Answer: Three cigars, with Lee's battle plans wrapped around them, had been inadvertently lost by a Confederate officer. With this information in Union hands, the South's anticipated victory was cut short. The Confederate Army had been unstoppable - within weeks of winning the Civil War. General Robert E. Lee had won the Second Battle of Bull Run and was marching 55,000 Confederate troops into Maryland on September 3, 1862.
The Confederate Army was welcomed, as anti-Union protests had filled Baltimore's streets.
On September 13, 1862, President Lincoln met with Rev. William Patterson, Rev. John Dempster, and Methodist, Baptist, and Congregational leaders who presented him with a petition to emancipate the slaves Lincoln told them: I am approached with the most opposite opinions and advice... I hope it will not be irreverent for me to say that if it is probable that God would reveal His will to others, on a point so connected with my duty, it might be supposed He will reveal it directly to me;
Explanation:
Alea iacta est ("The die is cast") is a variation of a Latin phrase (iacta alea est) attributed by Suetonius to Julius Caesar who pronounced it in the year 49 B.C. when he was leading his army across the Rubicon river in the current territories of Northern Italy. Subsequently, he entered in Italy heading his army and defying the Roman Senate and it meant the beginning of the civil war versus Pompey and the Optimates.
- Plutarch, referred to the same event in his written testimonies and reported the phrase but stating it was pronounced in Greek instead of Latin and that its translation meant: <em>'Let the die be cast'.</em>
- Suetonius described the same situation, reporting a very similar phrase but not exactly the same. Let's include the exact excerpt of his writings where he did so.
<em>Caesar: '... iacta alea est,' inquit.</em>
<em>Caesar said, "The die has been cast."</em>
Thefore there are two very similar versions of the same historical events. Usually the Latin version is the most widely known, as the Latin language was more widespread all over Europe and gave rise to all the current family of Latin languages (Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, etc).
Answer:
On the other hand, the Americans had many intangible advantages.
The British fought a war far from home. Military orders, troops, and supplies sometimes took months to reach their destinations. The British had an extremely difficult objective. They had to persuade the Americans to give up their claims of independence. As long as the war continued, the colonists' claim continued to gain validity. The geographic vastness of the colonies proved a hindrance to the British effort. Despite occupying every major city, the British remained as at a disadvantage.
Americans had a grand cause: fighting for their rights, their independence and their liberty. This cause is much more just than waging a war to deny independence. American military and political leaders were inexperienced, but proved surprisingly competent.
The war was expensive and the British population debated its necessity. In Parliament, there were many American sympathizers. Finally, the alliance with the French gave Americans courage and a tangible threat that tipped the scales in America's favor.
SOURCE: http://www.ushistory.org/us/11a.asp
