If you want to extend and worsen the OTL ACW, I'd start by looking at mid-to-late-war PODs that occasionally get brought up in hopes of producing a Confederate victory, but get shot down on the ground that they'd only delay the inevitable.
A Confederate victory at Gettysburg, for instance, is generally agreed to be too late to save the Confederacy, but it would have serious impact. Supposing the July 2 flanking attacks were successful, the Army of the Potomac would be forced to retreat, and would likely take heavier-than-OTL casualties. Pickett's Charge would be butterflied away, leaving the Army of Northern Virginia substantially stronger than OTL. Meade would likely be sacked. Lincoln might decided to pull troops from the Army of the Tennessee to reinforce the Army of the Potomac, which combined with the morale boost to the Confederates could delay the surrender of Vicksburg significantly. The war would likely drag on for several months longer, with more casualties on both sides.
Throw in an eventual Lee death and have him replaced in the Confederate heart with a general who says "Yeah totally go to the ground, forever war against the North!" and we're off to the races.Jackson survives Chancellorsville, does unto Pennsylvania the kinds of things Sherman does to Carolina, at the same time as the CSA retains its bloodthirsty policy toward internal dissenters and USCT men and officers. The result is a Union rather less sympathetic to the Vallandighams and far more so to the Thaddeus Stevenses from a desire for revenge, and you get a war with the gloves off. Sherman in South Carolina becomes the de facto US approach, the Confederacy behaves as it does IOTL, you get a chaotic and bloody mess and a Grimdark peace.
Grant doesn't have an attack of concience, and continues frontal attacks a la cold harbor. Lots more union casualties, and, I would assume, lots more hatred as a result towards the south.
Coupled with Lee getting killed in the same manner as Jackson at some point along the way, and his replacement not telling the troops to give it up. It seems to me that Lee was the ONLY southern general who could have the men listen when he said "Give it up. Go home and raise crops and kids." but there were MANY generals who could have gotten away with "Disperse. Attack only when you're strong and the enemy is weak. Kill, burn, destroy federal troops and installations whenever you can."
Belushi td
Grant doesn't have an attack of concience, and continues frontal attacks a la cold harbor. Lots more union casualties, and, I would assume, lots more hatred as a result towards the south.
Coupled with Lee getting killed in the same manner as Jackson at some point along the way, and his replacement not telling the troops to give it up. It seems to me that Lee was the ONLY southern general who could have the men listen when he said "Give it up. Go home and raise crops and kids." but there were MANY generals who could have gotten away with "Disperse. Attack only when you're strong and the enemy is weak. Kill, burn, destroy federal troops and installations whenever you can."
Belushi td
Could you provide a link to that timeline? I'd like to read it.There are several ways to make the war drag on a little bit longer, but generally speaking the Union did about as poorely as it could and still win. Another point I would like to bring up is that although it is possible for the CSA to win the war a much more plausible ATL would be for the Union to win sooner such as in my TL.The only way I could see the ACW be significantly longer and bloodier would be if the Confederates adopted guerrilla warfare on a larger scale.