The book, “For cause and comrades why men fought in the civil war” by James McPherson establishes an understanding of the motives behind men’s involvement in the civil war. The first chapter refers to ‘this war is a MacPherson” contemplates why so many men gave out their lives in the blink of a civil war. According to MacPherson, the war was pointless, and negotiations could have solved the problem. In this chapter, MacPherson contemplates how his friends, including members of his family decided to indulge in the civil war.
The second chapter of Macpherson’s book entitled ‘we were in earnest” explains how the civil war was fought even on family grounds. The choice of battlefields in which the civil war took place is still a mystery. This chapter explains about the story of two brothers, who ended up in scuffles and war due to the civil war. Moreover, the chapter also sheds light on the recruitment process used in recruiting soldiers for the civil war.
The third chapter entitled “anxious for the fray” is a continuation into the insight of the roots and recruitment of men into the civil war. Recruitment had to be done since the turnout number of men willing to fight pretty high. This chapter is thus set on the brink of the war, with anxiety engulfing both sides of the battlefield.in this chapter, MacPherson explained through the letters he collected, of the horrors of the battlefield, and the emotional tension and faced the soldiers, as the reality of war took charge.
The fourth chapter, ‘if I flinched,” I was ruined’ begins with MacPherson showing the art used in the civil war. According to this chapter, the war was primitive and lacked strategy. Some authors wrote that the war was crude and inhumane. Due to the nature of the war, many soldiers lost their lives, some due to lack of training and others due to recklessness. However, some soldiers died from the sheer force that their superiors exerted on them. This chapter concludes by laying out different ranks of command that soldiers in the civil war had adopted.
The fifth chapter called “Religion” is what makes brave soldiers, is about how soldiers in the civil war were superstitious and tense at the face of death. Their beliefs about religion made them paranoid of the war and relied on God for protection. Based on this perspective, MacPherson concludes that the war had the most religious superstitions than the previous wars the soldiers took part.
The sixth chapter entitled “a brand of brothers” is about the motivation the men in the civil war relied on, and also the development of the first war battalions. The chapter shows how soldiers relied on unity and brotherhood to win the war.
The seventh chapter, “On the altar of my country”, is based in the heart of the war and shows how soldiers and citizens were anxious for the war to end, and also know their fates after the war was over. Both sides of the war were not ready to lose and still pressed on to save their country and preserve the wellbeing of their families.
“The course of liberty” is the eighth chapter in Macpherson’s book. The chapter summarizes the state of mind of the civil war soldiers. Both sides of the war wanted the larger piece of the pie, which was utterly impossible. The soldiers thus had a new motive to liberate themselves from the state of slavery.
“Slavery must be cleaned out” is the ninth chapter the book for cause and comradeship. In this chapter, the motive of the war was changing from a liberation war into a war with racial attributes. Confederation soldiers had divided opinions about the motives of the war, and many opted to take slaves to heighten the rebellion from the other side of the war front.
The tenth chapter of for cause and comrades titled “we know that we are supported at home,” stipulates what kept the civil war soldiers on their feet. The soldiers were driven by courage, hope, and patriotism to their country. The chapter talks about the three motivating factors of the civil war soldiers.
Vengeance will be our motto, is the second last chapter of the book, and explains the situation that conspired between Confederate troops and Union troops. The war had turned from a pure physical war into a war filled with insults. The more the insults progressed, the more the war grew inhumane.
The last chapter of Macpherson’s book is “the same holy cause” depicts the aftermath of the civil war fights, but the war was still on. The war had effects on the soldiers who fought in the war, with soldiers experiencing post-war disorders and traumas. The book concludes with a show of the fatigue that the war dragged in, and confessions from letters MacPherson collected.
Bibliography
McPherson, James M. for cause and comrades: why men fought in the civil war. 1997.
