Courage in the Civil War (Referencing for Cause and Comrades by James M. Mcpherson

Kathie Kaidan 4/14/10 HST 202 Paper 2 There is much contr of all timeyplacesy and misgiving about the reasons of why the Civil contend started, and why it went on for so long. The Civil War is unusual non only in American History, only in world history as well because of the vehe custodyce and carnage of it. Men were taking up arms against their neighbors, fathers, sons, brothers, and friends to meet on the field of scrap with only unmatched mission to kill one another.James McPherson wondered this, so he researched everywhere 25,000 uncensored letters to friends and family, and to the highest degree 250 private diaries from soldiers rubbish for the Confederacy and soldiers fighting for the Union. He then took what he learned and wrote the book For Cause and Comrades, and found certain ideals that, he believes, atomic number 18 key reasons as to why these workforce fought each other over this conflict. McPherson argues that the initial impulse of the soldiers to fight t he state of war was the simple military act that follows subsequently(prenominal) the declaration of any war.In most cases military insaneness is short lived, and mostly just talk, and then people back downwards when asked to rise up and fight. But in the Civil War, work force were rupture down doors in order to enlist, and they continue to do so after the initial excite custodyt had died down. McPherson likewise follows French Revolution Historian can Lynn in dividing soldiers motivation to fight into ternary sections throughout the war. I substantiate borrowed part of my conceptual framework from John A. Lynn, an historian of the armies of the French Revolution.Lynn posited three categories initial motivation sustaining motivation and combat motivation. The first consists of the reasons why work force enlisted the second concerns the factors that kept them in the army and kept the army in existence over time and the third focuses on what nerved them to face perfect dan ger in battle. These categories are separate but interrelated (McPherson, 12). maven important aspect was that men fought because of the desire to have this sense of human racefulness and doing things to leaven it. Two versions of manhood competed in the Victorian era the hard-drinking, gambling, whoring two-fisted man among men, and the sober, responsible, dutiful son or husband. Some soldiers found that the army alter them from one kind of man to the other, better kind (McPherson, 26). bravery play a huge role in determining ones level of manliness. The more courage you showed, the manlier you were. And with every man trying to prove himself better than the others, it played a key role in why Civil War soldiers continued to fight for as long as they did.The war started out with the soldiers having a sense of false courage. Most of them hadnt seen battle yet, and they were often unsure if they war would end before they had the take a chance to make their mark. But this behav ior of being pumped up and stirred for battle was just pre-battle adrenalin. They were not truly being courageous until after they had experienced the horror of the bloodshed, and decided to continue to endure it solely over again. When it had been experienced, the emotional impact of it was overwhelming.Many wrote in their letters to loved ones state I hope I will never be in anotherno man can tell me anything about war I have got a plenty (McPherson, 33), and I am convenient with fighting. I wish the War was over(McPherson, 33). McPherson compared these feelings to those men who fought in world War II, mostly the 101st Airborne Division who took part in the D-Day Invasion. Before their drop behind German lines on D-Day, men in the elite 101st Airborne Division were gung-ho.When the survivors returned to England to prepare for their next mission, the boys arent as enthusiastic or anxious to get it over with as they were before Normandy. Nobody wants to fight anymore. (McPherso n, 35) This is when the courage began to show. Even after perceive the elephant, a metaphor used by McPherson in place of battle, the men remained determined to fight. They came to realize that courage meant to stand up against and conquer their fear, not just feeling fear itself. It was at its worse before the battle had even begun.Once it began only their courage and adrenaline could keep them going. They also began of noticing ways to relieve their tension. One way was yelling at the summit of their lungs, and this it to be thought as the origin of the famous Rebel Yell. The men didnt understand the changing in their body chemistry, so they were stupefied when they could overcome illness, disabilities, and sometimes-even wounds in order to fight. After the battle had ended, most men were overcome with exhaustion. When they finally could rest, thoughts and nightmares of the battle would fill their heads.They experienced breakdowns, bantam sleep, lust loss, and hot flashes qui ckly followed by the chills. But, nonetheless, they pursued on. The last thing they cherished was to give up or be taken over by their dreams. To them, retreating or going home was a loss of courage. Civil War soldiers had never heard of the terms shell shock or battle fatigue or combat stress reaction or psychiatric casualties. But many of them experienced the symptoms these terms attempt to describe. A devise that was familiar to them, however, was courage.And they understood that combat stress reaction was a loss of courage, a loss of the will to go on fighting(McPherson, 163). It soon was sack outn that courage wasnt only shown and proven on the field of battle, but to have the determination and desire to endure all else that comes along with warfare scarcity of food, changes in weather, not having proper shelter, little sleep, having to march for hours every day, and not knowing if you were going to see your friends and family ever again. These were the things that took up m ost of the soldiers lives fighting in battle was only a small percentage.McPherson quoted a major in the 11th Georgia on his definition of what courage was in 1863 not as merely gallantry in battle, but also the nerve to endure rain, and snow, and sleet, and the privations of Winter, and the scorching solarise of Summerto undergo extreme fatigue, to subdue the pains of hunger to do battle with sickness and despondency and gloom as with the Countrys enemies. And above all to hold ones self patiently and cheerfully ready to meet the shocks of battle (McPherson, 163-164). Although many other factors were conglomerate as to why the men stuck it out, I believe courage is the fundament to them all.It takes courage to defend your family and land, which is what made your honorable. It takes courage to believe in God, and know that he is watching over you, and guiding you. It takes courage to stand up for your country and fight for what you believe in. Its amazing how these men continued to fight, and continued to be courageous when they had so many things going against them. Its better understood as to why they volunteered in the first place, but it is amazing how so many stayed until they died or the war was declared over. Courage is a strong factor for anyone, but the way it is displayed through these men is miraculous.