The Definition of a Soldier Discuss

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Wearing The Gray Suit: Black Enlistment and the Confederate Military, by Frank Edward Deserino
The definition of a soldier may be flexible but
Enlistment is an example of one such term, but the majority of black Southerners did not enlist as they were conscripted, impressed, or coerced into service. Enlistment also contains implications to volunteerism and the draft. While a minority of free blacks did volunteer for militazy duty early in the war, black Southerners were not drafted; they were conscripted, as this was the terminology universally accepted within the legislative dicta at the start of the war.​

Some scholars have voiced the concern that the definition of soldier, and its connection to slaves and free blacks is not the issue and the debate lies in the areas of slave and free black reasoning. Others perceive the connection between black Southerners and the definition of a soldier as central to any discussion surrounding their role within the military, as later pension legislation would rely on such qualifiers. In an article by Eric Foner, the definition of the black Confederate soldier was the underlying basis from which he argued the non-existence of black roles within the military.7 Although the article did acknowledge the role of body servants, the underlining issue was that the debate lies with whether black Southerners held a combat function. I would argue that whether slaves and free blacks carried a gun, or took part in a battle is not the central issue, as it could be proven for example that body servants sent to forage for the company did cariy a rifle. The conditions of war reversed many antebellum restrictions and other legal methods as blacks within the regiment had a different set of critena and regulation that governed their activities. Combat roles, although largely anecdotal, were not the deciding factor or dividing line that determined the category of soldier in the nineteenth century context, regulations and legislation did. Examples, such as the Foner article demonstrate the need for a broader understanding of this term within the context of the war, and with relevance to the legislative developments that provided the framework that placed black Southerners in the military.

7 Eric Foner, "Rebel Yell," The Nation, vol. 270, no. 6, (14 February 2000), pp. 4-5.

The term soldier in its modern context is inclusive of a combat role, but this terminology has become problematic when used to refer to those slaves and free blacks that worked in a supportive capacity within the Confederate military. Other terms have been recommended in the development of this thesis, each ending with a similar connotation to slaves and free blacks as combat soldiers. Enlistment is an example of one such term, but the majority of black Southerners did not enlist as they were conscripted, impressed, or coerced into service. Enlistment also contains implications to volunteerism and the draft. While a minority of free blacks did volunteer for militazy duty early in the war, black Southerners were not drafted; they were conscripted, as this was the terminology universally accepted within the legislative dicta at the start of the war. I argue that just as modern military infrastructures contain different dimensions within the army, the term soldier should not be confined to the strictest understanding of the definition. Within the Confederacy, the use of the word soldier in the language of the law and military regulation held a much broader meaning, which was inclusive of a supportive role just as it is in the language of the modern military. Critical combat support staff is a phrase utilized in this language, but in this context its use is placed to rebut this prescribed narrow definition of soldier while establishing the groundwork from which further discussion on this issue can begin. Subsequent research and understanding into the way nineteenth century field officers defined these supportive roles as soldiers is necessary before an acknowledgment of the term in its broader connotation can be accepted. This thesis is a step in that direction. However, given the contentious nature of this definition, and its use in determining the legislative structure of the pension system, some repetition is unavoidable, and so further inquiry into these issues was presented throughout the thesis.​

The term soldier in its modern context is inclusive of a combat role, but this terminology has become problematic when used to refer to those slaves and free blacks that worked in a supportive capacity within the Confederate military. Other terms have been recommended in the development of this thesis, each ending with a similar connotation to slaves and free blacks as combat soldiers. Enlistment is an example of one such term, but the majority of black Southerners did not enlist as they were conscripted, impressed, or coerced into service. Enlistment also contains implications to volunteerism and the draft. While a minority of free blacks did volunteer for militazy duty early in the war, black Southerners were not drafted; they were conscripted, as this was the terminology universally accepted within the legislative dicta at the start of the war. I argue that just as modern military infrastructures contain different dimensions within the army, the term soldier should not be confined to the strictest understanding of the definition. Within the Confederacy, the use of the word soldier in the language of the law and military regulation held a much broader meaning, which was inclusive of a supportive role just as it is in the language of the modern military. Critical combat support staff is a phrase utilized in this language, but in this context its use is placed to rebut this prescribed narrow definition of soldier while establishing the groundwork from which further discussion on this issue can begin. Subsequent research and understanding into the way nineteenth century field officers defined these supportive roles as soldiers is necessary before an acknowledgment of the term in its broader connotation can be accepted. This thesis is a step in that direction. However, given the contentious nature of this definition, and its use in determining the legislative structure of the pension system, some repetition is unavoidable, and so further inquiry into these issues was presented throughout the thesis.​
 
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