Militarily, the war was often literally fought in a haze. The weapons used by troops on both sides produced a discharge of smoke when fired. As a result, the meadows, forests, roads, and fields, which provided the theater for many battles and skirmishes over the course of several days' fighting, were constantly cloaked in smoke. (Crane refers to this hazy smoke often throughout The Red Badge of Courage.) In addition, the slow methods of communication available at that time often made it difficult for either side to tell if a battle was being lost or won. This added to the confusion that characterized the Civil War battlefield.
As for the actual fighting of the war, there were few major victories achieved by either army. Battles often simply reduced the number of men available to each side to keep fighting. This was a war of small battles and skirmishes. The strategy of the commanding officers on both sides was to begin with superior numbers of men, to lose men during the engagement, but hopefully to have more men left than their opponent at the end of the day — and, ultimately, at the end of the war.
Because the Union forces of the North had superior numbers and the potential to replace and to resupply their troops much more efficiently than the Confederate forces of the South, it was inevitable that the sheer weight of numbers would eventually lead to the end of the Civil War: Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865.
