DK - The American Civil War

At the end of the war, 174,223 Confederate

soldiers surrendered to the Union, but

some former soldiers resisted Northern

control of the South for years to come.

RETURNING HOME

The surrender agreement 316–17 ❯❯ made

by Grant and Lee at Appomattox in 1865

allowed Southern troops to return home

without being prosecuted for treason. They

had to surrender their weapons, except for

officers’ sidearms, but were allowed to keep their

own horses. Most soldiers returned home on

foot, dressed in little more than rags, and

begged for food along the way.

KU KLUX KLAN

Many Confederate war veterans were reluctant

to accept Northern domination and the

according of civil rights to freed slaves. Groups

of loosely associated vigilantes formed the Ku

Klux Klan 342–43 ❯❯, which resisted U.S. rule

in the South and terrorized African Americans.

Although the Klan was suppressed, other armed

vigilante groups, such as the White League,

continued the fight against black rights and

Republicanism into the 1870s.

SOLDIERS IN GRAY

Confederate soldiers pillaged farms in
search of food or firewood, even though
the people they robbed were civilians on
their own side. This quest for necessities
easily slipped into straightforward crime,
with the theft of money and valuables.

Desertions and casualties
Discipline was seen by senior Confederate
commanders as a serious and persistent
problem. The Southern soldier was a
tough fighter but had an ingrained
resistance to authority. Officers below
the rank of brigadier general were
elected by the men, and this no doubt
led to a tolerance of minor infringements.
But larger issues, such as straggling on
the march and shirking combat, had
to be addressed. Tough commanders
imposed severe punishments, including

AFTER

hanging and branding, for the gravest

offenses. Yet desertion rates remained

high: around one in seven soldiers

deserted from the Army of Northern

Virginia. The causes included disillusion

with the rigors of army life and concern

for the welfare of their families back

home, who were seen as needing the

man’s aid and protection in the face of

increasing hardship and danger. The

rarity of leave led to frequent shorter

episodes of absence without permission,

and troops stationed near home

accepted a mild punishment for taking

an unauthorized break to visit loved ones.

At its height, the Confederate army

numbered some 460,000 men, and more

than a million soldiers served in its ranks

during the course of the war. Of these,

around 250,000 were killed in combat

Confederate campsite

A Confederate army camp in summer could be

pleasant enough, with soldiers engaged in cooking,

playing cards, and reading. African-Americans were

present as servants, cooks, and laborers.

“We are a dirty, ragged set ... but

courage and heroism find many

a true disciple among us.”

THEODORE T. FOGLE OF THE 2 GEORGIA INFANTRY, LETTER TO HIS PARENTS, OCTOBER 13, 1862

Identity badges

Neither army issued identity

tags, so troops inscribed their

names or units onto pieces of

bone, like these Confederate

ones, metal, paper, or even

acorns, so that their bodies

could be identified if they were

killed in battle.

or died from disease or hardship. Many

more were wounded, only one in four

coming through unscathed. Later in

the war, as pessimism and casualties

mounted, religious revivals swept

through the Confederate camps and

desertion grew to epidemic proportions.

Yet thousands of hardened veterans

fought on to the last, with the courage

of despair and pride in their regiments.

Confederates were often viewed as

unkempt and undisciplined. One of their

own commanders, Brigadier General

Cadmus Wilcox, even described

Confederate troops as “little better than

an armed mob.” But the feats of hard

marching, general endurance, and

fighting against the odds achieved by the

Confederate soldiers of the Civil War have

been equaled by few other armies.