this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2023
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chapotraphouse
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Lots of Confederate Soldiers were conscripts who weren't particularly enthusiastic about the war and were just along for the ride.
Others were veterans of the US-Mexico war, who believed they would get some share of the spoils and a path to social promotion by participating in the invasion and plunder of Northern territory. And initially, they were right.
In that same vein, a large number of Northern soldiers were immigrant conscripts either press ganged or duped into enlistment.
So it isn't just Useful Idiots all the way down. Lots of reasons to get mired in the fight.
Plus, plenty of Appalachian regions full of subsistence Farmers seceded or attempted to secede from the Confederacy (e.g. West Virginia and East Tennessee) and waged insurgencies against it. Often in tandem with guerilla bands of runaway slaves.
The South was at much at war with itself, as it was with the North in many cases.
Do you have any readings on that, it sounds awesome.
The podcast Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff did a couple of really good episodes on this topic: Part 1 Part 2
As for readings, the book War at Every Door: Partisan Politics and Guerilla Violence in East Tennessee, 1860-1869 by Noel C.Fisher goes into a lot of depth about the East Tennessee insurgency.
Oh thanks I'll give these a checkout!