[Terabitten]

The war between the states was not one to free the slaves until AFTER Antietem, and then only by decree from Lincoln. it was at first a war to preserve the Union, to force the seceding states back into the nation.

I'm a Southerner, but that's just plain factually incorrect. The seccession documents of EVERY single southern state name Federal intervention on slavery as the primary cause of their secession.

[Pistolshot]

Correct. The South didn't want to be told what to do by a central government about slavery. The North wanted to force the states back into the union to deal with slavery on a political level instead of by force of arms.

BOTH sides felt it would last a few weeks, months at the most. Remember the picnickers at 1st Bull Run? When it became apparent the South wasn't going to return on it's own, and the Northern armies wouldn't do what was necessary to end the rebellion, the war turned into one of attrition.

The secession of the Southern States was one of emotion rather than practicality.