“The British Empire was a far more formidable opponent...”
Maybe. I sometimes think that one of the biggest miscalculations made regarding the War Between the States was that people on both sides forgot they weren’t going up against the British, Mexicans, Indians or Moroccan Pirates. They were going up against people like themselves, people who whipped those others.
Hmm, it took the American Colonists 8 years, with French, Dutch and Spanish help, to beat the British. The ACW took 4 years...