Paulo Coelho Quotes
There are some things in life that are worth fighting for to the end.
Coelho, Paulo. The Devil and Miss Prym. Translated by Amanda Hopkinson and Nick Caistor, HarperCollins, 2001, p. 88.
The South could not replenish their lost arms and munitions nor could they replace most of the men wounded, killed or taken prisoner. The Union could do both. Therefore as long as the Union army inflicted casualties, it mattered little who won which battle as long as the fighting was in the South. This critical strategic reality was never appreciated by the Union Generals who were generally reluctant to take large casualties. When Grant and Sherman finally were able to set the strategy of attrition in operation, the Union actually won most of the battles though he and Grant took very high casualties. The casualties of the Confederates were generally higher but they did not have to be for the Union to win. The Civil War was a strategic form of suicide. Ironically, at a few points the rebellion might have succeeded because of the incompetent and timid Union military leadership at the beginning of the war.
Paulo Coelho de Souza is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist, best known for his novel The Alchemist. In 2014, he uploaded his personal papers online to create a virtual Paulo Coelho Foundation.
