Wednesday, March 5, 2014
What They Fought For Chapter 2
What were the various reasons that Union soldiers fought for and that helped them persevere? Why did this surprise many in the Confederacy? How did Union soldiers also reference the Revolutionary war?
What was particularly surprising about the vehemence of both Union and Confederate attitudes in wanting to avenge falling comrades?
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Like the South, they too believed they were fighting for the same things their forbearers had fought for, namely freedom and liberty. "We fight for the blessings bought by the blood and treasure of our Fathers." They also believed in nationalism and that the republic could not survive if the south was allowed to secede. Some felt they were fighting not only for freedom in the United States but around the world. "If I do get hurt I want you to remember that it will be not only for my Country and my Children but for Liberty all over the World that I risked my life, for if Liberty should be crushed here, what hope would there be for the cause of Human Progress anywhere else?" and "Every soldier knows he is fighting not only for his own liberty but even more for the liberty of the human race for all time to come." Union soldiers referenced the revolutionary war on many occasions and felt that the Confederates were traitors, spitting on the rights their forefathers fought and died for in the War with the British.
ReplyDeleteThe scale and duration of the civil, the size of its battles and the number of casualties were unprecedented. By the midpoint of the war nearly every household had lost loved ones causing a strong thirst for vengeance.
I think that the main reason the Union soldiers fought in the war was to keep their fractured nation whole as their forefathers had done the same against Great Britain. They wanted to be United and to show that secession was not tolerated. I think the Confederacy was surprised for two main reasons: 1. The Confederate mindset was that the Union soldiers had nothing to lose in the war; if they lost, their lives would return to the same as before-where the Confederates could lose their entire livelihoods. 2. The Union soldiers cited the same reasons for participating in the war as the Confederates did. I think several times the Union soldiers referenced the war as a sort of reconstruction of the states. They wanted to make America whole again and the immediate threat to this was the South's secession. I wouldn't say that there was anything particularly surprising about the vigor of the North and South's attitudes to avenge fallen comrades. They both lost many people in this war, many of them dear friends and family, and they both wanted to make the others pay for what they had done.
ReplyDeleteThe union soldiers wanted to preserve their nation as one because if they allowed the South to secede they feared that individual states would decide to secede as well. Their forefathers had fought to become one nation and they did not want this to change. The north surprised the Confederacy because they did not believe the Union soldiers would last as long as they did. They felt the Union soldiers had nothing to lose but they felt that the Confederacy would lose a great deal. Especially in their workforce because they used slaves to work fields, run errands, and pretty much anything they needed. Both sides referenced the Revolutionary war because they both believed they were fighting like their forefathers did. The South was very vengeful and would mutilate the Union bodies. They would even save body parts from the soldiers they had mutilated and say they would take them home to their families. The North noticed how the South had a lot of passion to fight because the war mostly took part in their homeland.
ReplyDeleteJust like the South, they believed there were fighting for the same thing as their forefathers. The Union soldiers were fighting to keep one nation because that is what their forefathers had fought for.The South were mean and aggressive and this was because they had to protect their homeland. So many from both sides had been lost. The North surprised the Confederacy because they weren't giving up, they were fighting their tails off. The South didn't believe they would last very long.
ReplyDeleteWe often forget just how fresh revolutionary war was in everyones head. The resentment of tyranny from any source was great.
DeleteUnion soldiers fought for many of the same reasons as the south except they wanted to protect the union, end slavery, and as far as the revolutionary war, many union soldiers felt they were like Great Brittain.
ReplyDeleteThe Union soldiers fought for saving the country and its government. To them, the South's secession was an illegal rebellion that needed to be squashed. The Confederate was surprised by this because the north had nothing to lose by fighting. They referenced the war as a way to rebuilt the country, where the war was a threat to the union. The North and South soldiers were adamant in getting revenge for lost loved ones. Killing others to feel better.
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