Statistical Summery of the North and South
Note: During the advance of the 19th Century the larger. more industrialized North enjoyed certain distinct advantages over the smaller, more agrarian South. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the most notable Northern advantages were:
A larger population, augmented by immigration. About a 5 to 2 manpower ratio favoring the North.
A balanced economy of industry, agriculture. and financial institutions with an established Federal Government as a political system.
More efficient railroad and telegraph systems connecting the Northeast with the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys.
A larger merchant marine with more harbors, port facilities, and shipbuilding yards.
A superior and larger navy able to plan and gradually implement a blockade of 3,500 miles of southern coastline.
A larger industrial base and grow1h potential with less reliance on imported manufactures.
The resources, logistics. and inclination to pursue advances on several far-ranging fronts. This eventually led to a "grand strategy" of coordinated offensives, territorial acquisition, and the simultaneous and systematic destruction of the South's war resources.
1. STATES -1860
North - 22 States (includes 18 free states, 4 slave holding border states (Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware], and the District of Columbia) and 8 territories.
South - 11 States (fully seceded and slaveholding).
2. POPULATION -1860
North - 22,339,991 (including 432,586 slaves and 355,216 free blacks).
South - 9,103,332 (including 3,521,110 slaves and 132,760 free blacks).
3. CITIES (over 50,000 pop.) - 1860
North - 15 (New York City -largest)
South - 1 (New Orleans).
4. IMMIGRATION - 1860-65
North - 955,363+
South - not available.
5. ACRES OF FARMLAND - 1860
North - 212,658,533 (including 800,000+ draft animals).
South - 197,111,100 (including 300,000+ draft animals).
6. INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS -1860
North - 110,274 (1,300,000+ industrial workers).
South - 18,026 (110,000+ industrial workers).
7. SHIPPING - mid 1860 to mid 1861
North - 10,260 ships (4,602,868 tons).
South - 819 ships (286,445 tons).
8. RAILROAD MILEAGE - 1860
North - 22,000+ miles
South - 9,280+ miles
9. GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT (Estimates) - 1860
North - $1,754,650,000
South - $145,350,000
Sources:
Atlas for the American Civil War, The West Point Military History Series, 1986.
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, by James M. McPherson. 1988.
Battlefields of the Civil War, by Roger W. Hicks and Frances E. Schultz. 1989.
The Centennial History of the Civil War, 3 Vols., by Bruce Catton. 1961-65.
The Civil War (Series), Editors of Time-Life Books. 1983.
The Civil War: A Narrative, 3 Vols., by Shelby Foote. 1958-1974.
The Civil War: An Illustrated History, by Geoffrey C. Ward with Ric Burns and Ken Burns. 1990.
The Civil War Battlefield Guide, Ed. by Frances H. Kennedy. 1990.
The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, by E.B. Long with Barbara Long. 1971.
The Encyclopedia of Military History, Second Rev. Ed., by R. Ernest Dupuy and Trevor N. Dupuy. 1986.
West Point Atlas of American Wars, Vol. I, Ed. by Vincent J. Esposito. 1959.
Who Was Who in the Civil War, by Stewart Sifakis. 1988.
Photographs courtesy of The Generals of the American Civil War Website.