Why did the South have a lot of success in the East?

During the Civil War, the South experienced the most military success in the East. There are some reasons for this. One factor had to deal with the overconfidence of people in the North. In the First Battle of Bull Run, citizens from the North went to watch the battle. They brought their picnic baskets with them, and they expected an easy Union victory. They had to run for their lives when the battle didn’t go as planned. This overconfidence was also seen in the Union troops. The Union troops believed the Union would win many battles easily.

The second reason for their success is that the South had the best general in the war, Robert E. Lee, on their side. General Lee commanded Confederate troops that were stationed in the eastern areas. While the South had General Lee in charge, the Union had a commander that was much less effective. General McClellan often moved his troops so slowly, President Lincoln became upset with him. After the Battle of Antietam, General McClellan failed to pursue General Lee. If he pursued General Lee, the North could have had a decisive victory. His unwillingness to pursue General Lee led to him being removed from commanding his troops.

These factors helped the South do quite well in the battles in the eastern region of the Civil War for several years.