Final answer:
Generals Grant and Sherman used a total war strategy to erode the Confederacy's ability to sustain war by targeting their infrastructure and resources, leading to a depletion of economic support and military capacity, which contributed to the end of the Civil War.
Step-by-step explanation:
Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman adopted a total war strategy late in the American Civil War, aiming to break the combat capabilities and morale of the Confederacy. In contrast to tactics solely focusing on enemy combatants, total war expanded to target the enemy's infrastructure and economic resources, eroding their ability to continue the war. Both Grant and Sherman sought to deprive the Confederacy of the resources and logistical support necessary to sustain its armies, leading to destructive campaigns such as Sherman's March to the Sea and Grant's relentless assaults in Virginia.
The use of total war strategy was crucial to the end of the Civil War for several reasons. It undermined the Confederate economy and destroyed critical supplies, which created hardship and decreased support for the war among the Southern population. Grant and Sherman's tactics also overwhelmed the diminished and resource-deprived Confederate forces, leading to attrition they could not sustain. Their actions stripped the Confederacy of vital resources making it impossible for General Robert E. Lee's army to maintain its positions, ultimately contributing to his surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865.
Therefore, the correct answer to the student's question is: c) They used a total war strategy to target the enemy's infrastructure and resources, which was pivotal in bringing the prolonged conflict to an end by draining the South's ability to fund and maintain its war effort.