For Cause and Comrades

Posted on 22 May 2017 by James M. McPherson

Why did the conventional wisdom that soldiers become increasingly cynical and disillusioned as war progresses not hold true in the Civil War It is to this question why did they fight that James M McPherson, America s preeminent Civil War historian, now turns his attention He shows that, contrary to what many scholars believe, the soldiers of the Civil War remained powerfully convinced of the ideals for which they fought throughout the conflict McPherson draws on than 25,000 letters and nearly 250 private diaries from men on both sides Civil War soldiers were among the most literate soldiers in history, and most of them wrote home frequently, as it was the only way for them to keep in touch with homes that many of them had left for the first time in their lives Significantly, their letters were also uncensored by military authorities and are uniquely frank in their criticism and detailed in their reports of marches and battles, relations between officers and men, political debates, and morale For Cause and Comrades lets these soldiers tell their own stories in their own words to create an account that is both deeply moving and far truer than most books on war. Best Read Books For Cause and Comrades by James M. McPherson – kino-fada.fr By studying tens of thousands of representative letters and diaries written by combatants in the American Civil War author McPherson has attempted to understand what motivated Unionists and Confederates to go to war, to stay at war and to participate in battle What, in other words, did they think they were doing The most notable overall impression I obtained from this was that the primary initial motivation of those devoted to the North was to preserve the Union while that of the Southerners wa By studying tens of thousands of representative letters and diaries written by combatants in the American Civil War author McPherson has attempted to understand what motivated Unionists and Confederates to go to war, to stay at war and to participate in battle What, in other words, did they think they were doing The most notable overall impression I obtained from this was that the primary initial motivati...James McPherson is a fine historian Many of his works on the Civil War are impressive This ranks among hisinteresting works and makes a contribution in its own right.The book is an effort to find the answer to a fundamental question Page 5 What enabled Civil War soldiers to overcome that most basic of human instincts self preservation More basically Page 5 Why did Civil War soldiers do it The book, then, focuses on a fundamental question about those fighting in combat Why James McPherson is a fine historian Many of his works on the Civil War are impressive This ranks among hisinteresting works and makes a contribution in its own right.The book is an effort to find the answer to a fundamental question Page 5 What enabled Civil War soldiers to overcome that most basic of human instincts self preservation More basically Page 5 Why did Civil War soldiers do it The book, then, focuses on a fundamental question about those fighting in combat Why do they fight when death is a very real possib...It s over 150 years since the American Civil War ended and it s still a contentious subject Dozens of new books about it are written every year and I feel sure thousands have been written about it One of the things people didn t agree on when it was being fought was why it was being fought Unsurprisingly, this question continues to be discussed today This book from Oxford University Press looks at why men fought the war It goes beyond the typical sources of books and looks at diaries and th It s over 150 years since the American Civil War ended and it s still a contentious subject Dozens of new books about it are written every year and I feel sure thousands have been written about it One of the things people didn t agree on when it was being fought was why it was being fought Unsurprisingly, this question continues to be discussed today This book from Oxford University Press looks at why men fought the war It goes beyond the typical sources of books and looks at diaries and thousands of letters to answer the question as to why people were willing to lay down their lives...Although Professor James McPherson wrote this study of the motivation of the Civil War soldier, it is not a great exaggeration to say that in this book the soldiers speak for themselves Professor McPherson has read and analyzed a prodigious amount of source material written by Civil War combatants, Union and Confederacy, officer and enlisted soldier For this book, he has taken a sample of the letters home and the diaries of 1076 soldiers, 647 Union and 429 Confederate to analyze their candid, Although Professor James McPherson wrote this study of the mot...Why did people fight in the War of Northern Aggression Why did people fight in the War of Southern Secession Why did they sign up, where did they find the courage for their first battle, why did they stay after they realized that death is real and messy Did people really fight to end slavery How could slave owners claim to be fighting for liberty What did the folks back home wives, parents, kids think about the main bread earner risking his life for Mr Lincoln s War Is well, everyone Why did people fight in the War of Northern Aggression Why did people fight in the War of Southern Secession Why did they sign up, where did they find the courage for their first battle, why did they stay after they realized that death is real and messy Did people really fight to end slavery How could slave owners claim to be fighting for liberty What did the folks back home wives, parents, kids think about the main...I really appreciated the scholarly effort that went into this piece by a reknowned historian The piece, in a way, humanizes the soldiers of both sides, drawing on their personal letters and journals I was actually directed to the book by someone seeking to counter the argument that preserving slavery was a key motivation of the civil war However, the book really doesn t do much in that direction While the author does explore how young men were often driven to enlist for reasons of honor, in I really appreciated the scholarly effort that went into this piece by a reknowned historian The piece, in a way, humanizes the soldiers of both sides, drawing on their personal letters and journals I was actually directed to the book by someone seeking to counter the argument that preserving slavery was a key motivation of the civil war However, the book really doesn t do much in that direction While the author does explore how young men were often driven to enlist for reasons of honor, in pursuit of a thirst for adventure, or to avoid a draft, ideology and or the cause of preserving slavery and the superiority of white southerners played a central role for Confederate troops, especially among leaders The author points out the irony of soldiers claiming to fight for liberty against the tyrannical Yankees seeking to free the slaves The work is carefully researched and the primary sources were selected to be a...This book was really interesting I learned a lot about the Civil War Three future presidents fought in the Civil War Ulysses S Grant, William McKinley, and Rutherford B Hayes Grant and McKinley fought on the same side and in the same regiment The men who fought in the Civil War werereligious men than the men who fought in other wars Some of the men were quite racist in their descriptions of slaves The Emancipation Proclamation was announced during the Civil War, and it led many me This book was really interesting I learned a lot about the Civil War Three future presidents fought in the Civil War Ulysses S Grant, William McKinley, and Rutherford B Hayes Grant and McKinley fought on the same side and in the same regiment The men who fought in the Civil War werereligious men than the men who fought in other wars Some of the men were quite racist in their descriptions of slaves The Emancipation Proclamation was announced duri...This is really great for when you get into arguments with someone about having read skewed sources about why the Civil War was fought Primary sources, yo I forgot to add this book to GR until now, after getting into said argument.Re read as I approach the Civil War in my military history class, this is a rich collation and analysis of a huge variety of letters and diaries from both sides of the Civil War, showing both a unique 19th century mindset, as well as a kind of universality of experience borne out by WWII social science questionnaires I d also like to put this in the hands of, or rather, upside the head of, the next person who tells me that Confederates were all about states rhats Yes, indeed, the rhat to howl Re read as I approach the Civil War in my military history class, this is a rich collation and analysis of a huge variety of letters and diaries from both sides of the Civil War, showing both a unique 19th century mindset, as well as a kind of universality of experience borne out by WWII social science questionnaires...McPherson has written another great book on the American Civil War, a keen interest of mine If you are interested in the war only in passing and want to read only one nonfiction book on the topic, read his heavy duty Pulitzer winner, Battle Cry of Freedom However, if like me you have read it and been thirsty...

English
22 May 2017

James M. McPherson