However, the same could be said of the pro-slavery forces in the 'Bleeding Kansas' conflict shortly before the War. Well, slavery was something that the people of that generation had inherited and I don't think it was a practice that any of them loved. It is generally regarded as part of the Third Great Awakening.. Benjamin R. Lacy suggests that the revival began in the camps and hospitals around Richmond, Virginia. By seceding and then firing on Fort Sumter, the South ultimately brought about its subsequent devastation by the North. Current historiographical studies try to apply the same motivational factors to entire states, armies, or to all Union or Confederate soldiers in general. This led to the war being referred to as the “Blues vs. Grays.” The President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, was a less effective leader than the Union leader Abraham Lincoln. View all posts by irishconfederates. This dearth of proper uniforms often caused boots, belts, jackets or whatever was needed, to be “confiscated” at the same time as the Union rifle. Morgan had cannon and was able to win the battle against the outnumbered Legion soldiers. Additionally, many of the Southern soldiers read the newspapers which kept them informed about the South’s motivation to continue fighting as the deaths accrued. Slavery. Booth’s motivation for slaying the president may still seem unclear, but it was firmly rooted in the role Lincoln played during the American Civil War. Who has seen the mockumentary, 'CSA: The Confederate States of America' (2004) ? Como miembro del Partido Demócrata, representó a Misisipi en el Senado de los Estados Unidos y la Cámara de Representantes antes de cambiar su lealtad a la Confederación. We cannot discount the myth of the “Lost Cause.” Certainly, many Southerners whined about the loss of the Civil war in ways that were not productive. While most historians agree that the war erupted over a debate about slavery, the role of slavery in the motivation of soldiers had been the subject of widespread debate. Their motivation in their own words was to preserve the servitude of the African race; these traitors are in fact some of the greatest villains in American history." A factor modern day students of the Civil War era often forget, is that in the 19th Century many individuals felt greater loyalty to their home or adopted states than to the Government and nation at large. The New Orleans ladies shall long be remembered for their devoted patriotism.” My great-great-grandfather likely met his future wife that day. Entire communities were emptied of their young men, and those who stayed behind were liable to be mocked by their female contemporaries. The Confederacy lost 260,000 dead. Most Confederate soldiers served with a unit raised in the community where they lived. While it would be foolish to deny that slavery was the primary instigator of the War itself, very few Confederate soldiers were slave owners - most were poor farmers, little more than slaves themselves. they were not attuned to their leaders' interests. Entertained by the ladies, likely including Anastasia, the lieutenant spoke the words all veterans would like to utter when s/he first returns home, “we could not have received a warmer reception. Most Confederate soldiers were not slaveholders, and a majority of Confederate officers were not slaveholders either. This was the answer a Confederate POW allegedly gave when asked why he was fighting against the Union. The best estimates of the number of deaths of Confederate soldiers appear to be about 94,000 killed or mortally wounded in battle, 164,000 deaths from disease and between 26,000 and 31,000 deaths in Union prison camps. You see, the infamous murder can be traced back to the president’s actions during the conflict – and one in particular set Booth on edge. DiLorenzo ignores President Lincoln’s General Orders No. We can learn a valuable lesson from these men in 1913. He discussed patriotism. While, 16% expressed the opposite feeling, that the war should not seek emancipation as an end-state. The popular perception among some folks today is that most or all Confederate soldiers served to protect their economy or “way of life.” Surely, protecting economic interests motivated some Southerners. Press 1997), Dr. McPherson looked at the motivations of both the Union and Confederate soldiers. Anastasia was the mother of George Price Crane. While the United States continued to operate normally (elections, parties, campaigns, state and Congressional legislation, court rulings, etc.) Within months of President Lincoln’s inauguration, seven southern states began the secession from the Union and declared the Confederate States of America. The dominant themes in their wartime letters were homesickness and a longing for peace. Christopher Hamner talked about the factors that motivated Union and Confederate soldiers during different periods of the Civil War. Though scholars energetically debate whether or not the Confederate States of America achieved “nationhood,” there is no denying that the Confederacy acted as a separate country for the four years of its existence. So, the average Confederate soldier had to choose to risk his life and the lives of his family (because life in a rural society without the men was extremely hard) twice, when he first enlisted and after his first combat. This split in the fabric of the country began a bitter war, concluding in the death of more than 750,000 soldiers. Many more soldiers were wounded; some wounds maimed their victims for life. The Union soldiers started seeing emancipation as something that caused harm to the Southern cause. Additional information may be found by viewing the image of the original record. Confederate casualty figures are as incomplete and unreliable as the figures on the number of Confederate soldiers. Most of the fighting men in that war were neither professional soldiers nor draftees—they were volunteers. His thoughts were recorded in his diary, not in some polemic destined for a newspaper. In all, around 360,000 Union soldiers died as a direct result of the war. Not much in the way of a “boot camp” as we think of them today. On May 18, 1865, one 1LT A.R. While virtually all 19th Century white people were racist by any modern standard of racism, blacks - slave and free alike - were certainly treated worse in the South. As a combat veteran I can attest that the willingness to endure hardship and danger is not an easy choice. For Cause and Comrade, p. 125. James McPherson detailed that honor, duty, patriotism and ideology formed the main sustaining motivations for the Civil War, while courage, self-respect and group cohesion kept men going in combat. 1. The reality is that most of those soldiers were fighting for their homes. 1. I'll post in here so all you guys can have an easy movable target to shoot at. Casualties of the Confederate Army members were about ninety-four thousand. Well it seems like everyone is agreeing, so I guess I have to be THAT guy. the motivations of Civil War soldiers. The Confederate States Army revival was a series of Christian revivals which took place among the Confederate States Army in 1863. Mr. Gwynne also describes that as the simple motive for Gen. Thomas Jackson when he enlisted in the Virginia militia and later the Confederate army, to repel the Northern aggressor. This leads to popular misconceptions forming in the public's mind about important people and events, particularly with early American history, and even with some events occurred during modern record-keeping.In the present day, every line a politician speaks publicly is meticulously documented and can be readily retrieved by eager fact-finders. That said, it was obvious and natural that the natives of an invaded region would rally to defend their states, communities, and livelihoods, especially 1864-1865 as the horrors of War became more apparent to the civilian population of the South. In Rebel Yell, by S.C. Gwynne (New York: Scribner 2014), he describes the motivations of the Confederate soldiers as they fought to “repel the Northern aggressors from their homeland” Rebel Yell, at p. 30 (emphasis in the original). 3. Along with these McPherson In his book For Cause & Comrades McPherson describes soldiers initial … Compare and contrast the motivation for fighting and the success of Union soldiers and Confederate soldiers in the Civil War. ( Log Out /  JavaScript is disabled. John’s wife was Theresa, sister to Anastasia Price. And, soldiers began to see emancipation as another weapon against the Confederacy. History tends to take on a life of its own over time. He went to the John Agar home. That caused some soldiers to express sentiments opposing the Northern peace Democrats. 4. Dr. McPherson is a well known Civil War historian. Confederate soldiers may have served from a military unit raised by the Confederate Government or by an individual Confederate state. Peer pressure, boredom, and indoctrination. Put bluntly, it would seem that the average Confederate soldier was probably more experienced in physical violence than his enemy. The bravery, stamina, fighting spirit, and at times, the cruelty and even sadism of Southern whites had proven far more impressive in the Texan War of Independence, the Mexican War, and Bleeding Kansas than that of the North. Report Video Issue Confederate soldiers amble back home in the wake of General Lee's surrender. Anastasia was married to Martin Creane/Crane and later married Cyrus Chism. Splitting the criticism avoids, or at least sidesteps, that judgement. In For Cause and Comrade, by James McPherson (New York: Oxford Univ. The U.S. Army has 10 Confederate-named bases in 6 Southern states. There is a debate about the reasons and cause of the American Civil War. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. 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