Berkhofer Jr. McPherson knows soldiers thought many things; the immense variety of soldiers' experiences is evident in his book.
In making this argument he takes on Wiley and Linderman, insisting that "ideological motifs almost leap from many pages" of soldiers' diaries and letters Approximatelyblack soldiers wore the blue; 37, lost their lives.
Glenn W. But while soldiers honestly worked hard to get their feelings accurately down on paper, sometimes even they had trouble figuring it all out.
And all too often young soldiers—brave and true boys—give their lives for no good reason at all.
The initial taste of combat winnowed many regiments, with some soldiers drifting to the rear in search of noncombatant duties. Yet the Union and Confederate armies mobilized three million men. If nothing else, the excursion to the Manassas battlefield gave the Alabama boys reason to ponder war and its grim realities.
Anything, however, as I have often said, to crush the rebellion and give us back the Union with all its stars. Shepherd of Eufaula, Alabama, who was nearly 75 years old. Facts Matter. My favourite example of this transformation of attitude toward slavery is a young private in the rd Ohio, who wrote several letters home in the early months of after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Many, many soldiers were intensely aware of the issues at stake in the war and passionately concerned about them.