I was looking at some "Combat"s (UVF newspaper) and when a major "operation" took place it would usually be on the front page.
I was just curious, for anyone who has the An Phoblacht that was released on the revelant date, did the IRA do the same when they took out Elder and Bratty? If so could you please send it and the relevant article to me? Thanks.
(To clarify before I start, I'm not a lost causer and have no connection to the south. This is just history.)
The soldier of the Army of Northern Virginia was obviously incredibly tough, and superior to all other civil war soldiers, and most soldiers that came before and after him. His equanimity in the face of overwhelming odds has won him world-wide renown. This becomes incredibly obvious when reading about the campaigns, but I shall briefly provide evidence before I continue.
Lanchester's Square Law
(This law is considered to be of no value when it comes to 20th century clashes but is very useful for wars like the civil war.)
Askey's explanation - "Assume side A outnumbers side B by a factor x. If all elements of both sides engage in combat simultaneously, then in order for side B to maintain what is termed the ‘Force Equilibrium Ratio’ (in this case x to 1), then each of side B’s men will have to have x squared ‘Casualty Inflicting Efficiency’ relative to each of side A’s men.
Thus, if side B is outnumbered 2 to 1, then in order for it to maintain this 2 to 1 ratio over time, the relative Casualty Inflicting Efficiency of side B’s men will need to be 4 times that of side A’s men.” The ANV won some battles in which they were outnumberer far more than 3 to 1. In these battles, to achieve parity each confederate soldier would have needed to, on average, take down 9 Union soldiers. Note that they in fact did not merely achieve parity in these particular battles but inflicted heavier casualties than the Union. Meaning some confederates could safely be assumed to have taken out approx 30 Union soldiers.
Hard Science Reason
I think it comes down to which people came to which states. For example, soldiers from Kentucky were not all that impressive in the war. Kentucky was largely settled by Highwaymen, burglars, and other generally undesirable people. It is often said that the "white trash" of the modern south comes from these original elements.
Whilst Virginia's population was of good stock. Another thing that should be mentioned aside from that rather obvious fact is that the selection pressures of the boat journey to America in the 1600 and 1700s meant that only the strong lived long enough to get off. Furthermore, the prospect of the unknown, the horrific journey, the dangers, etc. meant that only the bravest and strongest dared to confront the new world. Obviously modern science has confirmed that bravery is highly correlated with iq, meaning that the soldier of the ANV was resourceful and strong-willed.