... Great Britain had allied with the Confederacy
... The Confederate leadership had pressed its advantage while McClellan sat on his duff
... if Albert Sydney Johnston hadn't caught a ball at Shiloh
... If Lee had heeded Longstreet's recommendation to seize the Round Tops at Gettysburg and protect the Confederate flank
Similarly, the Union could have cut the war short if ...
... Meade had pursued Lee's retreat after Gettysburg
... Lincoln had transfered Grant from Tennessee to the Potomac right after "Little Mac's" disastrous Peninsular Campaign
But then again, IF my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle.
The South could never have DEFEATED the North, but the former could have established a hard-won precedent for secession and established itself as a sovereign nation. IF ...