GDG- Re: Richmond as capitol

[Biggsk at aol.com]

Tom,

>>>>  I believe that part of the reason for the move  from Montgomery to 
Richmond was a political payoff for Virginia having voted  to secede from the 
Union.>>>
 
Yes it was - and one would think that Virginia would have gone out anyway  
even if the capitol wasn't there.  It just does not make any sense to place  
your capitol so close to the front lines.  I am still stunned that Seoul is  
still the capitol of South Korea, well within range of North Korean  artillery.  I 
would have moved it to Pusan.
 
Additionally, having the capitol in Atlanta would have given the CS  
government a much better vision of their whole nation needing  to be  defended instead 
of the rush to protect Richmond, which not only siphoned off a  load of 
troops to protect the capitol, but also cost them the west as they did  not 
allocate sufficient resources to hold that.  After the fall of  Henry-Donelson, the 
Confederates only played catch-up for the rest of the war,  save for Bragg's 
excellent maneuver into Kentucky, which bought the Confederacy  at least 6 
months more of their existence.
 
It was playing that game that would cost them their independence.
 
Greg Biggsa