@bobsal u1553115,
I doubt that it is outside powers involved. Keep in mind that the slave owners were able to organize an apparently sophisticated army in a short period of time. However, that was more apparent than real. For example, St. Robert Lee was a natural campaigner, and so long as his opponents were overawed by him, he was able to dominate the battlefields and impose his will. But that was just superficial. Deep down, he was hopelessly incompetent. His staff work was not poor, it was nonexistent. People say staff work and immediately think of a bunch of fat boys in a room or a tent somewhere, playing games in a map exercise. But in real warfare, staff officers are active officers who scout the enemies positions, who lead troops to their "jump off" lines, who report the course of the battle to their commander and keep him in touch. Lee ought to have known that, because he made his reputation in Winfield Scott's invasion 0f Mexico as Scott's chief staff engineer. That meant that he spent all day in the brush near the Mexican line at Cerro Gordo, and the next morning, lead Wool's division to a position on the Mexican left flank, from which Wool was able to roll up the Mexican line. As Scott continued west, Lee found a path around the Mexican army at Puebla, and they were forced to retreat without fighting. Scott's army came out southeast of Mexico City, and Lee spent a day and a night in drenching rain finding a path through the Pedeegral, an ancient lave field south of the city. The next morning, the Mexicans found the Americans attacking them
southwest of the city. After that, it was just a matter of days until the city fell.
So Lee should have known, right? Apparently not. Initially, he was in command in western Virginia, where his staff consisted of an inexperience major and a freshly minted lieutenant. After that, the southern soldiers called him "Granny Lee." He had started his career as an engineer, so Davis sent him to build up the defenses of the southern, east-facing coast. He made white men dig, so they called him "the King of Spades." His one great trait was audacity. When Joe Johnston was wounded fighting McClellan's army east of Richmond, Davis put Lee in command. His plan, really the only available option, was to attack the U.S. Army. For the purpose, he brought Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and his Army of the Valley to Richmond. Jackson would command about a third of the available combat troops. He arrived, per orders, and began marching south. He was supposed to link up with Branch's brigade, which never happened. (Branch later said no one had told him.) Lee had provided no maps, and no guides. Jackson had a topographical engineer, Jedediah Hotchkiss, but he was not present. A. P. "Little Powell" Hill had begun the attacks early, without orders. He not only was never chastised for that, he remained the commander of Lee's largest division, and eventually became a corps commander.
It was three days before Jackson finally joined the main army, on the late afternoon of the third day at Glendale. As rebel commanders were expected to do, he launched his infantry head-long at Major General Fitz John Porter's line. Porter, as he wold do throughout the Seven Days, held them off and slipped away in the night (while McClellan bit his nails, and sent peremptory orders to Porter which were out of date before they arrived). The final battle was Malvern Hill. Porter's troops, now finally backed up by the rest of McClellan's army, was situated on a low hill which dominated the terrain. There was a grand battery of 100 to 160 cannon (accounts vary), and every time the rebel batteries would unlimber, the U.S. artillery would blow them to kingdom come. Against the advice of his subordinates, Lee ordered an infantry assault. Later, a reporter asked Daniel Harvey Hill about the attack. He commented: "It wasn't war, it was murder." Although the rebels were able to inflict perhaps as many as 3000 casualties, it cost them well over 5000 casualties, almost 6000. More than the army could afford to lose. It was one of the reason that the so-called Confederate States instituted conscription a year before the United States. Lee was a monumental incompetent.
I'm sure you think I've lost it, but I do have a point. Someone can be a brilliant campaigner, like Lee, but a plodding and relentless foe like George Gordon Meade can defeat him. These self-organized militia clowns may have an inspired leader or two, but in the long run, they won't hold out against professional military men and they definitely won't have the logistical train which is essential to keep any army in the field and active.
