ABSTRACT
The War of American Independence provided an inspiring model for the war of Southern independence. The census of 1860 provided ample evidence of Northern strength, but it was not, for Southerners at least, the last word on the prospects for the war. Because the South was confident that it could win a war which followed the precedents of past American experience, it was ill-prepared for the different kind of war which soon developed. For three months, from the fall of Sumter to the battle of Bull Run, Americans lived in a twilight world upon which the black horror of war had not yet settled. Frenzied preparations created chaos around Washington, and impatience and frustration around the country. In a war which was limited in numbers, duration, and community involvement, as such precedents would have suggested, Southerners could scarcely be blamed for optimistic assessment of their prospects of victory.
