Читать книгу American Civil War For Dummies - Keith D. Dickson - Страница 127

Large-scale war requires enormous human resources, both in terms of soldiers to fill the ranks of the armies and workers to produce the means to sustain those armies as well as support the civilian population. The several million immigrants who flooded into the North between 1830 and 1860 provided recruits, agricultural laborers, and industrial workers. Few immigrants came to the South, leaving the Confederacy to rely on its white male population for soldiers. Slaves were a critical strategic resource, providing in some cases the skilled labor in factories and logistical support for the armies, as well as working on the farms to produce food. Women also were employed in a variety of roles in supporting the wartime production effort. During the Civil War, about 45 percent of the eligible males in the North served in the army. In the South, about 90 percent of eligible men served in the army.