[11], Under orders from Confederate President Jefferson Davis, C.S. Many of their soldiers deserted, returned home, and formed a military force that fought off regular army units trying to punish them. the "CSA"), whereas the northern states that remained united under the U.S. Constitution were called collectively "the Union.". Daniel Library Stacks Call Number E548 .H4. As in the U.S. Army, the Confederate Army's soldiers were organized by military specialty. Sandbox Learning is part of Sandbox & Co., a digital learning company. Ironically, the proportion of Union soldiers who wrote about the slavery question was greater, as the next chapter will show. The Sons of Confederate Veterans posthumously awarded Kirkland their Confederate Medal of Honor, created in 1977. Religion strengthened the soldiers' loyalty to their comrades and the Confederacy. "[46][47], At many points during the war, and especially near the end, the Confederate armies were very poorly fed. Co. Collection Your email address will not be published. For Confederate army soldiers, there are two major records in NARA that provide information on military service: (1) compiled military service record (CMSR) and (2) records reproduced in microfilm publication M861, Compiled Records Showing Service of Military Units in Confederate Organizations (74 rolls). Armies of more than one corps were commanded by (full) generals. Davis proposed an army of 100,000 soldiers in his message to Congress on April 29. The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861-1865), fighting against the United States forces to win the independence of the Southern states and uphold the (MA thesis Virginia Tech, 2014). Under the commands of Robert E. Lee and Samuel Cooper, soldiers of the Confederacy lived by the Motto "Deo Vindice" (God will vindicate us). The Union soldiers normally just referred to them rebels. To the extent the word "battalion" was used to describe a military unit, it referred to a multi-company task force of a regiment or a near-regimental size unit. As the The idea of arming the Confederacy's slaves for use as soldiers was speculated on from the onset of the war, but such proposals were not seriously considered by Jefferson Davis or others in the Confederate administration until late in the war when severe manpower shortages were faced. [32], The southern churches met the shortage of Army chaplains by sending missionaries. Johnny, or just plain Reb. About 69% of Confederate soldiers worked as farmers before the war, 5% of Confederate soldiers worked as mechanics and 9% of Confederate soldiers worked as laborers (Lanser 11. According to his analysis, the soldiers' faith was consoling for the loss of comrades; it was a shield against fear; it helped reduce drinking and fighting in the ranks; it enlarged the soldiers' community of close friends and helped compensate for their long-term separation from home.[38][39]. In his 2010 book Major Problems in the Civil War, historian Michael Perman says that historians are of two minds on why millions of men seemed so eager to fight, suffer and die over four years: Some historians emphasize that Civil War soldiers were driven by political ideology, holding firm beliefs about the importance of liberty, Union, or state rights, or about the need to protect or to destroy slavery. Substitution had also been practiced in the United States, leading to similar resentment from the lower classes. The army did not have a formal overall military commander, or general in chief, until late in the war. In the actual armed conflicts of the Civil War, the two sides had numerous nicknames for themselves and each other as a group and individuals, e.g., for Union troops Federals and for the Confederates rebels, rebs or Johnny reb for an individual Confederate soldier. Research guide for the American Civil War, https://library.citadel.edu/c.php?g=911931, National Park Service: Soldiers & Sailors Database, The Roster of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of Rebellion. Both the United States and the Confederate States began in earnest to raise large, mostly volunteer, armies,[15][16] with the opposing objectives: putting down the rebellion and preserving the Union on the one hand, and establishing independence from the United States on the other. Companies were commanded by captains and had two or more lieutenants. 126 times it says help the less fortunate and I am sure it means even more so when you have compromised their education and freedom as was done for our black bothers and sisters for 250 years before the civil war so others could benefit financiallyhorrible greed at its best. [81][82] They fought knowing they might jeopardize their freedom, unique cultures, and ancestral lands if they ended up on the losing side of the Civil War. At that time they were considered Traitors to the Union. The morning of December 14 revealed that over 8,000 Union soldiers had been shot in front of the stone wall at Marye's Heights. A few corps commanders were never confirmed as lieutenant generals and exercised corps command for varying periods as major generals. By September 1864, however, President Davis publicly admitted that two-thirds of the soldiers were absent, "most of them without leave". 2000-2022Sandbox Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Furthermore, each state often had its uniform regulations and insignia, which meant that the "standard" Confederate uniform often featured a variety of differences based on the state the soldier came from. The full service records are housed at the National Archives and Records Administration. HISTORY. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. How can we avoid the occurrence of weld porosity? Historians provide estimates of the actual number of individual Confederate soldiers between 750,000 and 1,000,000 troops. They took slavery for granted as one of the Southern 'rights' and institutions for which they fought, and did not feel compelled to discuss it. He had also been a United States senator from Mississippi and U.S. Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. "'The land of my birth and the home of my heart': Enlistment Motivations for Confederate Soldiers in Montgomery County, Virginia, 18611862.'" "[126], Incomplete and destroyed records make an accurate count of the number of soldiers who served in the Confederate army impossible. The Confederacy Established. III, pp. Sheehan-Dean, Aaron. [14] Four more slave states then joined the Confederacy. It also extended the terms of enlistment for all one-year soldiers to three years. on the Internet. Be the first one to, The roster of Confederate soldiers, 1861-1865, Advanced embedding details, examples, and help, Confederate States of America. [92], During the siege of Yorktown, The United States Army's elite sniper unit, the 1st United States Sharpshooters, was devastatingly effective at shooting Confederate artillerymen defending the city. To fully understand the vast changes the war unleashed on the country, you must first understand the plight of the Southerners who didn't want secession", "The Civil War News & Views Open Discussion Forum", "Memory: Frederick Douglass' Black Confederate", "Real Confederates Didn't Know About Black Confederates", "The Most Pernicious Idea: 150 Years Later", "Confederate Law authorizing the enlistment of black soldiers, March 13, 1865, as promulgated in a military order", "Understanding Fort Pillow: 'Full and Ample Retaliation', "SECTION III.DesertersPrisoners of warHostagesBooty on the battle-field", INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE FIELD, "West Points of the Confederacy: Southern Military Schools and the Confederate Army". i dont know the answer thats why i was looking for it on here. They felt that they had no choice but to help defend their homes. Compiled service records are files of cards that abstract original military records relating to an individual soldier. [107] It would not be until Robert E. Lee wrote the Confederate Congress urging them that the idea would take serious traction. [112] [113] He noted that some Confederates brought along "their body servants, who in many cases had grown up with them" and that "on occasion some of those body servants were known to have picked up a rifle and fought. "[45] A North Carolinian soldier stated, "[A] white man is better than a nigger. reb. [93] Even Georgian governor Joseph E. Brown noted that "the country and the army are mainly dependent upon slave labor for support. To avoid postponing recognition for their valor, those nominated for the awards had their names placed on a Roll of Honor, which would be read at the first dress parade after its receipt and be published in at least one newspaper in each state. For more information on our use of cookies and usage policies, please visit our PRIVACYPOLICY. "[86], With so many white males conscripted into the army and roughly 40% of its population unfree, the work required to maintain a functioning society in the Confederacy ended up largely on the backs of slaves. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Army was composed of independent armies and military departments that were constituted, renamed, and disbanded as needs arose, particularly in reaction to offensives launched by the United States. Although the two forces were to exist concurrently, little was done to organize the Confederate regular army.[18]. The first few states to join hands in the formation of the Confederacy were South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (18611865), fighting against the United States forces to win the independence of the Southern states and uphold the institution of slavery. No packages or subscriptions, pay only for the time you need. Please note that the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System contains just an index of the men who served in the Civil War with only rudimentary information from the service records (including name, rank and unit in which they served). 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