At the onset on the war, they stood as relatively equal combatants. The Confederates had the advantage of being able to wage a defensive war, rather than an offensive one. They had to protect and preserve their new boundaries, but they did not have to be the aggressors against the Union. Southerners enjoyed the initial advantage of morale; The South was fighting to maintain its way of life, whereas the North was fighting to maintain a union. Slavery did not become a moral cause of the Union effort until Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation. The Union also had many advantages over the Confederacy. The North had a larger population than the South. The Union also had an industrial economy, whereas the Confederacy had an economy based on agriculture. The Union had most of the natural resources, like coal, iron, and gold, and also a well-developed rail system. At the end Sherman was victorious over the Confederates in North Carolina and Grant broke through the Confederate defenses as Petersburg. Lee was for forced to retreat from Richmond and his starving troops were surrounded by Union troops. Lee surrendered only his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Grant. After Richmond fell and Davis fled, Confederate commanders were on their own to surrender their commands to Union forces. Lee decided to surrender his army in part because he wanted to prevent unnecessary destruction to the South. When it became clear to the Confederates that they were stretched too thinly to break through the Union lines.
