Have You Ever Thought... ?

[kevikens]

When reading of the Civil War I have often imagined myself back in that time and have often wondered, knowing who I am, how I would have acted and who or what I have supported had I lived back then. I think I would initially have been one of those Northerners ( I live in NJ) who would have been willing to let the erring sisters go in peace. I do not think the appeals of the Abolitionists would have had much effect on me and a Union held together by bayonets (like for Lee) held no charms for me. Everything, however, would have changed for me with the firing on fort Sumter. The thought of Old Glory shot up by the rebels, hauled down in disgraceful shame, would have angered me right to the nearest recruiting office. Once it came to war I do not think I would have supported tampering with slavery except in so far as it weakened the ability of the South to prosecute the war. I would have supported Lincoln in 1864, not because I like (1864) Republicans but because I wanted the Union preserved and he was the man to do it. In short, I think I would have behaved as a typical Northerner. There is nothing remarkable or soul searching about my choices.

However, I ask readers here to do the same and put yourself back to 1861. My guess is that many of the White readers presently from the deep South would have wholeheartedly supported the Confederacy. Blacks would have been cautious about their actions until they saw where the war might be going. But for those of you who come from the border regions, do you ever wonder if you had lived back then what difficult choice you would have made about which side to support, again knowing who you are? Could you have fired on the Stars and Stripes or would the thought have so repulsed the Unionist in you that you would have joined with the Federal forces?

 

[brass napoleon]

I think I would initially have been one of those Northerners ( I live in NJ) who would have been willing to let the erring sisters go in peace. I do not think the appeals of the Abolitionists would have had much effect on me and a Union held together by bayonets (like for Lee) held no charms for me.

Just to point out here, the Abolitionists were in fact generally the most vocal advocates of letting the erring sisters go in peace, at least prior to Fort Sumter (in fact the phrase itself was coined by Horace Greeley, who many considered to be an Abolitionist).

In answer to your question though, I think it can be very difficult for us to put ourselves back in that time and divorce ourselves from our present-day perspectives. We ALL view the world much different now than we would have had we been around back then. A lot of it also comes down to where we would have been at the time. For some of us whose ancestors lived in the same general vicinities where they live now, that's probably pretty easy to envision. For others, like me, whose ancestors were all over the place (mostly in the West, in my case), it makes all the difference in the world. I'm sure my perspective would have been much different if I had lived in California or Utah, versus Ohio, Massachusetts, Virginia or South Carolina.

The next question is how old we would have been at the time. If we are to envision ourselves as the age of an average Civil War soldier, we could have a different perspective than if we were to envision ourselves as the age we are today (which for most of us on this forum is considerably older than that).

That said, I think I could say with relative certainty that if I was 19 -20 years old at the time, in an era where almost all of our news of the outside world comes from local sources, I would have gone the same route of my friends and family, wherever they were and whichever direction they went. If I had friends and family going in different directions, then I might have to do some soul-searching based on the information that was available to me at the time. Given the information that's available to me now, I would certainly choose the Union, but I have no way of knowing how much of that information would have been available to me wherever I happened to be at the time.

And that's my (non) answer.

 

[kevikens]

Thanks for the thoughtful response. Had I lived in the Border region I don't know what I would have done.

 

[RebYell64]

My kin comes from Indiana, but I am from Georgia. I imagine my family would be split one way or the other, but I would've likely supported Georgia. Knowing my friends, if war came, we'd all go down for a "Grand old adventure in the Confederate Army". I wouldn't have really cared too much for slavery, and if I were to justify my joining, it would be to "Whip the Yankees from invading my home," or to "Stand with my State in any contest." I know the Unit I would've been in if I enlisted from the county I live in now, and providing I survived the War, I would've fought and starved and fought some more, until '65 in NC when we surrendered.

 

[alexjack]

Great idea for a thread kevikens. I'm looking forward to reading the answers!

 

[dlofting]

My ancestors were in England at the time of the Civil War. My father's family were working class and my mother's were lawyers/solicitors. If I was one of my father's people I would probably have supported the Union, and if one of my mother's, probably the Confederacy.

Just a bit different way of looking at things.

 

[MajGenl.Meade]

I would touring Europe for a loooooong time

 

[Chattahooch33]

My kin comes from Indiana, but I am from Georgia. I imagine my family would be split one way or the other, but I would've likely supported Georgia. Knowing my friends, if war came, we'd all go down for a "Grand old adventure in the Confederate Army". I wouldn't have really cared too much for slavery, and if I were to justify my joining, it would be to "Whip the Yankees from invading my home," or to "Stand with my State in any contest." I know the Unit I would've been in if I enlisted from the county I live in now, and providing I survived the War, I would've fought and starved and fought some more, until '65 in NC when we surrendered.

Huzzah!

 

[Bee]

The CW era was not a good time to be an Indian, nor was the era that followed it, and so on and so forth. I imagine that I would have been moving around even more back then, than I do now.

 

[James S.]

I live in Texas, born and raised, so I would be with a Texas Regiment most likely.

 

[MissREP]

In answer to your question though, I think it can be very difficult for us to put ourselves back in that time and divorce ourselves from our present-day perspectives. We ALL view the world much different now than we would have had we been around back then. A lot of it also comes down to where we would have been at the time. For some of us whose ancestors lived in the same general vicinities where they live now, that's probably pretty easy to envision. For others, like me, whose ancestors were all over the place (mostly in the West, in my case), it makes all the difference in the world. I'm sure my perspective would have been much different if I had lived in California or Utah, versus Ohio, Massachusetts, Virginia or South Carolina.

Agreed.

With that being said, being a Southerner, and coming from a line of independent, state building Florida pioneers, I reckon I would have put my support behind my father, uncles, brothers, and cousins in the Confederate Army. (And from a modern stance, I still would!) I might have even taken a pot-shot at some Yankee raiders up from Fort Myers....

 

[RebelHeart]

I have ancestors on both sides of the conflict. I also currently reside in New Jersey and have been encouraged throughout my life by family to research our rich history, especially when it comes to the war between the states.

Having said that I will admit that I have, on more occasions than I could number, imagined what it would've been like to live in those times. On a couple of camping trips with a good friend we attempted (to the best of our abilities and knowledge at the time) to live as the soldiers did. We took only base essentials and gave it our best.

I've never been inclined to support the concept of slavery. The idea of claiming ownership of another human being nauseates me now and always has primarily because I can not fathom the idea of someone owning me and compelling me, by force, pain, or threat of death, to do anything. Thus, I could not embrace the notion of doing such a thing to anyone else nor tolerating it from another.

However, I also feel (especially in more recent years) that there are instances in which I feel that the Federal government wields too much power over the populace and states, so much that I wonder why we bother even having separate states at-all. The identity and sovereign uniqueness of each state seemingly erodes each day.

I'm not sure if it's even possible to do so, but I believe that I would've fought for the Confederacy while simultaneously condemning the institution of slavery and working to abolish it. I've read a number of memoir entries in which people fought for the Confederacy out of patriotic duty to their home states to fight but without having a personal conviction about slavery.

It is very difficult to imagine having to make such a decision at the time and I am certain I would be torn inside.

 

[brass napoleon]

I'm not sure if it's even possible to do so, but I believe that I would've fought for the Confederacy while simultaneously condemning the institution of slavery and working to abolish it.

Unfortunately, if you had condemned the institution of slavery and worked to abolish it at any time in the 1840s, 1850s, or early 1860s, you would have been banned from the South altogether. Although I'm convinced that there were people who supported the Confederacy and didn't support slavery, supporting the Confederacy and openly condemning slavery were mutually exclusive. Fortunately you live in the 21st century and don't have to face that dilemma.

 

[LoriAnn]

My family would have been pro-Union, the boys would have been Union soldiers, and assuming I had the same personality I have now, I would have been very pro-Union. I see the entire nation as a family and believe no matter how much your family aggravates you, you all stick together. No matter what.

This also means that I could never demonize the opposition. Southern states are family. I mean, you're all weird, but you're family. (Sometimes the weird family members are the most entertaining.)

 

[MissREP]

This also means that I could never demonize the opposition. Southern states are family. I mean, you're all weird, but you're family. (Sometimes the weird family members are the most entertaining.)

That's "y'all are weird", darlin'... (Sorry, couldn't help myself...)

 

[LoriAnn]

That's "y'all are weird", darlin'... (Sorry, couldn't help myself...)

Awesome.

Now if only I could say "y'all" and sound as cool.

 

[RebelHeart]

Unfortunately, if you had condemned the institution of slavery and worked to abolish it at any time in the 1840s, 1850s, or early 1860s, you would have been banned from the South altogether. Although I'm convinced that there were people who supported the Confederacy and didn't support slavery, supporting the Confederacy and openly condemning slavery were mutually exclusive. Fortunately you live in the 21st century and don't have to face that dilemma.

Agreed. I do enjoy the benefit of not having to make such a moral decision. Considering that, I likely would've gone the direction of many and served the Confederacy while silently refusing to support the institution of slavery. So far as I know no generation of my family ever had the wealth to afford slaves anyway, and one of my great-great grandparents came to America as an indentured servant, which is really nothing more than someone whom agrees to be a slave for a prescribed amount of time.

 

[John Hartwell]

The question has nothing to do with who you are or what you think now. The answer entirely depends on your upbringing, family, and environment then.

We might speak of what we would like to have done or believed, but we would not be the same person.

jno

 

[Greg Taylor]

This is a question I have actually thought about from time-to-time. As with most "what if" questions, there are so many variables and blank spaces to fill it is impossible for me to say. I was born in Los Angeles and have lived in Southern California my entire life. During the ACW Northern California was generally Union country and Southern California was sympathetic to the South. However, at that time my family was in the east, mostly in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Bottom line is I probably would have been a Union Man. Confederate loyalties in Los Angeles were not that strong and I certainly would not have risked my life to fight for "dear old California." My great-great grandfather was a soldier in the Union army, a recent Welsh immigrant to Pennsylvania who felt a strong loyalty to the Union and the "Union cause." I just might have joined him as a Pennsylvania volunteer.

 

[RebelHeart]

The question has nothing to do with who you are or what you think now. The answer entirely depends on your upbringing, family, and environment then.

We might speak of what we would like to have done or believed, but we would not be the same person.

jno

That statement makes this a virtually impossible-to-answer question as none of us were alive at that time. We can make an educated guess as to how we may have been raised, but that guess would be based off of who we are now and trying to insert ourselves into how we think we would've been raised.

Had I been raised by my northern ancestors from the southern New Jersey/Philadelphia, Pennsylvania region, I likely would've fallen-in with them and marched with the Union soldiers.

Had I been brought up by my Virginian forefathers, I probably would've sided with the boys in gray and taken up arms against what I believed was an unjust and unconstitutional government.

~finis~