Compare and contrast the experiences of Union and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War.
...s the fundamental differences between the North and South and from this evidence it can be determined to what extent this had an effect on the soldiers’ experiences. For example, the poorer standards in the South it seems, led to higher rate of desertion. It is necessary when considering the experiences of soldiers of the Confederacy and the Union to contemplate their motivations for fighting in the first place and perhaps more importantly why they continued to fight. Different Civil War historians have varying views on the motivations behind the soldiers. Some based soldiers’ motivations on the ideology behind the war, in particular, McPherson who claims there are immense feelings of patriotism and ideology surrounding those who volunteered and Reid Mitchell states ‘ideology as the most significant reason for the enthusiastic support at the start of the war’ . Historian Randall C. Jimerson also believes a difference in ideology is at the heart of the American Civil War, “the war thus reveals not two different civilizations, but one people divided by conflicting interpretations of common American values”. Other motivations for volunteering for the war included the romanticism of war, Earl Hess states that the Antebellum literature gave men a sense of pseudo preparation for the idea of going to war. Bell Wiley views that men quite simply wanted a change of scenery or the monetary gains, those men volunteering had not anticipated that the war would last more than a few weeks. Others such as Andrew Haughton suggest that a sense of duty combined with the spirit of the community were driving factors for many. Of course these views on motivations for volunteering are mostly retrospective and stated in hindsight. It is hard to speculate why someone did something without evidence. The reasons why men continued fighting are heavily documented with letters from the frontline and camps and these letters are perhaps what give us the best indication of what the soldiers were experiencing in both the Confederacy and Union camps. The experiences of soldiers that a are presented through letters and journals show an overwhelming sense of wanting to continue fighting. Although there were those who deserted, the reasons for which to me seem more self-explanatory than to stay and fight and this is why this question is significant. The first motivation for men to continue fighting that I will consider is primary group loyalty, that is that the soldiers have a sense of belonging to a family with the men they are camped with. Regiments were formed from local communities so the chances are of these men knowing each other all their lives is probable, and adds to this primary group loyalty. This is particularly prevalent in the South where there is a much stronger sense of community but can also be seen in the Union army. Charles Harvey Brewster talks of men that have been injured begging not to be discharged from service as they did not want to let down their regiment. Fear of cowardice is also a powerful tool that kept men from deserting, the thought of dishonouring your family or your community, again particularly for Southerners, was enough to keep the soldiers motivated to fight. Religion was used to keep up morale and revivals swept through the Confederate army, between 1861-1865, and the ‘Clergy tried to be active supporters of Confederate morale’ at the home-front and members of the Confederate army believed that ‘God’s hand is certainly in this contest’ depicting the integral part that religion played in the South’s morale. Ideology was again a motivating factor for continuing participation in the war, if men did not join up for this reason in the first place it developed over time, Reid Mitchell states that at the outbreak of the war 10% of the Union army were anti-slavery and that this number continued to grow throughout the war. A primary source from the Union army Wilbur Fisk writes ‘there are bid very few men in this regiment that desire peace on any terms short of entire submission on the part of the enemy’. As the war continued many soldiers thought that the next battle would be their last a Confederate soldier writes ‘I must confess that the terrors of the battlefield grew not less as we advanced in the war…and I believe that soldiers generally do not fear death less because of their repeated escape from its jaws’ which illustrates the dread of battle within the camps. Historian Gerald Linderman discusses the changing view of courage. Manly strength and confronting the enemy were what we would generally perceive as courage but skulking in the background and staying away from the frontline was accepted as a new form of ‘embattled courage’ , the previous ideals were no longer held in such high regard. However, it must be noted that the Civil War did not contain constant fighting, during the winter months for example there was no fighting but the soldiers did not return home, although more in the Union army, men were granted leave of absence (furlough) and soldiers would travel to Washington for an escape of military life. The life they experienced at camp is certainly central to their experiences of the Civil War. Conditions in camps were extremely poor. They were breeding grounds for disease. The three most common causes of death were dysentery, typhoid and pneumonia which were caused by the horrific sanitation, lack of food and impure water. For those who visited Washington DC, many contracted diseases of the prostitutes they slept with as DC boasted over 450 brothels. To illustrate how disgraceful conditions were in the Civil War, twice as many soldiers died of diseases than those that died on combat. Prisoners of War existed in both the Confederacy and the Union and it seems that both were ill-equipped for the numbers captured as there was severe overcrowding, malnutrition which led to further disease. There were 194,743 Confederate P.O.W of which 30,128 died and 214,865 Union P.O.W of which 25,976 died which shows the similarity between then North and South, they had both not anticipated that there would either be any P.O.W or at least this many. The most infamous P.O.W camp was the Confederacy’s Andersonville, of which 25% of its 50,000 inmates died. Camp life also had an upside, with plenty of spare time in both armies when there was no fighting, the men would find ways to amuse themselves. Some of the activities that they would enjoy would have been a variety of sports, music, gambling and perhaps mostly writing and receiving letters which was critical in keeping up morale. The writing of letters to home although keeping ties with communities also isolated the soldiers. With stories of a growing lack of support for the war at home men felt that they had become institutionalised, having spent so long in the army, that they could not return home with ‘fears of making a living after the war’. Soldiers also ‘felt estranged from their hometowns’. Soldiers were...