JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
I'm not sure sheer numbers of deserters would point to it? I'm honestly not being argumentative, do not know enough for one thing. Seems to me perhaps both desertion rates and the Appomattox were brought about by the same thing in the end- terrible shortages across the board. If the Union army had less deserters, well, if you think about it, men would have been much more likely to be at least contented where they were if they were well-fed, not cold and wet, were confident the rations were mostly on the way. The Union also had a vastly wider net to cast, by way of recruitment and then the draft, their numbers could be easily maintained. The South had to draw from within it's borders, the forced conscriptions took its toll by way of age and unfitness to be soldiers- would have to think this would have added to desertion numbers.
I mean, the word ' desertion ' sounds terrible, since the implication is men who seem to turn their backs on their cause, or homeland, or appear to be somehow against the Confederates if not pro-Union, you know? Maybe the reasoning behind the numbers came down to sheer survival for themselves and their families- left alone to cope in a society with increasing shortages themselves. It was a plan implemented by war, to tighten the Blockade and other means of supply, make it tough for the Confederacy to function and it sure worked. These men who left- we'll never know why of course, what was in their heads. Given the circumstances, can conjecture. High numbers could mean just an awful lot of privation. No one could blame any man who experienced what these men did., decided to leave. Good Lord, reading some of the descriptions,what they went through the wonder is so many stayed, Union and Confederate.
I mean, the word ' desertion ' sounds terrible, since the implication is men who seem to turn their backs on their cause, or homeland, or appear to be somehow against the Confederates if not pro-Union, you know? Maybe the reasoning behind the numbers came down to sheer survival for themselves and their families- left alone to cope in a society with increasing shortages themselves. It was a plan implemented by war, to tighten the Blockade and other means of supply, make it tough for the Confederacy to function and it sure worked. These men who left- we'll never know why of course, what was in their heads. Given the circumstances, can conjecture. High numbers could mean just an awful lot of privation. No one could blame any man who experienced what these men did., decided to leave. Good Lord, reading some of the descriptions,what they went through the wonder is so many stayed, Union and Confederate.