Obama to take oath on Abe Lincoln's Bible

[Aratus]

On a goofy side note, does anybody else like Civil war beardS?

O! smith brothers cough drop boxes, yes...! even though its reet & neat
that bill mckinley is the next clean shaven potus after andy johnson...

 

[libertarian4321]

The South did win many more battles, and many were on the attack, they just didn't them well enough and didn't take good enough advantage of the victories they won.

That's demonstrably not true.

The South may have won more of the well known battles, especially early in the war, but if you look at all battles, the south lost more battles than it won in every year (even 1861 and 1862, when the South was having its best luck).

Late in the war ('64 and '65), the North was kicking the south all over the map- the north piling up win after win after win after win.

Given that the south was utterly defeated, this shouldn't really come as a surprise to you.

If you want to start counting, here is a decent PARTIAL list of battles (it doesn't include many of the very small ones- and lumps Sherman's March to the Sea as one battle- when in fact, it was several battles- all won by the North, of course):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_war_battles

Let's just look at two battles, with one battle with each side on the defensive equally:

Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 11-15, 1862:
Force Ratio: CSA: ~72,000-USA:~114,000
Casualty Ratio CSA: 5,377-USA 12,653
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1-3, 1863:
Force Ratio: CSA: 71,699-USA 93,921
Casualty Ratio: CSA: 23,271-USA 23,055

Over similar time frames, and similarly advantageous defensive positions (I have been to both battlefields, and I'd argue that Union positions at Gettysburg were arguably naturally better), the Southerners were able to equal Union casualties at Gettysburg, and that is after some rather bad generalship on the part of General Lee. Whereas, the Yankees were only able to take up to two-to-one at Fredericksburg with many more men than the South, while the South was outnumbered at Gettysburg.

There are a lot of reasons you may have varying casualty numbers in different battles. Consider the possibility, in the examples you gave, that the confederates had better leadership at Fredericksburg? Lee vs. Burnside? C'mon, give me a break. Thats like having the Patriots play the Giants, with Tom Brady at QB for the Patriots, and Richard Simmons (of "Sweatin' to the Oldies" fame) at QB for the Giants, then claiming the Patriots were inherently superior because they won the game. Hell, Simmons would probably do better as a General than Burnside did.

However, I don't know of any serious historian who thinks the southern soldier was "inherently superior" to those in the north. You may find that stuff in old movies, though.

 

[nate895]

That's demonstrably not true.

The South may have won more of the well known battles, especially early in the war, but if you look at all battles, the south lost more battles than it won in every year (even 1861 and 1862, when the South was having its best luck).

Late in the war ('64 and '65), the North was kicking the south all over the map- the north piling up win after win after win after win.

Given that the south was utterly defeated, this shouldn't really come as a surprise to you.

If you want to start counting, here is a decent PARTIAL list of battles (it doesn't include many of the very small ones- and lumps Sherman's March to the Sea as one battle- when in fact, it was several battles- all won by the North, of course):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_war_battles

Well, of those battles listed, 4 were counted as Confederate victories, 5 Union, one inconclusive. One counted in the Union column was Sharpsburg (AKA Antietam), and that was technically a Southern victory because they held the field at the end of the day, and withdrew of their own accord. The inconclusive battle was Spotsylvania, and that was pretty much a Confederate victory because it left Grant's army unable to move for some time.

There are a lot of reasons you may have varying casualty numbers in different battles. Consider the possibility, in the examples you gave, that the confederates had better leadership at Fredericksburg? Lee vs. Burnside? C'mon, give me a break. Thats like having the Patriots play the Giants, with Tom Brady at QB for the Patriots, and Richard Simmons (of "Sweatin' to the Oldies" fame) at QB for the Giants, then claiming the Patriots were inherently superior because they won the game. Hell, Simmons would probably do better as a General than Burnside did.

Exactly my point. There was so little talent in the Yankee Army. Grant was a person who simply applied force, and the only really good general as far as strategy is concerned in the Yankee ranks, IMO, was Sherman, and he has his reputation stained by inventing a whole new form of warfare that raped the South into submission. He wasn't an honorable officer, but rather a particularly intelligent monster.

 

[raiha]

I like Jeb Stuart's beard and the feather in his hat. I wish men wore wonderful flamboyant feathers in their caps these days. Peter Schiff might get more attention if he started wearing a Stuart hat.
I hate Abraham Lincoln's beard and the ugly face it sits on but i adore Robert E. Lee's beard and the handsome noble face that lies under it.

 

[mrsat_98]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i6rM5EBT5iwVm1ccO0htD_DWip-w



Unity? Wasn't there a civil war during his presidency?

Hopefully he will go to the theatre afterwards !!!!

 

[xd9fan]

thats cool....If I was from ILL I would do something like that

 

[Zapem]

Well, considering that he doesn't intend to uphold his oath anyway . . . does it matter?

If anyone's going to get upset, it's probably God.

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Liar, liar, pants on fire. I don't consider myself a devoutly religious man, but there is a part of me that hopes the Bible burns off his hand whenever he utters those words.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, SO HELP ME GOD.

Let's see if he adds the "so help me God" part.