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American Civil War: Essay 1

Many scholars and historians have argued that the Confederacy lacked not only the sufficient will to win the American Civil War but also failed to have a strong collection of a national identity. Others have asserted that the military strategy used by the Confederacy served to waste the existing precious manpower. However, according to Gallagher (1999), in the period between mid-1863 and the end of the Civil War, there was a generally positive Confederate morale from both the soldiers and the civilians. Despite the obvious advantages which were enjoyed by the Union in terms of material and industrial production as well as manpower, the Confederacy was not bound to lose the War from the start as many of the historians insist. As such, the interpretation of Gallagher (1999) differs from other historians in terms of whether the defeat of the Confederacy was caused by a lack of morale. This essay provides a discussion of ways that Gallagher (1999)’s interpretation is different from that of other historians. Additionally, a discussion will be provided as to whether Manning (2007)’s analysis of the Confederacy support, refute, or complicate the interpretation by Gallagher (1999).

One of the ways in Gallagher (1999)’s interpretation differs from those of most other historians is that whereas other scholars claim that the Confederate populace was weakly committed to winning independence, Gallagher (1999) argues that the Confederacy was full of both soldier and civilian morale. In specific, he argues that the prevalent scholarly image which has been painted by other historians contradicts the actual testimonies of soldiers and other people who participated in the War. For instance, in the letter by Lucy Otey, the Confederate soldiers were not only energetic but also persevering and could thus not faint or tire in the animation and sustenance of the brave soldiery of the Confederacy and in the quest to gain independence. According to Gallagher (1999), the civilians (those loving hearts as well as busy hands at home) were also full of positive morale and were involved in both praying and toiling so that the soldiers in the ground could gain both preservation and success. Moreover, both the soldiers and the civilians were bitter because of degradation that they had experienced and thus could not despair but were rather firmer than ever before in the quest to emancipate themselves from the shackles of slavery. Such interpretations by Gallagher (1999) are different from those of other historians who suggest that the Confederate morale was weak and thus the reason for the defeat.

            Gallagher (1999) differs with other historians on the aspect of whether the soldiers were willing to fight or had accepted that defeat was imminent. Although other historians have suggested that the Confederate soldiers had a weakened spirit, Gallagher (1999) states that the soldiers fought with passion and embraced the cause with both extraordinary determination and valor.  For instance, in a pair of letters from 1864 that Gallagher (1999) presents, there was optimism and willingness from the Confederates to fight and they did not see any chance that the War would close at all. Gallagher (1999) further adds that; as opposed to the soldiers being a collection of individuals with a primary allegiance to their states, a number of the soldiers identified very strongly with the Southern republic and thus there existed some sense of national unity. For instance, a letter from a North Carolina soldier presented by Gallagher (1999) demonstrates how the soldiers had made a resolve to spend the rest of their days in the War rather than give up and continue to be enslaved. Such assertions and interpretations from Gallagher (1999) are different from those of other historians who claim that there was the absence of unity and nationalism which was the basis for the Confederate defeat.

            During a period when hindsight informs us that defeat was increasingly likely and perhaps inevitable, Gallagher (1999) attributes various factors to the continuing high expectations among Southern civilians and soldiers. One of those was the sense of national community which existed. In specific, a large proportion of the Confederate soldiers and civilians stood firmly by their country’s flag and thought that they were bound to succeed. Additionally, the factors of selflessness and sacrifice existed as may soldiers were willing to give their lives for the attainment of the goals of the Confederacy which was to gain independence from slavery. For instance, according to Daniel Pope; one of the members of the army, soldiers were willing and determined do everything for the Confederacy even if it was to be their misfortune to fall in the glorious struggle. During the progression of the War, according to Gallagher (1999), the Confederate civilians came to rely on their armies to boost their morale as opposed to the central government. Such factors are responsible for the continued high expectations of both the civilians and the soldiers despite the fact that defeat was likely and even inevitable.

Based on my judgment, the analysis of Manning (2007) that the root cause of the War was slavery supports the interpretation by Gallagher (1999) especially on the presence of positive morale as well as the presence of nationalism during the Civil War. In specific, according to Manning (2007), the sense of nationalism is realized when she states that soldiers in the Confederacy were focused on fighting for the emancipation of the blacks, freedom and self-governance. The same aspect of unity and nationalism is found in Gallagher (1999)’s interpretation that there were a strong resolve and a sense of nationalism to root out slavery and ensure the independence of the south. Manning (2007) further adds that the Union soldiers saw it as God’s favor for them to fight discrimination based on race as well as slavery. Such a common ground on the need to end slavery is similar to the interpretation by Gallagher (1999) that the soldiers and civilians had resolved to fight until the end to see the gaining of self-governance. Based on those points of commonality between the two authors, it is evident that Manning (2007)’s assertions of slavery as the root cause of the War supports Gallagher (1999)’s interpretation of the War. However, to a larger extent, Gallagher (1999) supports Manning’s assertion on the source of confederate morale as they both argue that that the soldiers identified themselves as citizens first then as soldier only by necessity and temporarily.

Comparing the interpretations by the two historians, I find Gallagher (1999)’s interpretation to be the most convincing because it provides a great deal of evidence to refute the major claims which have been made by a majority of other historians. Although Manning (2007)’s arguments are still valid, they only state the obvious- that self-governance and quest for freedom was the root cause of the Civil War. Gallagher (1999) goes out of the ordinary and manages to convincingly challenge the ideologies and interpretations of other contemporary historians about the nature of the Civil War and the reasons for the Confederate defeat. I find Gallagher (1999)’ interpretation convincing because it is based on evidence from the actual participants of the War. In specific, the interpretations made by Gallagher (1999) are pegged on the letters and diaries of soldiers and civilians who played active roles in the Civil War. Manning (2007)’s interpretation though backed up by strong evidence focus on an aspect that does not raise any controversies and which reinforce the obvious.

In conclusion, although contemporary historians and scholars have argued that the Confederates lacked not only the sufficient will to win the American Civil War but also failed to have a strong collection of a national identity, Gallagher asserts that there was a positive soldier and civilian morale brought about by a sense of nationalism. Gallagher presents various points of evidence to support his interpretation such as the letters and diaries of soldiers who took part in the War. Some of the factors that he attributes to the high expectations of the Confederate soldiers and civilians include selflessness, a strong will to fight, and patriotism as well as nationalism. I find Manning’s interpretation supporting that of Gallagher to the effect that the Civil War was fought with a strong will to end slavery. However, in my opinion, Gallagher’s interpretation is the most convincing as it manages to provide evidence to support an interpretation which goes against the arguments which have been made by a majority of other historians and scholars.