https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S72nI4Ex_E0
“Gentlemen can always fight better than rabble!” ...
“Mr. Butler.”
“I think it’s hard winning a war with words, gentlemen.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“I mean, Mr. Hamilton, there’s not a cannon factory in the whole South.”
“What difference does that make, sir, to a gentleman?”
“I’m afraid it’s going to make a great deal of difference to a great many gentlemen, sir.”
“Are you hinting, Mr. Butler, that the Yankees can lick us?”
“No, I’m not hinting; I’m saying very plainly that the Yankees are better equipped than we. They’ve got factories, shipyards, coal mines, and a fleet to bottle up our harbors and starve us to death. All we’ve got is cotton, and slaves, and — arrogance.”
It would not be a good idea to start a conflict which the other side has a very good chance of winning.