After a year of civil war, the Federal Government had suffered more than 200,000 casualties. The brutal losses had left the soldiers increasingly weary of war.
This was only a civil war, not an invasion by foreign enemies. The patriotism that had been stirred up had long since been worn away amid blood and fire.
It was not only the western states that had failed to meet their recruitment quotas. Even the Federal Government's core states faced the same difficulty in raising troops.
At present, the Federal Government's total forces had exceeded 1.1 million men, yet it was still not enough.
The states engaged in the war, as well as the Federal states close to the battlefield, all gave priority to ensuring their own safety. Coordinating and cooperating on the battlefield was difficult, making it hard to bring their numerical advantage into play.
These problems had no solution. Officials in every state were elected; if they could not ensure their own state's safety, the voters could send them packing.
The big picture was just a slogan shouted by people who did not feel the pain in their own flesh. When their own interests were involved, whether capitalists, politicians, or ordinary citizens, all chose the course most beneficial to themselves.
Secretary of State Safar hurried into the president's office and said, "Mr. President, something terrible has happened.
"Illinois has just sent another telegram requesting aid. They declared that if the Federal Government does not send reinforcements soon, they will withdraw from the war."
Withdraw from the war? Do not doubt it—the Federal states really did dare to be so willful. To keep their homeland from becoming ruins, they would even surrender, let alone merely withdraw from the war.
After all, this was a civil war; there would be no extermination to