Civil War Soldiers Motivation Essay

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Ashley Raymer Mr.Hollembaek history 110 26 November 2014 Motivation and strength of the Civil War soldiers The American Civil War was a war of all wars, many soldiers died risking their lives in the strong pride that they had for their cause. But the real question is why would someone want to put their lives on the line and volunteer to be apart of such a gruesome war? Many people might say they did it in pride, but we might never know the true reason. Where reasons similar between the Union and the Confederate soldiers for joining e war. When signing up for war most knew that …show more content…

But not all reasons are correct. For example, soldiers did not fight because their lives are less precious than ares, everyone is/should be valued equal no matter who they are. Soldiers did not also join for because they already lived in a more violent culture that took fighting and dying for granted more than the rest of us. The pay for volunteering was also not the best, it was unreliable(McPherson pg5). The pay for soldier was only $11.00 a month(LaFantasie). Some of the soldiers who volunteered were professional, and even coerced conscripts. But they did not fight because they knew how to(McPherson pg.5) None of these reason were causes of joining the war. The Civil War was gruesome and soldiers wouldn’t see their families and friends for the entire four years of struggle(Ray pg3). Most volunteers came from a background of wealth, fin families, and farmers(Ray pg2). Throughout the war soldiers would have to face the hardships of weather and disease. For example soldiers lined in shelter half also known as "dog tent", it was the most common overnight shelter. It would barely stand the weather, and what ever protection they were given to in the first place was ditched because it caused unnecessary extra weight for the soldiers(Helm). Why would anyone want to go through all this pain and struggle of the war? About 2.75 million soldiers fought in the civil war(history net). A man stated the reason he volunteered to fight in the war was because it was a duty in which every person should perform , since it shows love towards their country. He was one of many others who fought out of patriotism for their

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