Just giving up on an ACW game as it is so one sided (to CSA) as to be ridiculous.................. Then came the 8:1 casualty rates against the South [whatever I did or didn't do every combat had casualties like 40000 USA vs 5000 CSA). This has meant that all my forces are so depleted that I might ...

Mmmm yeah. Inflation does seem to be a number with a word attached to it that we know from life is never good, we get uncomfortable when it is high.
But what does it actually do in the game?

As I recall the Union did have one or 2 leadership problems to say the least.

There was a bit in the movie Glory where a Rebel soldier was offered a trade, the leading Union general for a broken down mule as I remember. He kept the mule.