstons, two Hills, Jackson, Beauregard and other famous generals in the South.

At this time, most of the senior generals in the North were concurrently held by politicians in the North, so the military literacy of the senior generals in the North was relatively low. The most capable general in the North was Lieutenant General Scott, and the rest were mostly mediocre.

However, Scott was already over 70 years old, and it was obvious that he could not personally command the battle on the front line like the young and powerful generals in the South and the West.

In addition, the South also had the trump card of cotton. Cotton was the confidence and confidence of the Southerners. The South supplied more than two-thirds of the world's industrial cotton and was the most important raw material warehouse for European textile factories.

The South was sure that holding the trump card of cotton would bring them great diplomatic advantages. In order not to lose the South, a source of high-quality and low-cost raw materials. European countries, especially Britain and France, which had developed cotton textile industries, would definitely stand firmly on the side of the Confederate States of America.

The cotton of the South was white gold, and no cotton producing area in the world could replace the status of the South! This was the idea of ​​most Southerners, including the elites and civilians in the South.

The West also had petrochemical products, especially kerosene, a unique trade product, but the Western authorities did not emphasize the role and status of kerosene as much as the South emphasized the importance of cotton.

The Southerners placed their greatest hope of victory on white and soft cotton, while the Westerners did not place their hopes on a single trade item.