Civil War Soldiers

51due论文代写网精选代写范文：“Civil War Soldiers”本文像我们详细的介绍了美国在南北战争中那些士兵们的生活，以及士兵为了生存所付出的代价。在这场战役中超过50万名士兵因为战争付出了生命。

Civil War Soldiers This is the story of two communities relatively close to one another, sharing considerable characteristics such as being relatively young and idealistic and feeling very strongly about their particular way of life and their freedoms. This description, of course, refers to the United States just before the Civil War. On April 12, 1861, a group of soldiers from the newly founded Confederate States of America opened fire on Fort Sumter, a United States Army outpost on the coast of South Carolina. This barrage marked the beginning of the bloodiest four years ever witnessed on American soil. By the end of the struggle, more than half a million men had given their lives for their particular cause, yet the question arose of how a nation so recently founded on the moral principles of liberty and justice could slip into a war with herself. This war, being no different from most others, stemmed from disagreement, difference, and defiance. The issue at stake regarded the question of where regional autonomy stopped and federal power claimed superiority. The South felt that individual states, cities, and communities should be permitted to decide issues of policy; such as the hotly debated topic of slavery. In opposition, the North believed that one nation should have a universal set of rules for all states, cities, and communities to obey. The debate between the North and the South could not be answered and on that fateful spring day, bullets and cannonballs replaced words and laws in this argument. The soldiers that fought in this war had no real physical differences except, perhaps, place of birth and the color of their uniforms. However, they were divided into the Union and Confederate armies and forced to fight brother against brother and father against son. Looking deeper into the thoughts and beliefs of these soldiers one can observe that the amount of similarities are striking and numerous. On the contrary, the differences between these two forces can be counted on one hand. Soldiers from both sides felt the same love for their respective regions and families, fought with the same determination, and both feared, above all, being considered a coward. The intensity that these men fought with has not been replicated since the Civil War and is because, unlike some other wars, the men fought not for survival, but for a common cause . The love that these men felt for their country was so significant that they would “fight like bulldogs  and do everything in their power to win. On both sides of the conflict, soldiers were so afraid of being considered a coward that they would rather die than be labeled with dishonor. “Death before dishonor” was a popular rallying cry and was meant very seriously according to countless letters and diary accounts . It was so serious that many men went into battle injured or sick just to avoid being labeled a coward. This practice had harsh consequences as many of these men that fought sick did not survive the battle. However, both sides felt the agony of the same problems, especially when it came to deserters and sneaks. Quite often only half of the men in a particular unit would do the fighting. Some men were too scared or cowardice to fight. These men would simply pretend to fight or jump out of the way once the fighting began . “When you read of the number of men engaged on our side, strike out at least one third as never having struck a blow  was the response by the captain of the 1st Connecticut Cavalry to a question of how many sneaks the unit had. When it came to battle, many men would fake sick before the battle began and be sent to the infirmary. Some would even try to run away once the battle began, but both the Union and Confederate armies had remedies to that problem. The officers would stand behind the lines and fire at any man who tried to run from battle . Soldiers were also rewarded for bravery in battle with future considerations for commands of new units . However, the great number of men, both Confederate soldiers and Union soldiers, wanted to fight. They were very interested in engaging the enemy and as they called it “seeing the elephant.” Nevertheless, once through a battle, soldiers did not desire to be involved in another. To the soldiers, fighting brought horror that was almost impossible to describe in their letters and diaries. The battles brought fear, even though most did not want to call it fear. The men from both armies felt this incredible dread about the battles, but very few left because of it. It was again because of their high level of commitment and deep honor that compelled that they stay and continue to fight. What was even more impressive was the fact that a majority of the men that made up the militaries were volunteers . Many of the soldiers that enlisted for the army, both the Confederate and the Union, stayed in their armies throughout the entire war. Very few soldiers deserted or chose to not fight once their term was up . Enlistment did rise and fall throughout the war on both sides of the conflict. However, the peaks of enlistment for either side were after defeats for that army. For instance, in July of 1861 after an embarrassing defeat to the South at Bull Run, Northern enlistment rose by a great margin . Rage militaire was another motivation for enlistment and further intensity in fighting. Rage militaire can be described as “a patriotic furor that swept North and South alike in the weeks after the attack on Fort Sumter .” This can be seen throughout the country by various rallies and a large number of enlistments such as a flag burning in Richmond and Ohio raising more then twenty regiments where only thirteen were expected . Many other similarities can be seen between Union and Confederate soldiers. They were driven by self-esteem, their sense of obligation to their comrades, and their deep sense of duty and honor. These ideals were apparent in all letters; soldiers would write home to explain why they continued to stay even after seeing the horrors of war. A Union volunteer explains that he “performed but a simple duty-a duty to my country and myself .” His Confederate counterpart, a sergeant in the 24th Mississippi, express similar feelings; “life is sweet, but I would prefer an honorable death to a disgraceful and shameful life.” Duty and honor were one of few causes that both sides had in common, most of the other causes can be described as differences. Many soldiers, from both sides, attribute much of their inspiration and commitment to their officers. Generally, officers considered their units to be their sons and explained their relationship as paternalism . Soldiers looked up to their officers and followed their lead of dedication and loyalty. The officers were quite important to the success of a unit because “the men think themselves as good as their officers .” Religion and the Second Great Awakening also played major roles in both armies. Men who were not very religious at the beginning of the war where forced to find God, and those who were already religious became even more committed. All of the men fighting in the war were, of course, scarred of dying, and, by finding God, they were able to accept death more then before. A Georgian private wrote, “if a man ever needed God’s help it is in the time of battle ,” while a private in the 25th Massachusetts wrote very similar words, “I felt the need for religion then if I ever did .” Religion and the need for God were almost identical between the Union soldiers and the Confederate soldiers. The two sides could pass for one and the same when it came to any of these topics of religion, problems and fears in battle, commitment and intensity, or honor, however there were a few, very important difference between these two warring militaries. The few differences that separated these men lied mainly in the causes for going to war. For the South, it was mainly to preserve their way of life and not “submit to northern slavery .” The actual act of slavery, however, was not a main or direct reason mentioned by the North to go to war, yet many southern soldiers mentioned it as a reason for war. Though it was an underlying cause, it is more likely to lead to the issue of the federal government imposing laws in the South without limits. Another cause where the opposing armies did not see eye to eye was the distinction of the warring parties. The South saw the war as the North versus the South. Conversely, the North saw the war as the Union against “anarchy and law against order .” The North did not see it as a simple secession, but as the Confederacy threatening the American way of life. Further causes that separate the North and South were described as the South fighting for their liberty in their land, their homes, and their farms. The North claimed nationalism and patriotism, fighting to keep the Union strong and together. Although these regions may have called their reasons difference names, the fact remains that they were truthfully fighting for the same thing. Each wanted to preserve their specific way of life and not be forced to do something they wished not to do. They were fighting for the founding fathers’ ideas of liberty and patriotism, democracy and freedoms. These brothers that fought the American Civil War were so eerily similar that stripped of their uniforms, the Confederates and the Union soldiers could not have been told apart. 

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