"William J. Cooper, Jr., Jefferson Davis, American" "Today" Davis visited Confederate troops near Washington, DC, and conferred with his senior generals.
"After some discussion of army organization, the generals raised the point that most interested them -- going on the offensive.
They wanted to cross the Potomac, flank the Federals, force them out of their fortifications and attack them.
An obviously interested president listened...
...the generals insisted they needed substantial reinforcements of seasoned troops.
Davis told them they were asking for the imnpossible.
No such body of experienced men existed...
Thus with the decision that Johnston's army would retain its defensive posture, Davis on October 4 returned to Richmond."
Now, based on reports like this one, FR posters like central_va have long argued the Confederacy was on the "strategic defensive" and did not actually threaten the Union itself.
But as of September-October 1861, Confederate forces have successfully invaded and defeated weaker Union units in Union New Mexico, Oklahoma (Indian Territory), Missouri, Kentucky and even West Virginia.
In due time the Confederacy will claim New Mexico, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kentucky as Confederate states/territories, and thus, despite their caution in Virginia, Confederates are already on the strategic offensive in every Union state & territory they can reach.
Now, based on reports like this one, FR posters like central_va have long argued the Confederacy was on the "strategic defensive" and did not actually threaten the Union itself.Which is totally true.
"The strategy of the Civil War for the Confederacy (the South) was to outlast the political will of the United States (the North) to continue the fighting the war by demonstrating that the war would be long and costly."
Part of that was pressuring DC, maybe even capturing it as a negotiating tool when a peace was reached. Which never happened.
You do not understand the difference between "tactics" and "strategy". You appear to have no military background or training at all.