Although much is known about the political stance of the military
at large during the Civil War, the political party affiliations of
individual soldiers have received little attention. Drawing on
archival sources from twenty-five generals and 250 volunteer
officers and enlisted men, John Matsui offers the first major study
to examine the ways in which individual politics were as important
as military considerations to battlefield outcomes and how the
experience of war could alter soldiers’ political views. The
conservative war aims pursued by Abraham Lincoln and his generals
in the first year of the American Civil War focused on the
preservation of the Union and the restoration of the antebellum
status quo. This approach was particularly evident in the
prevailing policies and attitudes toward the Confederacy-supporting
Southern civilians and African American slaves. But this changed in
Virginia during the summer of 1862 with the formation of the Army
of Virginia. If the Army of the Potomac (the major Union force in
Virginia) was dominated by generals who concurred with the ideology
of the Democratic Party, the Army of Virginia was its political
opposite, from its senior generals to the common soldiers. The
majority of officers and soldiers in the Army of Virginia saw
slavery and pro-Confederate civilians as crucial components of the
rebel war effort and blamed them for prolonging the war.
Ultimately, the frustrating occupation experiences of the Army of
Virginia radicalized them and other Union soldiers against Southern
rebellion and slavery, paving the way for Abraham Lincoln to issue
the Emancipation Proclamation.
General
Imprint: |
University of Virginia Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era |
Release date: |
2017 |
Authors: |
John H Matsui
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 0mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth over boards
|
Pages: |
240 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8139-3927-8 |
Categories: |
Books >
Humanities >
History >
General
Books >
History >
General
|
LSN: |
0-8139-3927-5 |
Barcode: |
9780813939278 |
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