For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War

If you wish to know how the soldiers viewed the war, the issues, their life in the conflict and how those views changed as their situation changed, this is a wonderful source. McPherson presents the letters from both sides of the conflict discussing the same issue so you can see how the soldiers' opinions may be based on the background or personal history. While at times repetitive, this was completing reading and it often made me feel the soldiers' loneliness because they were away from home for years. We also get a sense of what life was for their families without the main bread winner there to do the work.

This slim book is a distillation of 25,000 soldiers; letters and 20 diaries, and analyzes the variety of reasons Civil War soldiers fought --emphasize fought --McPherson focused chiefly on soldiers who did front line fighting (and in any cases died in battle); he did his best to mirror the percentages of soldiers from the different states in each army and the branches of service (infantry, cavalry, artillery) . He admits that he has a disproportionately number of officers (especially on the Confederate side) and a disproportionately small number of black soldiers responses (because 70% of black soldiers were illiterate, while 90% of Union troops overall were literate, and 80% of Confederates). Numerous soldiers wrote home, and there was show more no censorship, so they gave very frank opinions about themselves. their fellow soldiers and officers, and how they felt about the war. While there were some honest cowards who said they were glad not to be where the bullets were flying, a remarkable number were determined to do their duty and die if necessary, even in the face of conditions of appalling danger. show less

Reviewed Dec. 2006 My first Civil War book of the season it surly won’t be the last. McPherson uses over 1000 letters and diaries of Union and Southern soldiers to answer the questions: Why did you enlist...”duty, patriotism, honor and ideology.” How did they sustain motivation to fight...”impulses of courage, self-respect and group cohesion.” Both sides used the “founding fathers” and the energy of “1776” to fuel their opinion of being on the “right side.” Confederates “fought for independence, for a way of life, for their homes, for their very survival as a nation.” Northerners fought because they “believed that they would no longer have a country worthy of the name.” Confederates “professed to fight show more for liberty and independence from a tyrannical government.” “Unionists said they fought to preserve the nation conceived in liberty from dismemberment and destruction.” Both speak to the American Revolution. The Union soldiers did not in the beginning fight to free slaves but as the war progressed and they saw the cruelty and backwardness of the South they began to become convinced that saving the Union would be impossible without “striking against slavery.” “As long as slavery exists...there will be no permanent peace for America.” 28-2006 show less

McPherson wrote a shorter version of this called WHAT THEY FOUGHT FOR. I liked that so much that I read this later, longer version. It is an excellent explanation of why men fought in the Civil War. He covers northern and southern motivations and differentiates between reasons to enlist and motivations for going into battle. McPherson is also clear about the statistics, letting the reader know which groups are over- or under-represented in his sampling and how that might effect the outcomes.

This book analyzed hundreds of letters written by soldiers during the Civil War and uses these letters to give reasons why men went to combat. This book not only applies to the Civil War but gives reasons why soldiers fought in later wars as well. This novel can be read by all students. It can be used in a lesson for giving the motivations for men to fight in the Civil War, on both sides of the conflict.

Really great insight into the reason why soldiers fought in the Civil War. Great read!

Lincoln Prize Winner: 1998