North vs South

[Kraxis]

Maybe the only battle where it could have been won on the day was the first Bull Run

Seriously doubt that... While the South got the generals the North got the regulars. They were what prevented a real rout at the first Bull Run, and they would not let the Confederates do that to them, they were just that much better troops. They couldn't win the battle for th North but at the same time they would almost always be able to stall any catastrophic event.
To me it seems that these hardened professional soldiers are always overlooked, at least in the first half of the war (after that there were many volounteers that could be equal to them).

At Antietam one of the worst mistakes was in putting the only regular corps in reserve, their abilities and tenacity could have broken the rebel lines.

[ajaxfetish]

I'm not convinced that resources and industrialization are critical only to modern wars. I tend to think that economic issues were critical in all conflicts. How did Rome win the 2nd Punic War if not by resource might, mostly a seemingly inexhaustible manpower?

Ajax