America has always approached its conflicts as if extending the thought of free personal nude the uniquely American way of free personal nude life, that is to say as if to leave each man to his own devices and choices free to make or break his own way into life as he has been endowed by his creator. National defense, up until the advent of free personal nude the Second World War was something for free personal nude a small national army to attend to. The American Civil War was fought not by professional armies but by armies filled with patriots who answered the call of free personal nude their respective side and put aside all personal want or gain for free personal nude the larger call of free personal nude defending their nation. As a historian and writer, I've collected some of free personal nude my knowledge and research into this article to aid fellow writers in free personal nude their desires to write short stories and novels set in free personal nude the Civil War.
Why we fought
Reasons for free personal nude volunteering are as varied as the individuals who fought. They can however be broken down into one of free personal nude several categories and these can be considered as typical for free personal nude the majority of free personal nude soldiers on free personal nude both sides of free personal nude the war.
At the start of free personal nude the war, patriotism was the primary reason hundreds of free personal nude thousands gathered at town meetings, churches, court houses, and post offices to hear speeches, calls for free personal nude patriotism, and opportunities for free personal nude adventure. Volunteers on free personal nude both sides of free personal nude the Mason Dixon line saw the other in free personal nude terms of free personal nude five decades of free personal nude sectional tensions and propaganda. For the typical northerner, the southern states that one by one voted to secede from the Union were traitors, rebelling against the lawful and legitimate government in free personal nude Washington. Slavery was considered “that peculiar institution” by the typical volunteer and the cause of free personal nude the tensions politically, and an otherwise inconsequential issue to the greater problem of free personal nude the break up of free personal nude the country along sectional lines. The call for free personal nude volunteers was more often made for free personal nude the restoration of free personal nude the country than for free personal nude the end of free personal nude slavery. Depending on free personal nude where one hailed from, the ardor for free personal nude restoration vs. the abolitionist call for free personal nude slavery’s end was proportionate to what state or region one lived.
New England states, with a long history and the first to end slavery after colonization tended to be more Abolitionist in free personal nude sentiment. Wealth also played a part, the wealthy tending towards abolitionism as well as restoration of free personal nude the Union over just for free personal nude restoration. Western soldiers tended to be a little more restoration oriented and less concerned for free personal nude slavery as an institution. No matter what state one lived in, it is clear from letters home and biographical information that the majority of free personal nude soldiers volunteered for free personal nude restoring the Union, only a minority having any philosophical qualms about the south and its slaves. After the Emancipation Proclamation, desertions in free personal nude the Federal army rose and attributed to the change in free personal nude what many thought was the unacceptable shift in free personal nude the war’s direction. Obviously, those that deserted where another minority, the majority not caring enough about the change or accepting it as the normal consequence of free personal nude the goal of free personal nude victory and restoration of free personal nude the Union to see the job through.
For the typical southerner, the protection of free personal nude “the sacred soil” and the right to choose ones destiny motivated them to volunteer. Again, for free personal nude the southern soldier, the fight to keep slavery as an institution was less a question of free personal nude if it where right or not to keep a human in free personal nude bondage, but the threat that the federal government would swoop down and dictate policy and society to a sovereign state was unacceptable. Knowing that the Union would not countenance the rebellion, southern strategy was based upon the defense – hoping that they could outlast the federal assaults and ware them down, a victory achieved by buying time and concessions. Having fewer resources and half the population, this was the only course to take. Accordingly, volunteers were drummed up by appealing to the manly virtue of free personal nude protecting ones hearth and home from the hordes of free personal nude northern hirelings and foreigners. It is fairly common knowledge that only a small percentage of free personal nude the southern population owned even one slave.
Again, the decades of free personal nude sectional conflict had created a mutual distrust of free personal nude the motives of free personal nude either side, and the average southern soldier only saw the threat of free personal nude northern aggression. When South Carolina signed the ordinance of free personal nude secession, the opportunity to express the pent up frustration at the economic, social, and political siege the south felt it had been under since the 1840’s was realized. Although a majority felt for free personal nude the Union even afterwards, states like Virginia where politicians successfully voted against drawing up an ordinance of free personal nude secession even after Ft. Sumter was fired upon, changed their minds when Lincoln called for free personal nude the 90 day volunteers to put down the rebellion. Reasoning that it was better to stand with the other states on free personal nude the concept of free personal nude states rights than to allow a federal army to march on free personal nude its soil, Virginia became one of free personal nude the last states to vote to secede.
The average southern soldier, if asked why he volunteered would have stated that he fought to protect his home, which in free personal nude many cases was literal. The famous Stonewall brigade spent most of free personal nude the war fighting in free personal nude its backyard in free personal nude the Shenandoah Valley. He would have had little to say about slavery, other than his belief that no one had the right to dictate to him how to live his life or how.
How it was fought
Like any organization, an army will not stay static. The Union armies, more so than the confederate army, went through numerous reorganizations. Depending on free personal nude what time period being considered for free personal nude a story the military situation will be different based on free personal nude early war, mid war, and late war.
Both sides came from a common military tradition, a common military training from West Point, and their leaders had served with one another in free personal nude the Mexican war and in free personal nude the westward expansions and Indian conflicts. Having this commonality, the way regiments were raised on free personal nude both sides where practically the same and both armies went through similar transitions as they grew.
Recruiting for free personal nude the volunteer regiments on free personal nude both sides followed similar lines. In the North, each state was given a quota of free personal nude men to fill into regiments after Lincoln's call for free personal nude ninety day volunteers. The Governors of free personal nude each state commissioned well to do politicians and retired or current military men to raise regiments. These men then would then build a staff of free personal nude lower ranking officers and send them out to recruit from the counties enough men to fill a company. The typical scene would be a town meeting, where patriotic speeches and music would rouse the fervor of free personal nude those in free personal nude attendance and names would be taken down for free personal nude muster, a time and place being designated as the muster point. Seldom would one find a permanent recruiters point in free personal nude any location, recruiting taking place sporadically. The philosophy at the time held that men who knew one another were more apt to serve with distinction than with total strangers. The United States had a long history of free personal nude raising volunteer units in free personal nude times of free personal nude crises, and this more than anything lead to how units were raised in free personal nude the civil war. The federal government still maintained active recruiting for free personal nude the regular army, but the majority of free personal nude soldiers who fought were three year volunteers who fought in free personal nude regiments raised by the member states, which maintained their unique identity throughout the war, and were mustered out at its end.
Once the company had been recruited, the practice of free personal nude electing company officers took place, although this was not a uniform practice, this would remain the identifying trademark of free personal nude all volunteer units and point of free personal nude contention at times between the regular officers who had to command them. The companies thus recruited would then be marched to a central location in free personal nude the state to be united with their sister companies and designated as a regiment of free personal nude the state. Taking the oath of free personal nude federal service was the last act that would officially take the volunteers into the army.
Being virtually identical in free personal nude the south, there is no need to describe a southern vs. northern way of free personal nude recruiting. The south also maintained a regular army though again, the majority of free personal nude its soldiers served in free personal nude volunteer units. Though the confederate regular army regiments never were developed to the size of free personal nude the federal standing army, they did see service in free personal nude several battles.
There was a big difference in free personal nude the way both sides treated the need for free personal nude more men. On the Federal side, the states chose to raise more regiments instead of free personal nude sending men to fill the vacancies in free personal nude the current units. Though all units occasionally sent officers back home to recruit for free personal nude the regiment, the need for free personal nude manpower was usually acute in free personal nude the existing units. At times units would be combined with others from the same state as they became too small to function on free personal nude their own.
In the confederacy, as time went on free personal nude and a unit’s attrition whittled it down, recruits would be raised from the state that raised the regiment to fill the vacancies.
Another difference between the two sides was the use of free personal nude bounties and the draft. The confederacy never could levee a draft, the constitution ratified that created the confederation of free personal nude southern states would not allow a strong central control over the constituent states, which at times created the situation where a state could and often did withhold vital resources in free personal nude material and manpower claiming the sovereignty of free personal nude the state as the excuse. In the north however, the draft and bounty created several problems for free personal nude the regiments in free personal nude the field. Men raised by bounty, whose motivation was purely money, often proved themselves to be poor soldiers, where more likely to desert and in free personal nude general were of free personal nude poor quality. Regiments whose numbers where bolstered by bounty men often saw their effectiveness in free personal nude combat fall. The other factor was that the bounty men often lowered the unit’s morale. The draft, the last resort of free personal nude the federal government, brought an even lower quality to the manpower sent to the regiments. For the men who had volunteered to preserve the union, who had survived from the beginning of free personal nude the war, the advent of free personal nude the bounty men and the practice of free personal nude avoiding duty by sending a replacement after the draft left many feeling that their sacrifice and the sacrifice of free personal nude those that had died had been cheapened.
Organization
The primary organization throughout the war was the brigade. The brigade was made up of free personal nude from three to five regiments of free personal nude infantry. Early in free personal nude the war, brigades also had a constituent artillery battery assigned to it. This however was then moved to the division structure to be allocated as needed although brigades and batteries often still fought next to one another. The organization into divisions for free personal nude both sides followed the battle of free personal nude Bull Run.
Division:
The use of free personal nude divisions in free personal nude army structure was the next form of free personal nude organization. The division would consist of free personal nude from two to four brigades and supporting cavalry and artillery units attached. Cavalry for free personal nude the federals were not used in free personal nude organic structures until mid war, unlike the confederacy which used larger cav forces. The division became the primary means of free personal nude command and control as the war progressed. Although a soldiers primary loyalty usually lay within his regiment or brigade, the division would be the primary means of free personal nude moving forces about on free personal nude the battle filed.
Corps:
The corps structure would not see use until after Fredericksburg for free personal nude the Federal army. Joseph Hooker would re-organize the Army of free personal nude the Potomac into Corps and assign each a singular badge of free personal nude recognition, knowing that eventually this badge would not only be a means of free personal nude identifying a unit on free personal nude the field, but also a badge of free personal nude honor and pride for free personal nude the rank and file. Each division with in free personal nude the Corps, usually from two to three, would have a specific color to their badge, thus again identifying them further in free personal nude organization.
The confederates did not adopt a similar structure and their Corps and division were usually larger in free personal nude compliment than their federal counter parts.
Army:
It would then stand to reason that an army would be made up of free personal nude between two to five Corps. There did not seem to be any hard and fast rule for free personal nude the organization of free personal nude armies and how many corps would make up each. Location of free personal nude manpower and other resources usually was the deciding factor. The Army of free personal nude the Potomac at times numbered up to one hundred thousand men at times, while other armies would maybe number twenty to sixty thousand. Area of free personal nude the country also played a part in free personal nude where one served. Due to transportation limitations and the need to cover a large front, the Union armies tended to be divided by east and west. Those from western states, with the notable exception of free personal nude the Iron Brigade and a smattering of free personal nude other western units who found themselves in free personal nude the East, usually stayed in free personal nude the west. The same held true for free personal nude eastern units with the exception of free personal nude the two Corps who were sent west after Rosecrans was defeated at Chickamauga to break the siege of free personal nude Chattanooga. These two Corps then stayed in free personal nude the west and participated in free personal nude the March to the sea under Sherman.
Due to the constant state of free personal nude flux that the armies underwent, choosing a unit to place your characters will depend on free personal nude the time period. Early war, your unit would belong to a brigade denoted by the officer in free personal nude command of free personal nude that brigade, i.e. Hatcher's brigade, Sherman's brigade, etc. Mid war, the division and army would be the identifying marks, and mid to late war, the corps belonged to. If writing about Bull Run, or Fredericksburg, or the Seven Days battles, you would not have a Corps structure, as all of free personal nude these battles took place between 1861 and 1862.
Although Corps and Divisions had numbers on free personal nude paper in free personal nude an armies organization chart, they were referred to in free personal nude orders and other documentation by the leader in free personal nude command. Regiments kept their state designations, but brigades and divisions went by the leaders. Artillery batteries also went by the commander, often being designated by both the battery state of free personal nude origins and the leader’s name. Cavalry units kept their state designations. This held true on free personal nude both sides. Armies on free personal nude the other hand, kept the same designations. Federal armies went by the principle water ways that they were organized in free personal nude or primarily served in. Confederate armies went by the states they served in free personal nude or were organized in. Some armies changed names over time as they were organized then re-organized.
©2005 by Phil Bryant
Phil Bryant is a Systems administrator for free personal nude a Fortune 500 company and a writer/actor/director of free personal nude numerous locally produced stage plays and shorter dramas. Phil recieved his Bachelors of free personal nude Arts in free personal nude History from the University of free personal nude New Mexico. Phil is an author on free personal nude a site for free personal nude Writing.Com/ Writers and his portfolio can be visited at phil1861.Writing.Com/ Author.