When Did the Morale of the Confederate Soldier Start to Collapse?

Reconstructed Rebel said:

This question is inspired by the two quotes below. This Union officer at least, who was part of Sherman's drive to Atlanta, began to notice a difference in the early fall of 1864.

August 31
…….I can't guess what their loss is, though it is not as heavy as on the 22nd or 28th of July, for they did not fight nearly as well. Besides losing a host of men this campaign, the Rebel army has lost a large measure of vim, which counts a good deal in soldiering.
Page 118

Sept. 2nd. 6 miles S. of Jonesboro.
At daylight our skirmish line moved forward and found the Rebs. gone. When our boys reached the R. R. a train of cars was just loading some wounded ; the boys made for it, but it outran them. They left a number of their wounded, and when the 14th broke them on the 1st, we captured several hospitals, in one of which were several officers. I saw in a hole by 1 hospital two legs and three arms. One can't help pitying these Rebel soldiers. They have been whipped here until they have lost all spirit. They don't fight with any spirit when they are attacked and it's more like a butchery than a battle…..
Page 120

I have a feeling that citizens at home may have hung on to hope for a lot longer than the men in the field.

Source:

Reminiscences of the Civil War : United States. Army. Illinois Infantry Regiment, 103rd (1862-1865) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

293 p

archive.org

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At time morale was low on both sides. for eg. the draft riots in new york.

genbeau said:

At time morale was low on both sides. for eg. the draft riots in new york.

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The draft riots didn't affect Union morale because post NYC draft riot the NYC municipal government paid for substitutes for NYC men that didn't want to be drafted. Draftees only made up five percent of the Union Army.
Desertion was a problem for the Union Army but regardless the Union Army could still put more men on the field and properly feed and equip them and some of their men were Confederate defectors.
Leftyhunter

leftyhunter said:

The draft riots didn't affect Union morale because post NYC draft riot the NYC municipal government paid for substitutes for NYC men that didn't want to be drafted. Draftees only made up five percent of the Union Army.
Desertion was a problem for the Union Army but regardless the Union Army could still put more men on the field and properly feed and equip them and some of their men were Confederate defectors.
Leftyhunter

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You spin quite a tale. My congratulations.

Appreciate the responses but let's stick with the question and not try to change the subject. Someone can start another thread about draft riots or Union desertions.

When did the average Confederate soldier begin to realize the jig was up, or in the phrase of the day, "the Confederacy was going to go up the spout?" Did the western troops start to have doubts first? Was there any wavering that started in 1863?

Reconstructed Rebel said:

Appreciate the responses but let's stick with the question and not try to change the subject. Someone can start another thread about draft riots or Union desertions.

When did the average Confederate soldier begin to realize the jig was up, or in the phrase of the day, "the Confederacy was about to go up the spout? Did the western troops start to have doubts first?

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morale goes to the heart of your question.

genbeau said:

morale goes to the heart of your question.

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Yes it does. Most of the Confederates were as dedicated to their cause as most of the Federals were to theirs. At some point though a man starts to think that there is no purpose in dying for a cause that is dead. When did the prospects for the success of war begin to seem out of reach to your average Confederate soldier?

Reconstructed Rebel said:

Yes it does. Most of the Confederates were as dedicated to their cause as most of the Federals were to theirs. At some point though a man starts to think that there is no purpose in dying for a cause that is dead. When did the prospects for the success of war begin to seem out of reach to your average Confederate soldier?

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Probably in the fall of 1864. First, there's the fall of Atlanta. Then there's Sheridan in the Valley, followed by the re-election of Lincoln. Next Hood is routed at Nashville and that is followed by Sherman turning up at Savannah, Georgia, army intact fresh from his March and ready to do the same to the Carolinas. After all that, Confederate morale must have been in freefall with absolutely no hope of recovery.

The winter of 1863-64 was harsh for the Confederates so I'd say that was the slow start of morale dropping off, and then the summer campaigns just reinforced that.

I think it was probably regional. The Western maybe after Atlanta. The eastern maybe when Petersburg started? How much did the average soldier know about what was going on in different sectors?

Aaron Vinson said:

The winter of 1863-64 was harsh for the Confederates so I'd say that was the slow start of morale dropping off, and then the summer campaigns just reinforced that.

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Can you elaborate a bit on that? Was it the food issue or were there other particular struggles at that time?

genbeau said:

You spin quite a tale. My congratulations.

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Except its actually true.
Leftyhunter

Reconstructed Rebel said:

Appreciate the responses but let's stick with the question and not try to change the subject. Someone can start another thread about draft riots or Union desertions.

When did the average Confederate soldier begin to realize the jig was up, or in the phrase of the day, "the Confederacy was going to go up the spout?" Did the western troops start to have doubts first? Was there any wavering that started in 1863?

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By the summer of 1862 when Confedrate desertions increased every month thereafter.
Leftyhunter

My guess would be it noticeably declined from Gettysburg/Vicksburg onward but started to "collapse" after Lincoln won reelection.

I'd say Confederate morale was on a long glide path down beginning in probably 1862 instead of a sudden collapse. I say this due to two factors: first was just the inevitable cooling of passions following the first flush of secession. Enthusiasm was sky high at that point and had no place to go but down. Then when losses started to pile up in the west, and the conscription law was passed, and the blockade started to bite, and the grim reality of battle, poor food, poor clothing and losing friends and comrades piled up over time, I'd think morale could not help but be affected. It also seems that the passage of the 20 slave law that exempted the rich from serving, and the conscription of all men in the army for the duration also made a noticeable effect on morale.

Let me be quick to add that I don't think the decline was uniform across all units or even within units. Certainly units that were experiencing victories were going to hold onto high morale longer than those who habitually lost. The ANV probably maintained higher morale than the AoT. And some men were probably true believers to the very bitter end while others within the same unit may have been despondent from the get go. But I suspect over time more and more became despondent and it was a gradual decline that only accelerated in the last 12 months due to Lincoln's re-election, Sherman's March that showed their homes were at risk, severe food shortages and rising casualties, all with no end in sight and mounting losses.

More to do with the individual. You can tell what they were fighting for by the way they deserted. Losing territory and a soldiers home caused him to reevaluate how he could protect his home. At some point it became from home. Pillow recovered 5K deserters in Mid Tennessee. Jim Ogden historian at Chattanooga/Chickamauga research those guys. Half went back home after the Tullahoma Campaign, other half after Missionary Ridge.

People talk about the ATL Campaign and desertion. It happened thru Tennessee, Mississippi etc. After Chickamauga and got far worse after Missionary Ridge guys from the Trans Mississippi started heading home.

genbeau said:

You spin quite a tale. My congratulations.

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Haha! If @genbeau was a Rebel soldier he would not be demoralized.

13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf said:

Haha! If @genbeau was a Rebel soldier he would not be demoralized.

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Most likely he would be demoralized as its one thing to be a keyboard warrior vs fighting for real. Both sides had morale problems but one side won with more then a little help from the other.
Leftyhunter

genbeau said:

You spin quite a tale. My congratulations.

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You owe me an apology. You couldn't even ask for proof or Google yourself for sources. Instead of a silly off the cuff reply. If your on a history forum you should at least ask for a source.
Leftyhunter

In Virginia, it seems to have been Wilmington's fall and the news of Sherman marching seemingly unopposed from Atlanta to Savannah that caused the ANV to begin hemorrhaging deserters.

In Georgia, Hood taking over was immediately followed by two bloody disasters. The rout at Jonesboro suggests, as noted by the OP, that AOT morale was not good. After Franklin and Nashville the only soldiers left for transport to North Carolina were diehards.

In the Trans-Mississippi, morale that had been boosted in early 1864 by the repulse of Banks and Steele was probably deflated by the failure of Price's Raid. Word was also trickling in of things farther east. As noted in another recent thread, when they got word that Lee and Johnston had surrendered, the soldiers were done and ready to go home.