The United States, the decisive battle that would determine the fate of both the Northern and Southern Governments, ultimately ended with both sides grievously wounded.
Tactically speaking, the Southern Government had won, sustaining fewer casualties; strategically speaking, the Northern Government had emerged victorious.
If there had been no foreign intervention, then the Northern Government could have gradually gained the upper hand with their advantages in manpower and industry.
Regrettably, that was impossible. This civil war had been conducted under the intervention of the European powers right from the start.
With so many nursemaids present, the industrial superiority of the Northern Government had not come into play. During the Great Age of Sail, the maritime trade between Europe and America flourished. Regardless of how hard Northern capitalists worked to produce, they could not surpass the European Continent.
