Waterloo in Kentucky? Why Civil War battles were so indecisive.

Why did the American Civil War drag on for four years and produce so few decisive battles? When war broke out in 1861, everyone expected a short conflict, and generals based their strategies on Napoleonic warfare, where decisive battles brought about immediate political ends. In a talk in October 2022, author and broadcaster Gerald Prokopowicz took a break from guiding a physical tour of North Virginia battlefields to give us a virtual tour of Civil War battles and provide an explanation of why decisive victories proved so elusive.

[@robinansell1850]

A thought-provoking presentation! Like Nashville, which Gerry alludes to, perhaps the Battle of Missionary Ridge would also qualify for inclusion on the ACW “decisive battles” short-list?

[@AlvinToney]

408 pm Gettysburgh

[@timfrye3586]

The Battle of Franklin seems the closest that one participant army was almost destroyed as a consequence of battle. But, yeah, these battles were not decisive