America has always approached its conflicts as if extending the thought of the uniquely American way of life Mike McGlinchey Authentic Jersey , that is to say as if to leave each man to his own devices and choices free to make or break his own way into life as he has been endowed by his creator. National defense, up until the advent of the Second World War was something for a small national army to attend to. The American Civil War was fought not by professional armies but by armies filled with patriots who answered the call of their respective side and put aside all personal want or gain for the larger call of defending their nation. As a historian and writer, I've collected some of my knowledge and research into this article to aid fellow writers in their desires to write short stories and novels set in the Civil War.


Why we fought


Reasons for volunteering are as varied as the individuals who fought. They can however be broken down into one of several categories and these can be considered as typical for the majority of soldiers on both sides of the war.


At the start of the war, patriotism was the primary reason hundreds of thousands gathered at town meetings, churches Matt Breida Authentic Jersey , court houses, and post offices to hear speeches, calls for patriotism, and opportunities for adventure. Volunteers on both sides of the Mason Dixon line saw the other in terms of five decades of sectional tensions and propaganda. For the typical northerner, the southern states that one by one voted to secede from the Union were traitors George Kittle Authentic Jersey , rebelling against the lawful and legitimate government in Washington. Slavery was considered 'that peculiar institution? by the typical volunteer and the cause of the tensions politically, and an otherwise inconsequential issue to the greater problem of the break up of the country along sectional lines. The call for volunteers was more often made for the restoration of the country than for the end of slavery. Depending on where one hailed from, the ardor for restoration vs. the abolitionist call for slavery's end was proportionate to what state or region one lived.


New England states, with a long history and the first to end slavery after colonization tended to be more Abolitionist in sentiment. Wealth also played a part, the wealthy tending towards abolitionism as well as restoration of the Union over just for restoration. Western soldiers tended to be a little more restoration oriented and less concerned for slavery as an institution. No matter what state one lived in Jimmy Garoppolo Authentic Jersey , it is clear from letters home and biographical information that the majority of soldiers volunteered for restoring the Union, only a minority having any philosophical qualms about the south and its slaves. After the Emancipation Proclamation, desertions in the Federal army rose and attributed to the change in what many thought was the unacceptable shift in the war's direction. Obviously, those that deserted where another minority, the majority not caring enough about the change or accepting it as the normal consequence of the goal of victory and restoration of the Union to see the job through.


For the typical southerner Jerry Rice Authentic Jersey , the protection of 'the sacred soil? and the right to choose ones destiny motivated them to volunteer. Again, for the southern soldier, the fight to keep slavery as an institution was less a question of if it where right or not to keep a human in bondage, but the threat that the federal government would swoop down and dictate policy and society to a sovereign state was unacceptable. Knowing that the Union would not countenance the rebellion, southern strategy was based upon the defense ? hoping that they could outlast the federal assaults and ware them down Joe Montana Authentic Jersey , a victory achieved by buying time and concessions. Having fewer resources and half the population, this was the only course to take. Accordingly, volunteers were drummed up by appealing to the manly virtue of protecting ones hearth and home from the hordes of northern hirelings and foreigners. It is fairly common knowledge that only a small percentage of the southern population owned even one slave.


Again, the decades of sectional conflict had created a mutual distrust of the motives of either side, and the average southern soldier only saw the threat of northern aggression. When South Carolina signed the ordinance of secession Mitch Wishnowsky Jersey , the opportunity to express the pent up frustration at the economic, social, and political siege the south felt it had been under since the 1840's was realized. Although a majority felt for the Union even afterwards, states like Virginia where politicians successfully voted against drawing up an ordinance of secession even after Ft. Sumter was fired upon, changed their minds when Lincoln called for the 90 day volunteers to put down the rebellion. Reasoning that it was better to stand with the other states on the concept of states rights than to allow a federal army to march on its soil Jalen Hurd Jersey , Virginia became one of the last states to vote to secede.


The average southern soldier, if asked why he volunteered would have stated that he fought to protect his home, which in many cases was literal. The famous Stonewall brigade spent most of the war fighting in its backyard in the Shenandoah Valley. He would have had little to say about slavery, other than his belief that no one had the right to dictate to him how to live his life or how.


How it was fought


Like any organization, an army will not stay static. The Union armies Deebo Samuel Jersey , more so than the confederate army, went through numerous reorganizations. Depending on what time period being considered for a story the military situation will be different based on early war, mid war, and late war.


Both sides came from a common military tradition, a common military training from West Point Nick Bosa Jersey , and their leaders had served with one another in the Mexican war and in the westward expansions and Indian conflicts. Having this commonality, the way regiments were raised on both sid

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