It is necessary to sympathize with the Union soldiers experience in the civil war. The typical Union soldier profile in the Civil War was usually around 18 years old and he was leaving home for the first time. He was faced with the challenge of being away from his family especially the nurture of this mother while simultaneously facing the horror of war and he temptation of independence. The soldiers were fighting to win back the South while making sure he fought courageously so that they would be respected back home. The African-American soldier who fought in the Union deserves sympathy for his efforts in the war as well. The black soldiers efforts were widely ignored and unnoticed after the war. All men who fought for the Union were fighting to bring back the unlawful confederate son into the family- their experience during the war deserves sympathy. It is necessary to sympathize with the Union soldier because of the hardening experiences he suffered through during the war.
The hard experiences brought a coming of man type experience. Cyrus F Boyd went through a hard experience with the officer blank and yet he decided to remain in his rank because he did not want to leave his friends. He was loyal to the men. Eighteen years old was the most common age of a soldier in the Union army. In the years from 1861-1865 many adolescents grew into adulthood while their service in the army. While trying to grow into the true man the temptation of whisky prostitution was around and many men fell into this trap and tempted them away from reaching true manhood.
They had to be courageous at all times and avoid temptation be self-disciplined in order to be deemed manly and upright. These experiences were very hardening on a boy. Boyd and others became desensitized to death and violence during their service in the war. They missed home severely and became accustomed to death and violence. They acted in ways that they never would have acted before. They learned moral discipline in terms of restraining from natural human impulses.
The 15th Iowa Infantry after one battle had to step over a newly dead man but no one stopped to tend to him. At night they listened to sick men dying and injured men groaning. Just a couple of days after the f examined the battle field and were numb to emotion. Boyd noted that he felt an absense of emotion to suffering and death. It is necessary to sympathize with the Union soldier because in order to reach true manhood they had to receive and prject physcal violence hunting and killing fellow men, self discipline while moving away from parental supervision and facing more temptations. TO become a true man they hd to defend family, home and country all while bcoming hradended to violence death all while appreciating the role of emotions. They faced the conflict in battle whether to run with the others or stop and wait for a fellow who had fallen exhausted.
While they were hardened during the war a true man was supposed to show emotion. Soldiers faced an inner conflict of enlisting in the army (a man would not be considered a man if he did not enlist)and while he was enlisted in the army he was living in a contradiction because he was forced to move away from his family. A true man was supposed to be a family provider. Sympathize with the conflict they faced. It is necessary to sympathize with Union soldier because first they had to be a good citizen and join the war and second their behavior was very closely watched back home and sometimes rumors caused suspicion to fall on the soldier. the fact that soldiers were so far from home that communication occurred through letter writing and soldier had to deal with domestic life issues wile remiaing a true man devoted to the Union.
Lieutenant George Kies was accused by his wife for having an affair and it troubled him that his wifre was hearing rumors and he was not there to defend himself. Their behavior was closely monitored by folks back home. So while the soldiers were tyrin gto adapt to a new conditions of the army discipline, bravery, perseverance, and good morals. It is vital to sympathize with the Union armies atmosphere and realize the difficulty that the officers fa ed in establishing ta role of superiority because officers and soldier had known each other their entire llives. It is necessary to sympathize with the fact tha tsodiers felt they truly learned the values of domesticity by leaving home. The soldier claimed that they were taught this because of the violence of war they endured and they realized what they had taken for granted before.
What needs to be sympathized with is the fact that after learning the importance of home in their lives was that many then did not make it home to enjoy what they once had taken for granted. The model that came to be representative in the union army officers were parents and the soldiers were the children. Ath this time the modle for relation between officers and soldierw as the family an dthis way the officers were respected bu thteir rol eo f authority lacked popularity because many officers had grown up with the men that they were now in charge of and they had just as little experience. Sypathize with this situation. The unios saw the souths as the Prodigal Son and the North was through the war disciplining them through force in order to bring them back into the family. The relationship of soldier to officer of obedience to authority was the stigma that would have prevented the secession of th OSUth but they dispobed the north and was takin glike an officer would disipline their soldier.
Like the captain James Wren had disciplined his soldier wwhen he became unruly. It is important to recognize that the disobedience was not intentional but realize that very few of the soldiers had come from any role of subservience. More stuff here I amrally bored The unios was using force to lure the son the unlawful confederate government back ot the father and the Union. Colonel TRHomas Wenthwarh Higginson thought soldier boyis. Childlike pupils the better blak cpeople physiologically immature inferior physically to white people. He supported this view that they were more civilized.
Necissary to sympathize with the black men because they wre not htoughy of as becoming the true man. Sypmpathizw with black soldiers because Higginsion treated them like children. Ira Berlin, Joseph P. Reidy and Lislie S. Rowland wrote in a series of essays that the black soldiers resented treatment like children resented slavery. Black soldiers didnt receive equal pay. It is necessary to sympathize with the Union black soldier because even though military view of paternalism few northerners thought of blacks a sons. It is necessary to sympathize with the black Union soldier because many northerners felt that they owed nothing to these African-American figures. Despite Higginson never losing interest in the rights of African-Americans.
Higginson can be sympathized with a well because he was operating on paternalistic values erely because he wanted his soldiers to love him a he loved them. In Spring 1864 Massachusetts at Brandy Station, Virginia held balls. Absense of women made for difficulty in finding the virtue in the war. Desperate Lyman c Holford soldier complained that they saw only men. S.H. Eels strange to see women. Women were the key to domesticality, homes, community prevented temptation. Their lives were incomplete without feminine presence which nurtured them- hard to deal with hardship risking life when no one around.
Soldiers looked to their nurses for motherly love. Emily Elizabeth parsons said the sick soldier wa weary and reminded her of a poor child who wanted nurturing. Mary Livermore a nurse on a boat on Mississippi spoke of a yong man who constantly asked for his mother. Officers also had to take on a womans role o fwriting letters proclaiming the death of soldiers. IT is necessary to sympathize with the Officers because they were notifying the family of the death. Write more *censored* on the family.
They didnt blame the south but the whole country wa punishef for the sins. The war wa calling for submission to Gods authority. They were humble- needed to repent from their sins. Father authority reined above all. Divine punishment for nations sins. John S. Copley called for submission.
Government authority and Parental authority. Saw a way to promote the Revolution father. They wanted to see laws obeyed. Isaac Jakchon freferred to whole nation whenhe wsiad that they people must obey the law. Respect for the law national authority wartime experience brought these issues to notice. Saw the reconcillaion of the North and South as family and that their differences would be solved in this setting. Boston Post 1861 April looked forward to the Union finding peace and loving each other.
The south mush be redeemed for the family Soldiers severly missed the family. Private Laforest Dunahm longed for home suffering in the war made him appreciate home it was necessary for survival. Sypathize with their bravery. Benjamin F. Ashenfelter said he feared not death God was his refure even through tough times he saw it as a way to become a batter Christian. Sympathize with the fact they may neve rreturn home dath could come at any time. Chirst represented the soldier in his experiences of suffering Sickness and death. Sympathize with the demoralization. Henry Grimes Marshal said he felt like in the army demoralized him.