I was interested to learn about the reasons for fighting from the different perspectives. Even men on the same side of the war didn't always share the same motivation. For some, such as Longstreet and Buford, they fought because they were professional soldiers. This is what they had always done and what they continued to do regardless of the underlying causes of the war.
Lee, on the other hand, "could not raise his hand against his own". He felt that the decision was made for him because he was a Virginian and now that state was no longer part of the country he had always defended. Then there was Chamberlain. He hadn't been in the army before the war started, but he had always wanted to be a soldier and now was his opportunity to live his dream. It's amazing to me that with all of these different perspectives, slavery doesn't seem to be a major factor for any of them. And yet, most people will tell you that when they were in school they were taught that slavery was the main cause of the Civil War.
The one thing all these commanders believed in was their men. Each of them mentioned that they had the best men fighting in their brigade, division or corps. They could always trust 'their boys' to give everything they had. And many of them did.
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Great post. I too have always been fascinated as to the reasons why people fought and particularly with Lee's decision - undoubtedly a difficult choice for him. I have heard people who have no respect for Lee's decision because they felt that he was going against his principles and others who have praised him for his decision. I personally have great respect for Lee for various reasons but would be interested to see what other people might think. Please share your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteStacy,
ReplyDeleteGreat observation. I too had always thought that the Civil War took place over slavery. It's good to learn that there was more reasons for the War. I guess nothing is ever simple!