Southern Pride Reflected In Battle

[Petethegreek]

One of the main reasons the Union won the war was because it had superior manpower and was also supported by industries that were not as well developed in the South. However, I am always interested by how, throughout the war, Southern forces were able to win some key battles and fight off better-equipped Union forces. One example of such a battle was Chancellorsville in which the South was heavily outnumbered.

In general, I think the C0nfederates fought with a certain reckless abandon that was not as prevalent in the Union. The soldiers themselves seemed to act without fear, often mounting charges in the heat of the moment. This may be why they won some of the key battles in the war where they were outnumbered. The rebel yell itself seems to be a manifestation of the spirit of the Southern forces the courage it often displayed. Do you guys think this was the case during the war?

 

[hanna260]

I mean- it's war. I'm sure the Confederates fought with reckless abandon. But I'm pretty sure the Union soldiers did too. I don't think the Confederacy had a monopoly on bravery.

The leaders were more likely to take chances- because they had more to lose- and more to potentially gain. Not to mention R.E. Lee was a very bold commander. I think the men were pretty much the same- they both had the same fighting capabilities. But the leaders in the early days of the war- when the Confederacy got most of their victories- were very different- which influenced how the men fought.

Welcome to the boards by the way!

 

[brass napoleon]

I agree with Hanna. It wasn't so much the soldiers as it was the leaders. And even there it was three leaders in specific - R. E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and N.B. Forrest.

Take for example the Army of Northern Virginia. Its predecessor under Joseph Johnston won at First Mannassas, but then was pushed all the way back to the outskirts of Richmond by none other than George McClellan himself. It was only after Lee took over, and before Jackson died, that the army earned its reputation as the remarkable fighting force we remember it as.

(And welcome from me as well!)

 

[Brenal]

Mostly they won when fighting on home soil, things went the other way when fighting north of the Potomac so fighting for your own home and hearth may have had something to do with it.

 

[Elennsar]

Welcome from California.

I think the ANV's fighting prowess is often overstated. Yes, it was a brave, determined army. And some leaders (I'd add Dorsey Pender - admittedly a brigade commander through most of this, for one) were definitely brave, determined men.

But even if cautiously committed to battle, the Army of the Potomac fought with spirit and determination of its own. Chancellorsville overwhelmed Joe Hooker more than it overwhelmed the Army of the Potomac's rank and file.

 

[CMWinkler]

Welcome.

 

[Patrick H]

You've posed an interesting question and it's generating some equally interesting responses. Well done, and welcome to the forum.

 

[Petethegreek]

You've posed an interesting question and it's generating some equally interesting responses. Well done, and welcome to the forum.

Thanks. Nothing wrong with some informed conversation.

 

[Stony]

Welcome.

 

[AUG]

The troops of either side fought equally as hard. I agree with others here that it was often the army and corps commanders that lead an army to victory or defeat, whether that be North or South.

Simply look at the Army of Tennessee; it consisted of soldiers and brigade commanders just as daring as those in the ANV, yet it suffered defeat after defeat, primarily due to those at the top. The Army of the Potomac suffered from the exact same problem; it had nothing to do with the troops.

 

[rhettbutler1865]

Welcome--good opening statement/question! I agree with the veterans here that there was bravery on both sides. I've often wondered this myself--was the individual soldier in the Confederacy somehow a better fighter? So often they were outnumbered, and I grew up almost believing "...one Confederate can lick 20 Yankees..." but now I know the commanders had a lot to do with it. But that Rebel Yell...

 

[unionblue]

"A private soldier is but an automation, a machine that works by the command of a good, bad, or indifferent engineer, and is presumed to know nothing of all these great events. His business is to load and shoot, stand picket, videt, etc., while the officers sleep, or perhaps die on the field of battle and glory, and his obituary and epitaph but "one" remembered among the slain, but to what company, regiment, brigade or corps he belongs, there is no account; he is soon forgotten."

From the book, Co. Aytch: A Side Show of the Big Show, by Sam R. Watkins, chapter 1, Retrospective, pg. 22.

Unionblue

 

[rhettbutler1865]

UB, not fair, is it?!

 

[JerseyBart]

Welcome to the forum. Did southerners fight with pride? Sure they did. More pride than a union soldier? I have no idea as there was/is no gauge, chart or mathematical formula to determine that. Just off the top of my head: the Iron Brigade, 1st Minnesota, anyone fighting under General Hancock or Phil Kearny fought with pride. Any of those brigades slaughtered at Fredericksburg storming Mayre's Heights fought with pride etc., etc.

 

[hanna260]

the Iron Brigade, 1st Minnesota, anyone fighting under General Hancock or Phil Kearny fought with pride. Any of those brigades slaughtered at Fredericksburg storming Mayre's Heights fought with pride etc., etc.

.....The boys of the Army of the Tennessee, anyone under George Thomas, the boys that stormed Missionary ridge, the men at Antietam, etc, etc, etc, etc.

 

[unionblue]

UB, not fair, is it?!

rhetbutler1865,

Nope, a soldier's life is never fair.

Unionblue

 

[Stony]

The boys of the 26th NC Troops at Gettysburg.

 

[leftyhunter]

Mostly they won when fighting on home soil, things went the other way when fighting north of the Potomac so fighting for your own home and hearth may have had something to do with it.

I seem to recall even early on Confederate soldiers lost on home soil even when they out numbered Union troops at pea Ridge and Praririe Grove Ark.
Leftyhunter

 

[leftyhunter]

One of the main reasons the Union won the war was because it had superior manpower and was also supported by industries that were not as well developed in the South. However, I am always interested by how, throughout the war, Southern forces were able to win some key battles and fight off better-equipped Union forces. One example of such a battle was Chancellorsville in which the South was heavily outnumbered.

In general, I think the C0nfederates fought with a certain reckless abandon that was not as prevalent in the Union. The soldiers themselves seemed to act without fear, often mounting charges in the heat of the moment. This may be why they won some of the key battles in the war where they were outnumbered. The rebel yell itself seems to be a manifestation of the spirit of the Southern forces the courage it often displayed. Do you guys think this was the case during the war?

Their where plenty of Southerners who fought bravely for their country the United States of America while enlisted in the Union Army. Their where plenty of Southern Unionist guerrillas who wrested territory from the CSA govt. Southeners can fight plenty well . What about the black soldiers born in the South who fought for the USA plenty of bravery their.
Leftyhunter

 

[CSA Today]

Their where plenty of Southerners who fought bravely for their country the United States of America while enlisted in the Union Army. Their where plenty of Southern Unionist guerrillas who wrested territory from the CSA govt. Southeners can fight plenty well . What about the black soldiers born in the South who fought for the USA plenty of bravery their.
Leftyhunter

Low casualty rates for both groups would indicate otherwise.

http://www.civil-war.net/pages/troops_furnished_losses.html