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U.S. Ch. 10 Antebellum = time before the Civil War A word we use now People at the time didn’t use it because no one knew a war was coming! More terms: Pro-slavery = you want it Antislavery = you don’t like it As we’ve seen, controversy over slavery only got worse as new territories and states were admitted to the Union. Slavery = “peculiar institution” o Peculiar—or, odd—because there was slavery in a country whose Declaration of Independence said that “all men are created equal.” o Also, Latin word peculium means “private property.” And slaves of course were considered property o Also, use of the word slavery was considered improper by some It’s important to keep in mind that not all Northerners wanted to end slavery completely o there weren’t many abolitionists NOT many Stowes or Garrisons. Many northerners just didn’t want slavery to expand into new states and territories. o And this wasn’t because of moral reasons. o It was because this meant competition Farmers with slaves could out-compete the small farmers who didn’t have slaves. o 1854—formation of Republican Party Made up of former Whigs, Northern Democrats, etc. who opposed the expansion of slavery After Mexican War, U.S. got lots of new territory. Would it be slave or free? o 1st issue is California o Due to the gold rush and the all the people who moved there, California was ready for statehood by December 1849. Would it be slave or free? Most Californians wanted it to be free, and they wrote a constitution outlawing slavery. But most southerners assumed it would be a slave state since so much of it lay below the Missouri Compromise line o What about the other territories gained during the war—New Mexico and Utah Territories? 1 Henry Clay—“Great Compromiser”—proposed a compromise in Congress to get the issue settled and hopefully please both Northerners and Southerners Called Compromise of 1850 o 4 parts: 1.) California comes into U.S. as free state 2.) Stronger Fugitive Slave law—law requiring northerners to return runaways to their southern owners. Anyone convicted of helping an escaped slave faced a fine of $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail. Northerners promise to enforce it (most didn’t though). 3.) Slave trade in Washington D.C. abolished but slavery remained there 4.) New Mexico and Utah territories would have popular sovereignty—people living there could vote whether or not they wanted to have slavery. o The Compromise initially got rejected (as a whole), but after 8 months, all parts of it were passed separately. So for the time being, a compromise was made And war was avoided War is still NOT inevitable at this point. Also interesting to note that the Missouri Compromise is basically dead now. Many northerners didn’t like the Fugitive Slave Law. Many of them felt that their “state’s rights” were being violated because the national government was telling them what to do. o Many northern states passed laws saying that any person who came onto their land was free, and that they wouldn’t enforce the Fugitive Slave Law. Many also participated in the Underground Railroad. o NOT a railroad o NOT underground. o System used to help slaves escape to freedom. o Consisted of lots of secret routes that slaves took to either the free North or to Canada “Stations,” which were usually white people’s homes, existed all along the routes. Escaped slaves could hide there and get food and supplies before moving on to the next station. People who helped escaped slaves were called “conductors.” Harriet Tubman was the most famous conductor. An escaped slave who went back to the South approx. 19 times and was responsible for helping approx. 300 slaves escape to freedom. 1852—publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin 2 Only a few years after the Compromise of 1850, more controversy arose over slavery expanding to territories This time, it involved the Kansas and Nebraska Territories. o Would they be slave or free? Missouri Compromise of 1820 had already said they’d be free. But wasn’t that pretty much dead by now? o One of the biggest supporters of popular sovereignty at this time was a Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas Douglas proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Called for popular sovereignty in both territories. Act passed in 1854. So again, the Missouri Compromise is basically dead—not officially, but it might as well be. This ticked off a lot of northerners because both Kansas and Nebraska were clearly above the Missouri Compromise line After the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed, thousands of pro-slavery and antislavery people poured over the border into Kansas… o …to vote in the elections for territory legislatures o Included a lot of pro-slavery people from Missouri (a slave state) who just came into the territories and illegally voted for slavery. So pro-slavery people won the election (fraudulently), and slavery was allowed in Kansas at least temporarily. President Franklin Pierce, a moderate, officially recognized Kansas as a slave territory. A big conflict then breaks out. Pro-slavery (Lecompton) and anti-slavery (Topeka) people set up different governments in Kansas, and violence broke out. Called “Bleeding Kansas.” Proslavery people burned Lawrence, an abolitionist town. In retaliation, radical abolitionist John Brown led a raid on a proslavery camp and killed 5 proslavery people. o Split open their skulls with broadswords. o Brown never got punished for it though everyone knew who did it. All hell broke loose in Kansas. 1856-1860—approx. 200 people killed, several hundred wounded, and $2 million in property damage. There was also violence in the U.S. Senate. May 1856 1 day after proslavery forces burned Lawrence, Kansas 3 Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner (antislavery) gave a fiery speech in front of the Senate called “The Crime Against Kansas” o Blamed pro-slavery people for Bleeding Kansas. o For 2 days, Sumner attacked slavery and the South o He did most of his finger-pointing at a South Carolina Senator named Andrew Butler. Butler was a real dignified, elderly, Southern gentleman He wasn’t even there at the Senate meeting at the time (to defend himself). “southern honor” Insults like Sumner’s were a no-no Some people probably thought death was better than having your honor insulted, especially when you aren’t there to defend it. o Butler’s nephew, a Congressman named Preston S. Brooks (in the House of Representatives, which wasn’t in session at the time), was watching the speech from the gallery. He saw his uncle being insulted So during the lunch break, he walked into the Senate meeting, pulled out a heavy oak walking steak, and beat Sumner senseless— blood everywhere Brooks beat Sumner until his stick broke, and Sumner didn’t return to the Senate for a couple of years—he claimed he was incapacitated, but we don’t really know if he was exaggerating. Brooks was kicked out of Congress after the incident, but was reelected 2 years later—and he returned to Congress before Sumner did! “Bleeding Kansas” and the Sumner incident show that things were getting more violent at this time. o John Brown heard about Lawrence and the Sumner beating, and this set him off. Politics also getting more nasty and divided at this time too: 1856 Presidential election 2 main candidates were John C. Frémont (Republican) and James Buchanan (Democrat). o Whigs pretty much dead by this time. Abraham Lincoln, who represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives at the time, was a Republican and campaigned for Frémont. o Lincoln gave a speech saying that the only way to end the sectional tension was for one side to yield Who should yield? Lincoln said “the side that’s in the wrong.” What did this mean? 3 things: 4 1.) He was clearly saying that slaveholders were in the wrong. 2.) He was basically saying the Republicans were an antislavery party (although many people already knew this) 3.) He was suggesting that compromise could no longer happen. Up to this time, compromises had always worked in the government—Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, idea of popular sovereignty, Kansas-Nebraska Act. Now Lincoln was suggesting that compromise was no longer possible. Buchanan wins election. o Many people believe that if Frémont had won, the South might’ve seceded from the Union. A month later, a very important Supreme Court case took place—Dred Scott case Scott was a slave who lived with his owner in Missouri, a slave state. o Scott’s owner was an army doctor who did a lot of traveling During one of his trips, he took Scott into Illinois, a free state. When Scott got back to Missouri, he sued for his freedom. Scott claimed that since he’d lived in free land for a little while, he was free. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote the decision The Court said several things: 1.) Scott was NOT free 2.) Scott was NOT a citizen because when the Constitution was written, the founders never meant for him to be a citizen. Moreover, the Founding Fathers thought slaves were “inferior” beings. 3.) Since Scott wasn’t a citizen, he couldn’t even sue in a court. 4.) Scott was property, and because of 5th amendment’s guarantee of due process of law, a slaveholder could not be deprived of his property. So slaveholders could take their slaves wherever they wanted. So what did the Court’s decision mean for the idea of “popular sovereignty”? o It meant it was dead—an “empty” phrase. EXAMPLE: You have a slave According to the Dred Scott decision, that slave is your property 5 And because of the 5th amendment, you CANNOT be deprived of your property You move to a territory that has voted to outlaw slavery, and you settle there. Someone tells you, “you can’t bring your slave here because we’ve voted to outlaw slavery.” You tell them, “but the Supreme Court says that I can’t be deprived of my property.” Supreme Court wins out Also, what did the Court’s decision mean for the Missouri Compromise line? o Chief Justice Taney declared it to be unconstitutional. Many historians believe the Dred Scott decision (and the controversy it caused) was one of the main causes of the Civil War. 1858 midterm elections Race for a Senate seat in Illinois—Stephen Douglas vs. Lincoln Douglas o Democrat o Incumbent (he was already the Illinois Senator and was running for reelection). o Pop. sovereignty guru vs. Abraham Lincoln o Republican o big underdog o believed slavery was immoral and opposed expansion of slavery During the campaign, they had 1 of the most famous debates in U.S. History— Lincoln-Douglas Debates. o Lincoln called slavery a “vast moral evil.” Douglas had always wanted to look at slavery as a political issue, and Lincoln wanted him to see it was a moral issue. o Lincoln also asked Douglas if settlers in a territory could vote to outlaw slavery in their territory before it became a state? In other words, was popular sovereignty legal? REMEMBER: Douglas loved popular sovereignty REMEMBER: What had the Dred Scott decision already said about this? Supreme Court had already said that slaves were property, and that people couldn’t be denied their property. So the idea of popular sovereignty was already declared dead—a state or territory could NOT tell people that they couldn’t bring their slaves there. Lincoln knew this, and so did everyone else. So Lincoln had put Douglas in a trap. o Douglas responded to the question by saying that if people didn’t want slavery in their territory, then all they had to do was elect representatives 6 who wouldn’t enforce slave property laws there—in other words, they could get around the Dred Scott decision this way. Weak answer. Douglas won the Senate seat But Lincoln impressed a lot of people with his skillful debating. o Because of the debates, Lincoln gained a lot of popularity in the Republican Party o And some people started thinking he might make a good candidate for president in the upcoming 1860 election. The next year—1859—the violence over slavery got worse. John Brown led a group of 21 men, black and white, to Harpers Ferry, Virginia. o His plan was to break into a U.S. army arsenal, steal weapons, and give them to slaves in the area so they could rebel. o Brown hoped that slaves all around the area would hear about his plan, flock to him, join the rebellion, and then spread the rebellions all over the South. It didn’t work. A unit of U.S. Marines led by Robert E. Lee surrounded Brown’s group, killed several of them, and arrested Brown. Standing in front of the judge, Brown said, “Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments,— submit; so let it be done!” He was sentenced to hang, and as he climbed the scaffold, he handed a note to one of the Virginia authorities that said, “I John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land; will never be purged away; but with Blood.” This message was prophetic (he was right)!!! CONSEQUENCE—not many Stowes or Garrisons in the North, and there certainly weren’t many J. Browns! o But southerners hear about this and think northerners must be crazy and trying to start a race war o And perception is often more important than reality o What did Northerners really think of the event? o James McPherson argues that most northerners took a sort of “praise the man, not the deed” stance. Election of 1860 4 candidates: 1.) Republican candidate was Lincoln. o He was a moderate when it came to slavery. o He said he wanted to halt the spread or expansion of slavery 7 But he promised Southerners that he would not “interfere with their slaves, or with them, about their slaves.” Democratic Party had split over slavery. o 2.) Northern Democrats liked popular sovereignty and nominated Stephen Douglas. o 3.) Southern Democrats liked the Dred Scott decision and nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky. 4.) John Bell of Tennessee represented Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln won o However, he got only 39.8% of the popular votes. o He won big in the Electoral College o But he didn’t get a single electoral vote from the South. A lot of Southern states didn’t even put him on the ballot. Lincoln’s election convinced many southerners that they were no longer going to have a voice in the national government. REMEMBER: Buchanan was still president for about 4 months after the election Lincoln wouldn’t take office until March 1861. About 5 ½ weeks after the election, in December 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. o By February 1861, 6 more states had seceded (in this order)—Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas. These were all “Deep South” states, where slavery was arguably more important. So the US crumbled under Buchanan, hence why he has such a terrible reputation. February 1861—delegates from those 7 states met in Montgomery, Alabama, where they formed the Confederate States of America, or the Confederacy, or the CSA. o Confederacy is NOT the same thing as the “South.” Several “southern” states never joined the Confederacy. And there were lots of “southerners” who didn’t support the Confederacy (abolitionists, slaves, unionists, etc.). o What’s a Confederacy? Group of states that unite for a common purpose. Usually, the individual state governments, not the national government, have the final say on matters—emphasis on “state’s rights.” Think back to our 1st national Constitution—Articles of Confederation. o They drew up a constitution very similar to the U.S. Constitution except that it protected slavery. o They elected former Mississippi Senator and Mexican War veteran Jefferson Davis president of the Confederacy. At this point, 8 slave states still hadn’t seceded. 8 There were fewer blacks in these 8 states than in the 7 that had already seceded, so they arguably felt less threatened by Lincoln’s election. o This included the “Upper South”—Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina o And the “border states”—Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware. Lincoln took office in March 1861. In his inaugural address, he again said he wouldn’t interfere with slavery where it already existed. o He was speaking to the southern states that hadn’t seceded and trying to calm them down. He also said secession was illegal (according to the Constitution), but that there didn’t need to be bloodshed to be bring the country back together. He also pointed to lots of events that have connected Americans throughout history. Lincoln really wanted to try to keep people in the seceded states feeling like “Americans” for as long as possible. i.e., he wanted to keep the American flag “waving” in the seceded states. o He told US postmasters in the Confederacy to keep flying the American flag at the post offices and to keep delivering mail until the Confederate states told them to leave. o He told US judges in the Confederacy to do the same thing. o He also wanted to keep U.S. troops in some of the federal forts in the Confederacy. Lincoln thought it was essential to keep at least 1 American flag flying in the Confederacy. By the time of his inauguration in March 1861, the Union only controlled 4 southern forts. Eventually, all were either taken or abandoned except for Fort Sumter, which protected the harbor in Charleston, SC. Lincoln sent supply ships to Fort Sumter, and Southerners wouldn’t let the supply ships dock. Before the ships arrived though, Davis ordered Confederates to fire on Ft. Sumter. April 12, 1861, @ 4:30 a.m., the South Carolina people—manning 2 other forts in the Charleston Harbor—started firing on Ft. Sumter. The Union soldiers made a brave stand, but eventually ran out of ammo and had to abandon the fort. No Union soldiers were killed in the fight But as the Union soldiers were leaving the fort, the Union commander—Maj. Robert Anderson—used the last little bit of ammo to fire a salute to the American flag 9 And these last shots ended up killing 3 Confederate men. After Ft. Sumter, who looked like the bad guys? Who had fired first? The Confederacy o Good move by Lincoln letting them fire first. After Ft. Sumter, Lincoln declared the Confederate states to be in rebellion. He then demanded that each U.S. state send a certain number of troops to the U.S. army to invade the Confederacy and put down the rebellion. o Lincoln thought he had the loyalty of the Upper South—big mistake. The 4 upper South states—Virginia, Arkansas, N. Carolina, and Tennessee—then seceded, upping the number of Confederate states to 11. As Southerners, they couldn’t bring themselves to go to war with other southern states. The Upper South joining was crucial for the Confederacy. When they joined, it doubled the white population of the Confederacy (which was still greatly outnumbered by the North, 22 to 9 million). Lots of good railroads and industry More food (mostly cash crops like cotton were grown in the Deep South). After Virginia seceded, the Confederate capital was moved from Montgomery to Richmond (partly as a “bravado” statement since Washington D.C. was so close by). Most of the people who lived in western Virginia opposed slavery, so later they broke away from Virginia and formed West Virginia, which became a U.S. state in 1863. Border states (that had slaves)—Missouri, Delaware, Kentucky, and Maryland—stayed in the Union. Ft. Sumter was the beginning of the war. There were 2 sides fighting: o 1.) U.S. Also called the Union or the North or the Federals Soldiers fought in navy blue uniforms (also called “blue coats”) Called “Yankees” or “Billy Yank” o 2.) Confederacy Soldiers officially fought in gray uniforms (“gray coats”), but many Confederate soldiers didn’t have official uniforms because the Confederacy was short on supplies. Called “Rebels” or “Johnny Reb” Also called CSA Confederacy not the same thing as the South!!! 10 Many people considered the border states—Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri—to be southern states, and they stayed with the Union Also, there were many southerners in the Confederate states who did NOT support the Confederacy Including white Unionists and especially African Americans!!! What was each side fighting for? o The Confederacy was fighting for independence. When Jefferson Davis gave his inaugural address, he compared the Confederate cause to the American Revolution. Psychological advantage for the Confederacy! o Was the Confederacy also fighting to protect slavery? Few Confederates came out and actually said this. They said things like we’re fighting for our “homeland” or “independence” or “states’ rights” But these things included slavery! The southern way of life was built around slavery, and slavery impacted you whether you owned slaves or not. Only about 25% of southerners owned slaves, but… The Confederate economy, life, politics, etc. were all based around the system of slavery. Also important to remember that the North’s economy very much depended on southern agriculture, which was produced by slaves. Much of the entire American economy before the war depended on slavery (and the cotton slaves grew). Most historians believe that without slavery, the Civil War would not have happened. But most Northerners were NOT fighting to end slavery. o Most were fighting to save the Union Not as inspirational as fighting for independence o Later in the war (after Emancipation Proclamation), more Northerners say they’re fighting the war to free the slaves But not very many said this early on. August 1862, Lincoln told newspaper editor Horace Greely, “If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves I would do it, and if I could save the Union by freeing all the slaves I would do it…. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union.” 2 different statements: 1.) “Without slavery, the Civil War wouldn’t have happened.” o True 2.) “The war was about slavery.” 11 o False Union soldiers, especially at the beginning of the war, were fighting to preserve the Union. Union advantages 1.) More people o Union—22 million o Confederacy—9 million (and 4 out of 9 million in Confed. were slaves). Union also had 6 million men of fighting age. And Confederacy only had 2 million. 2.) Better industry and transportation (i.e. more railroads) o But North is not industrial! North has about 75% of the nation’s farm acreage Used mainly to grow things like wheat and corn (food) and not cotton. REMEMBER: Northerners depended on southern crops, especially cotton, that were grown by slave labor. o North has more industry than the South, but only about 15% of U.S. is “industrial” at this time. o North has 60% of nation’s livestock And horses and mules were the primary way of transporting the armies (even though many historians call this war the 1st “railroad war.”) 3.) North already has a government with an infrastructure (basic services needed for community to function). o North has post offices, armies, navies, foreign relations departments with ambassadors, etc. o Confederacy has to start from scratch and create all of this stuff in a couple of months! Confederate Advantages 1.) Lots of cotton o Important for making $ o And for diplomacy (the Confederates knew England needed it, so they could negotiate to get England to join their side). 2.) Fighting a defensive war o It was the Confed. that seceded o And the North was trying to stop them from doing that o So the North actually had to invade and defeat the South. The Confederates only had to hold on and wear out the North (make them give up and leave the South alone), not destroy the Northern army. Just like the colonists during the Revolution This is VERY important, because as late as the fall of 1864, it looked like the North was ready to give up on the war and just let the South secede. 12 3.) Home field advantage o Most of the fighting takes place in the South, where southerners know terrain and can get help from local population. 4.) Psychological advantage of believing they’re better fighters—better with guns and tougher. o Many Northerners and Southerners believed this (i.e. especially after Brooks beat Sumner in Congress). o It wasn’t really true. o But if the people of the time perceived it to be true, then it was important. 5.) Better generals?—this is debatable. o Confed. may have had a few more West Point graduates, but not many more. o Both sides had good and bad generals. o Many people thought Jefferson Davis would be a better wartime leader than Lincoln because Davis was a Mexican War veteran and a West Point graduate. Lincoln had only served in the Illinois state militia and fought for about 2 weeks in the Black Hawk War. o By summer 1862, the top Confederate general was Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. At the beginning of the war, Lincoln had asked him to command the Union army, and he declined. Lee felt he had to be loyal to his home state of Virginia first and foremost. Since Lee turned down the opportunity to lead the Union army, this might’ve been a psychological advantage for the Confederacy. What were Civil War armies (and soldiers) like? About 3.5 million men served o 2.5 million in Union army o 1 million in Confederacy. Pay: o Union soldiers got 13$ per month at beginning of war (16$/mo. at end) o Confederates got 11$/mo. at beginning (and 13$/mo. at end) o Average laborer of the day got about 1$ per day, so soldier’s pay was pretty low. Average soldier o 21-22 years old Average enlistment age was 18-35 at beginning of war and was later expanded to 16-45 (in the South that was raised to 50 because of man shortage). o Farmer o Protestant Average soldier carried: o 1.) Musket or rifled musket They were muzzleloaders 13 At the beginning of the war, most weapons were muskets that fired round balls. Inaccurate with ranges of only 150-250 yards. But the rifled musket eventually replaced the regular musket Fired cone-tipped Minie-bullets Accurate up to at least 500 yards! o 2.) A canteen o 3.) cartridge belt (for ammo) o 4.) backpack with blanket o 5.) haver sack (carried rations, Bible, extra socks, etc.) Daily life o Eating On the march, soldiers took turns cooking Usually got beans, bacon, and bread Bread = either loaf bread, or more often, “hard tack”—like a very hard cracker that could be soaked with coffee or water; could break teeth. In camp, regular cooks were assigned to units in camp Usually got better food—vegetables, meat, soft bread. If a soldier didn’t get enough to eat, he could buy from a “sutler”—like traveling concession stands run by people not in army. Could buy fruits, canned goods (pretty expensive), tobacco, stationary, pencils, socks Whiskey usually not allowed in camps (aside from special holidays like Christmas) But soldiers often bought whiskey secretly from sutlers at night. o Daily duties Average soldier only spent about 15% of time in combat Other 85% spent either in camp or marching between camps. Time in camp spent getting ready for equipment inspections, chopping wood, cooking, shining shoes, and DRILLING! Letters of soldiers indicate they were very bored most of the time And they hated drilling—they spent several hours per day doing this. Officers wanted to keep soldiers busy to keep them out of trouble. 19th century farm boys weren’t used to all the drilling and discipline of military life, so sometimes they got in trouble. For minor infractions like being late, being gone for a short time without permission, or minor theft, punishment was usually just 14 public humiliation designed to embarrass the person—e.g. walking around camp wearing a barrel that said “Thief.” Major infractions like desertion, murder, or sexual assault led to court martials (military trial) with senior military officials as judges If found guilty, soldiers could be sentenced to prison or executed in front of all the other men (actual executions were rare though—only 250 on record in Union army). When soldiers had down time, they danced, gambled (bet on cock fights, horse races, boxing matches), and played baseball This was really when baseball became our national pastime. Combat formation o Usually included a very long main line of soldiers with skirmishers up front. o The purpose of the skirmishers was to draw out the enemy, and once the fighting picked up, they would lie down. Casualties (dead or wounded) o About 1 million total Union: 642,427 (110,100 Killed in Action) Confederate: 483,026 (94,000 Killed in Action) Union + Confed. = 30 million people o About 620,000 total deaths during the war Union: about 360,000 Confed.: about 260,000 Almost 400,000 of these deaths were due to disease! Measles was a big killer (farm boys didn’t have immunity to it) Dysentery also very bad (severe diarrhea that caused dehydration) Almost all soldiers got diarrhea, but dysentery caused tens of thousands of deaths. Knowledge of sickness and disease was very limited at this time, so doctors often used the same tools on many different men without disinfecting them. On the march, the hospital was simply a small canvas tent with a surgical table outside. Hacksaws were the primary surgical instrument (amputations were pretty common). Why did men join the army? o 1.) patriotism (“our government needs you”) o 2.) sense of adventure and travel 15 This was the 1st time many of these farm boys had gone very far from home. o 3.) peer pressure o But these 3 things didn’t really make a soldier stay on the line and risk death in combat…what did this? 1.) The smallest military unit a soldier fought in was a company (about 75-100 men), and these were like families Soldiers didn’t want to let their “families” down. 10 companies made up a regiment, and regiments always represented states (e.g. 3rd Ohio infantry, 5th Virginia cavalry), so state or regimental pride was important for the men. 2.) Didn’t want people back home to think they were cowards. Most soldiers in a company were from the same towns or counties, and if someone acted cowardly, another soldier might write a letter home and tell about what happened. 3.) Officers kept men in line Waved sword behind them, told them to remember their training, and threatened court martial if men ran away. 4.) religion Chaplains held services the night before battle to comfort and inspire men 5.) alcohol—“liquid courage” 16