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For Cause and Comrades Essay

Decent Essays

For Cause and Comrades

For Cause and Comrades by James M. McPherson consists of mostly of soldiers’ diaries and letters home as to why the men were fighting the Civil War. The initial motivation the union and confederacy sustain throughout the story proves that personal honor is valued more than their lives.

The opening chapter of the book is mostly a plot overview of the events that had yet to come. Fratricide, Meaning one that murders or kills an individual (as a countryman) having a relationship like that of a brother or sister, and Rage Military were the main themes of the opening chapters. The fact intrigued me that the Civil War so divided this country that family members would choose opposite sides of this most …show more content…

“Personal honor is the one thing valued more than life itself by the majority of men” (McPherson 77). The reoccurring theme of brotherhood in the story plays a major role as to why a soldier has come to war and why he performs on the battlefield. Brotherhood would be the best explanation for a soldier’s fight to protect one’s self and his comrades.

Both sides, the union and confederacy, had different opinions as to what honor for their country. The Union believed that should if they should fail in the fight for preservation of the union all that the original founders fought for would be lost. The Confederacy believed possessions, such as slaves, were part of the right to freedom. This is the main reason North wanted to separate from the confederacy. The division between the North and South were very apparent. The South was primarily fighting for “property and homes” (McPherson 117). On the other hand, the North was fighting for freedom of all men and unification.

In the closing chapters, we begin the journey to reunification of America and an end to the war. Because the South did not want to succeed, they began to make compromises of the South.

The discussion of religion really started to churn thoughts in mind. It was interesting to me how the author brought up the role of religion on the battlefield. It amazes me that conflict as far back as the civil war branched from the topic of religion

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