It's hard to say which was laid lower, Ipmerial Japan, or the So-called CSA.
It was widely thought in Europe that the so-called seceded states could not be subdued.
Oddly, if you think about it, United States forces had an almost unbroken series of successes, especially in the west. Several attempts by the CSA to invade the north were successfully repulsed, and Union efforts in the "west" received only one serious check, at Chickamaugua. Other than that, U.S. forces advanced constantly from Forts Donelson and Henry, through Shiloh, Vicksburg, Stones River, Atlanta and on to Charleston.
The reason the so-called CSA failed in its rebellion against the lawful government was that southern will, and its armies, melted away.
Walt