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by NJ Rebel
Why Did They Fight?
One of the biggest questions about the Civil War is why the men of both
sides fought. The answer is not as simple as many might think. The
simplistic view is that each side fought for the primary reasons the War
started: those on the Southern side to preserve slavery and those on the
Northern side to preserve the Union and then later, in a crusade to end
slavery and free the black man.
The very nature of why the soldiers of both sides fought was recently
explored by Dr. James McPherson in a book titled "For Cause and
Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War". While I am not
promoting his book here (although it did win the 1998 Lincoln Prize), his
book does make some very interesting and intriguing points.
First, it is surprising the amount of men from both sides in his statistical
sampling who fought mirrored similar thoughts. Many fought for their
country and considered it an honor to be called to lay their lives down on
the altar "of their country". Many on both sides also had the strength of
conviction of fighting for a holy cause; others fought simply because their
neighbors and friends had joined and did not wish to be seen as being
cowards or soft. Still others (in the North) fought to eradicate slavery,
while those down South fought in the knowledge they would be supported
back home (as did those up North) and at the same time taking
"vengeance" on those who "would pollute and desecrate our Southern
soil". (I kid you not; if you read some of the letters from Southern
soldiers of the early war period, you realize they were in earnest about
their convictions.)
The cause of liberty, as defined by both sections, figured highly in the
reasoning of many soldiers. Those of the North felt they were fighting to
not only preserve the Union but to keep alive the spirit of the Declaration
of Independence and of the Constitution. After the Emancipation
Proclamation was issued on New Years' Day in 1862, many Union
soldiers clearly saw an opportunity to eradicate slavery forever from the
nation, thereby extending the full promise of liberty to the black man as
envisioned by the framers of the Declaration but not the Constitution. It
is ironic that many Southerners, while not slave holding, consented to
fight to preserve or maintain what would be a slave-holding republic if
successful in winning independence. (And the South claimed it was doing
so in imitation of its Revolutionary War ancestors!) However, at the same
time, many in the South fought "against" slavery. Not the slavery they
were used to living with, but the slavery perceived as being readied to be
imposed on them by the hated Yankee. The word "subjugation" was one
also heavily used by Southerners in describing the result of the South
returning to the Union or being defeated by the North.
Both sides in the conflict revered George Washington; it was the
Southern Confederacy that placed him on its Great Seal.
Washington's home of Mt. Vernon, while clearly in Confederate
Virginia, was neutral ground by both sides. After all, who would want to
be responsible for destroying the house of the Father of the Country and
the winner of the fight for Independence from the British Empire in the
War of 1775-1783?
Lastly, and perhaps more pronounced as the War dragged on, the
soldiers of both sides fought for each other. Just like the recent book by
World War II historian Stephen Ambrose about the members of the
509th Parachute Infantry Regiment (and later made into a mini-series for
HBO), many soldiers in the Civil War truly became a band of brothers.
Perhaps the fictional Chamberlain in "Killer angels" described it best
when he tried to explain to the members of the Second Maine (whose
enlistments had not expired and were being added to the Twentieth
Maine rather forcibly) why they all fought:
"Some of us volunteered to fight for Union. Some came in mainly because
we were bored at home and this looked like it might be fun. Some came
because we were ashamed not to. Many of us came . . . because it was the
right thing to do…. But freedom . . . is not just a word. This is free
ground. All the way from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to
bow…. Here we judge you by what you do, not by what your father was.
Here you can be something. Here's a place to build a home… It's the idea
that we all have value, you and me, we're worth something more than the
dirt…. What we're all fighting for, in the end, is each other." (The Killer
Angels, © 1974, Michael Shaara.)
The reasons why men fought in the Civil War are largely just as true
today as they were then. As a Civil War living historian, I can personally
say I have felt the power of those emotions: fighting for one's home,
cause, beliefs and, in the end, one's pards.
The common question:
Why did women want to fight?
Well the same question could be asked of men. Just as men of both the Confederate States and the Union
had their various reasons for why they went to war, so did the women who managed to enlist.
With the possibility of entering the ranks barred for any females, all they had to do was cut their hair, wear
male attire and go under a male alias.With the lack of properly constructed physical examinations, and the
requirements being, good health, reasonable height, at least a few teeth (to be able to tear open cartridges)
and a trigger finger intact, it's understandable that so many women passed off as a man.
What needs to be realised, is that any women present in the ranks, disguised as a man, was there as a
volunteer !
No one expected women to sign up or did they ask them to.
Why did so many want to fight ?
To be with a loved one
A number of women joined the ranks to be with a husband, brother, father etc. This was either because they
didn't want to be left behind alone, or separated from the ones they loved. An account of two individual
ladies in "They fought like demons" tells that the ladies life was their husband, and they would prefer death
than to be without them. Both accounts tell that when the women were sent home, they attempted suicide.
Some women really did love the
excitement of going to war. Some simply loved the idea of becoming a soldier. The thought of being in
battle was both scary, but an adventure to so many young enlisted men (and women).
Sense of Duty
For some women, they were already living under a male alias. With the opportunities for unmarried women
being so few, often dressing and acting like a man secured them a lifestyle that would not have been
available to them as a women. Money and male independence !
Of course in hand with this, then came the pressure to enlist to prove your manhood. The pressure for men
of the period to fight, was exactly the same for the women dressed as a man !
Fighting for the cause
Confederates:
As with men of the confederacy, women too wanted to defend their homeland from the invading Union
armies.
Yankees:
For the northern women, preserving the Union was what they fought for.
The reasons women fought from either side, can be seen as exactly the same as those of a man.
Some women enlisted with brothers or fathers. Not wanting to be seperated by war, they saw the only way to stay
with them was to become a soldier.
Running away from home
Some women joined for the exact oposite reasons as the above section. They infact wanted to get away from
unpleasent situations at home. It was seen as way of escaping a situation they didn't like. Running away as a girl,
wouldn't ensure that they could get work or support themselves, but taking on a male guise, they would be able to
get work, or indeed join the army.
Attractive Bounty and Pay
Certainly an important contributing factor to signing up for poor, working class women was bounty and pay. But
this wasn't solely admitted as a reason to enlist.
Work for women in this period of history was indeed not along the same lines as it was for men. Few domestic
roles were available , and low paid. For a women to make a good living, it wasn't easy. So with the temptation of
earning a "man's" wage, some women lost their skirts and lived under a male alias.
Sarah Rosetta Wakeman did just this and in letters home told her parents how she had later enlisted and received
$152 in money, then $13 a month there after.
Freedom and Adventure
Adventure certainly came into the reasons for enlistment for some women, just as it did for so many men.
"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an
eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there
is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship."
Frederick Douglass
The issues of emancipation and military service were intertwined from the onset of
the Civil War. News from Fort Sumter set off a rush by free black men to enlist in
U.S. military units. They were turned away, however, because a Federal law dating
from 1792 barred Negroes from bearing arms for the U.S. army (although they
had served in the American Revolution and in the War of 1812). In Boston
disappointed would-be volunteers met and passed a resolution requesting that the
Government modify its laws to permit their enlistment.
The Lincoln administration wrestled with the idea of authorizing the recruitment of
black troops, concerned that such a move would prompt the border states to
secede. When Gen. John C. Frémont (photo citation: 111-B-3756) in Missouri and
Gen. David Hunter (photo citation: 111-B-3580) in South Carolina issued
proclamations that emancipated slaves in their military regions and permitted
them to enlist, their superiors sternly revoked their orders. By mid-1862, however,
the escalating number of former slaves (contrabands), the declining number of
white volunteers, and the increasingly pressing personnel needs of the Union Army
pushed the Government into reconsidering the ban.
As a result, on July 17, 1862, Congress passed the Second Confiscation and Militia
Act, freeing slaves who had masters in the Confederate Army. Two days later,
slavery was abolished in the territories of the United States, and on July 22
President Lincoln (photo citation: 111-B-2323) presented the preliminary draft of
the Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet. After the Union Army turned back
Lee's first invasion of the North at Antietam, MD, and the Emancipation
Proclamation was subsequently announced, black recruitment was pursued in
earnest. Volunteers from South Carolina, Tennessee, and Massachusetts filled the
first authorized black regiments. Recruitment was slow until black leaders such as
Frederick Douglass (photo citation: 200-FL-22) encouraged black men to become
soldiers to ensure eventual full citizenship. (Two of Douglass's own sons
contributed to the war effort.) Volunteers began to respond, and in May 1863 the
Government established the Bureau of Colored Troops to manage the burgeoning
numbers of black soldiers.
By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army)
served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. Nearly
40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or
disease. Black soldiers served in artillery and infantry and performed all
noncombat support functions that sustain an army, as well. Black carpenters,
chaplains, cooks, guards, laborers, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots,
surgeons, and teamsters also contributed to the war cause. There were nearly 80
black commissioned officers. Black women, who could not formally join the Army,
nonetheless served as nurses, spies, and scouts, the most famous being Harriet
Tubman (photo citation: 200-HN-PIO-1), who scouted for the 2d South Carolina
Volunteers.
Because of prejudice against them, black units were not used in combat as
extensively as they might have been. Nevertheless, the soldiers served with
distinction in a number of battles. Black infantrymen fought gallantly at Milliken's
Bend, LA; Port Hudson, LA; Petersburg, VA; and Nashville, TN. The July 1863
assault on Fort Wagner, SC, in which the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts
Volunteers lost two-thirds of their officers and half of their troops, was memorably
dramatized in the film Glory. By war's end, 16 black soldiers had been awarded
the Medal of Honor for their valor.
In addition to the perils of war faced by all Civil War soldiers, black soldiers faced
additional problems stemming from racial prejudice. Racial discrimination was
prevalent even in the North, and discriminatory practices permeated the U.S.
military. Segregated units were formed with black enlisted men and typically
commanded by white officers and black noncommissioned officers. The 54th
Massachusetts was commanded by Robert Shaw and the 1st South Carolina by
Thomas Wentworth Higginson—both white. Black soldiers were initially paid $10
per month from which $3 was automatically deducted for clothing, resulting in a
net pay of $7. In contrast, white soldiers received $13 per month from which no
clothing allowance was drawn. In June 1864 Congress granted equal pay to the
U.S. Colored Troops and made the action retroactive. Black soldiers received the
same rations and supplies. In addition, they received comparable medical care.
The black troops, however, faced greater peril than white troops when captured by
the Confederate Army. In 1863 the Confederate Congress threatened to punish
severely officers of black troops and to enslave black soldiers. As a result,
President Lincoln issued General Order 233, threatening reprisal on Confederate
prisoners of war (POWs) for any mistreatment of black troops. Although the threat
generally restrained the Confederates, black captives were typically treated more
harshly than white captives. In perhaps the most heinous known example of
abuse, Confederate soldiers shot to death black Union soldiers captured at the Fort
Pillow, TN, engagement of 1864. Confederate General Nathan B. Forrest witnessed
the massacre and did nothing to stop it.
The document featured with this article is a recruiting poster directed at black men
during the Civil War. It refers to efforts by the Lincoln administration to provide
equal pay for black soldiers and equal protection for black POWs. The original
poster is located in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's–1917,
Record Group 94.
Article Citation
Freeman, Elsie, Wynell Burroughs Schamel, and Jean West. "The Fight for Equal Rights: A
Recruiting Poster for Black Soldiers in the Civil War." Social Education 56, 2 (February 1992):
118-120. [Revised and updated in 1999 by Budge Weidman.]