Why Confederates Fought: Family and Nation in Civil War Virginia - Softcover

Sheehan-Dean, Aaron

Softcover

ISBN 10: 145872252X ISBN 13: 9781458722522

Publisher: ReadHowYouWant, 2012

Synopsis

Despite the massive volume of writing on the American Civil War, one of the fundamental questions about it continues to bedevil us. Why did non slave holders sacrifice so much to build a slave republic? Non slave holders commitment was not marginal; they formed the vast majority of soldiers who fought on behalf of the Confederacy. Nor was slavery a tangential concern to the conflict; the political debate over slavery and its expansion drove the North and South to arms, and the shift to emancipation by the North ensured a desolating war. Though relatively brief in comparison to other nineteenth-century wars, the Civil War generated catastrophic losses for both sides. What facilitated the level of division and destruction witnessed in this war? In what follows, I answer this question by exploring the inspirations that compelled Confederate soldiers into the war and sustained them in the face of horrific losses. Inspirations is not too strong or romantic a word; southern white men felt moved to enlist by a host of personal, familial, communal, religious, and national obligations. Similarly, the decision to reenlist or remain in service was not undertaken lightly. Southern men drew on a variety of motivations when they considered why they needed to resist the Norths efforts to recreate the Union. Understanding how those motivations developed offers insight into what leads human beings to support a war and fight in it.

About this title

Book Description:

"Aaron Sheehan-Dean enables us to see the human dimensions behind support for the Confederacy. He shows the impact of the economy, community values, family, and especially the experiences of war and the enemy in the formation of Confederate nationalism. He has done a service for those who want to understand more about that enduring question of why white southerners went to war to protect slavery and how the war created fresh reasons for resisting the enemy."--William Blair, editor of Civil War History

From the Inside Flap:

In the first comprehensive study of the experience of Virginia soldiers and their families in the Civil War, Aaron Sheehan-Dean captures the inner world of the rank-and-file. He challenges earlier arguments that middle- and lower-class southerners gradually withdrew their support for the Confederacy because their class interests were not being met. Instead he argues that Virginia soldiers continued to be motivated by the profound emotional connection between military service and the protection of home and family, even as the war dragged on.

About this edition

• Publisher: ReadHowYouWant
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 145872252X
• ISBN 13: 9781458722522
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 540