me and could make everything required to fight the war - obtaining clothing, drugs and weaponry was never a problem for Northern battalions. Life continued as normal, arts and politics flourished and thanks to the never ending draft queue a defeat for the Union could always be "healed" by a reinforcement of new recruits. The contemporary Confederate general Robert E. Lee said, after his defeat at Appomattox in 1865, the Virginian army had been "compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources." The 20th century historian Richard Current agreed, suggesting that 'God was on the side of the heaviest battalions.' The impressive figures certainly show a North who seemed well equipped to crush the Southern 'dissent,' but perhaps without Lincoln's leadership economic might may have left the North in a similar position to the British Empire during the War of Independence.
             Lincoln's presidency was also a very important, crucial factor for Northern Victory. Lincoln was elected (in 1860) on a platform of anti-slavery through the back door, within a party who nominated him as a candidate to shy public opinion away from their abolitionist, free soiler roots. The Republicans themselves were
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