This document summarizes key factors in the American Civil War including population and manufacturing capabilities, transportation infrastructure, existing armies, political stability, and the Anaconda Plan blockade strategy. It outlines Union and Confederate states and leaders such as Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and William T. Sherman. Major battles are mentioned including Shiloh in 1862, which had over 23,000 casualties and forced a reassessment of the war's length and damages. New military technologies debuted including rifled muskets, trench warfare, calvary, and early machine guns.