James McPherson is a fine historian. In For Cause and Comrades, James McPherson (1997) notes that, unlike . Many more soldiers were literate than ever before, and in later wars the letters home were censored. I was actually directed to the book by someone seeking to counter the argument that preserving slavery was a key motivation of the civil war. Great book for academics and non-academics, Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2018. THIS WAR IS A CRUSADE The origins of this book go back many years. the author would give excruciating details as to why one group fought. later American armies of mostly draftees and professional soldiers, Civil War . There are long sections about his methodology, followed by stories based on periods of the war, followed by summary or conclusions. McPherson does a great job at capturing the challenges of civil war soldiers through countless numbers of letters and diaries he’s read. Refresh and try again. The men are articulate; yet denied their physical description, I could imagine them through their own unique spelling and way of "speaking. xv + 178, ISBN 0-19-509023-3 (hardback) $2⦠I would highly recommend this book to all serious students of the Civil War. McPherson took information from more than 25,000 personal letters and diaries written by soldiers of the Civil War, putting in our hands clear and ⦠For me, though I have read books about this battle or that one, they are not as compelling as getting. McPherson has written another great book on the American Civil War, a keen interest of mine. FOR CAUSE AND COMRADES. As James M. McPherson's For Cause and Comrades (1997) has documented, in the Civil War many of the fighting men believed the chaplains' message that the Christian soldier made the best soldier. Grant and McKinley fought on the same side and in the same regiment. The men who fought in the Civil War were more religious men than the men who fought in other wars. McPherson in retelling the motives of the massive volunteer army of the Civil War approaches the topic as any scholar should, by examining and reexamining the primary sources. Wonderful primary source driven exploration on soldier motivations before and during the war. If you are interested in the war only in passing and want to read only one nonfiction book on the topic, read his heavy duty Pulitzer winner, Battle Cry of Freedom. For Cause and Comrades Essay Review. Some of the men were quite racist in their descriptions of slaves. James McPherson masterfully again takes the reader into the heart of the Civil War with his book For Cause and Comrades. ISBN:0-19-509023-3. Ho 1 Caren Ho Jonathan Steplyk US History 1301 11/11/19 For Cause and Comrades: Book Review In 1997, James M. McPherson published âFor Cause and Comradesâ, a novel arguing the causes that lead soldiers in the civil war to lay their lives down their respective sides using letters and personal accounts from their time in the battlefield. By studying tens of thousands of representative letters and diaries written by combatants in the American Civil War author McPherson has attempted to understand what motivated Unionists and Confederates to go to war, to stay at war and to participate in battle. Append., biblio., index. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. The piece, in a way, humanizes the soldiers of both sides, drawing on their personal letters and journals. Our Teacher Edition on For Cause and Comrades can help. I really appreciated the scholarly effort that went into this piece by a reknowned historian. It is part of the genius of For Cause and Comrades that McPherson does not only argue that Civil War soldiers "knew what they were fighting for." This is really great for when you get into arguments with someone about having read skewed sources about why the Civil War was fought. For Cause and Comrades book. This outraged some of these mens' family and friends. McPherson goes on to examine soldiers' writings to discover why they stayed in service when times were bleak, such as Union soldiers after Fredericksburg and Second Bull Run and Confederates after the triple whammy of Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. If I have one criticism, it is that I think the version of the book I had some distractingly frequent editing issues where punctuation was misplaced (beyond the direct quotes from soldiers diaries which the author purposely preserves), but this is at worst a minor annoyance. A lesser writer might blithely report what Union soldiers "thought" as though the northern army represented an undifferentiated mass. In For Cause and Comrades the voices of the young men of the North and South sing out to us clearly, colorfully, compellingly, telling us what it was like for them - the battles, the camps, the cold This is an extraordinary book, full of fascinating details and moving self-portraits. But this was the first one that dwelt on the soldiers themselves. Didn't find it but, kept looking for a letter from one of the men in my great grandfather's regiment or company. It's over 150 years since the American Civil War ended and it's still a contentious subject. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. For me, though I have read books about this battle or that one, they are not as compelling as getting down to the question of what made a soldier not only sign on for this war, but stay there. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. What is the full measure of devotion and in how many ways can it be defined? Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Review of For Cause and Comrades James McPhersonâs For Cause and Comrades was written in an attempt to understand why soldiers of the Civil War fought against each other and why they fought as passionately as they did. With this approach he paints a very compelling portrait of why soldiers both blue and gray followed their leaders into battle to save their way of life, as slavery brought the nation to a halt until its. It's a little dry reading a bunch of excerpts of letters, but it's worth it to really understand the soldiers' motivations. Although it does feel a little slow at some points, his arguments as to why civil war soldiers fought are very interesting. By James M. McPherson. For Cause and Comrades ... Read the Review. To a greater degree than in any other war, American Civil War soldiersâ letters and diaries provide ample evidence for their motivations to enlist in the war and to fight. And remember, do NOT plagiarize!!! Letters of those who died in the Civil War were largely kept by their families for generations, whereas later biographies and reminiscences could not be as trusted a source. That put me off quite a bit. By James M. McPherson (1997) New York: Oxford University Press, Pp. I especially liked the last chapter in which McPherson examined Confederate soldiers' views on arming slaves to fight for the south and what cause Union soldiers who's three year enlistments were up in 1864 to reenlist voluntarily. The work is carefully researched and the primary sources were selected to be as representative as possible. Highly recommend if you are interested in the reasons “why” soldiers fought in the civil war. Civil War Soldiers Knew Why they were fighting. The unique literary work âFor cause and Comradesâ by the writer James M. McPherson exposes the main causes why Northerners and Southerners fought in the American Civil War. For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War is a book by the Pulitzer Prize âwinning author James M. McPherson. I love the real spelling and wording from their letter's home. $25. Often the story is ⦠James McPherson is a fine historian. Good book. For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War by McPherson, James M. available in Hardcover on Powells.com, also read synopsis and reviews. For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War. 237 pp. The book does give some good insight into the views and motivations of the men involved. The main issue seems to have been simply southern independence on one side annd preservation of the union on the other (with a gradual shift on the Union side to ending slavery as.the war progressed. It amazes me to see that the definitions of concepts such as “democracy” and “liberty” vary so much between Union and Confederate soldiers. McPherson combed through thousands of letters and diaries, and turned up some surprising insights. we are going to Gettysburg soon, and I was hoping this book would provide insight for the trip. The piece, in a way, humanizes the soldiers of both sides, drawing on their personal letters and journals. McPherson analyzes martial motivations ⦠By and large, McPherson does a great service with For Cause and Comrades. The author points out the irony of soldiers claiming to fight for liberty against the tyrannical Yankees seeking to free the slaves. The question must occur to anyone who stands on a deserted battlefield. Well-sourced and argued from both sides relying mostly on letters home from the most literate armies on earth at the time. This book was composed mostly of soldiers' diaries and letters to family and friends. Book review â J. McPherson, For Cause and Comrades, Why Men Fought in the Civil War (Baton Rouge, Lo., 1994) With this approach he paints a very compelling portrait of why soldiers both blue and gray followed their leaders into battle to save their way of life, as slavery brought the nation to a halt until its place in history could be resolved. Letters of those who died in the Civil War were largely kept by their families for generations, whereas later biographies and reminiscences could not be as trusted a source. 11 Christopher Waldrep, Review of James M. McPherson For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War in Journal of Abraham Lincoln Association (1999): 88. McPherson in retelling the motives of the massive volunteer army of the Civil War approaches the topic as any scholar should, by examining and reexamining the primary sources. Why Men Fought in the Civil War. McPherson does a great job at capturing the challenges of civil war soldiers through countless numbers of letters and diaries hes read. Many of his works on the Civil War are impressive. McPhearson uses first hand accounts from letters and diaries from Northern and Southern soldier. I also learned in more detail about how the Confederates struggled with the slaves in the war fighting against them and that U.S. Grant said if the Confederates will not trade black prisoners that no prisoners would be traded. ), Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2019. November 5th 1998 Moreover, the author looks at combat motivation, or what caused men to do what they did during battle. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Be the first to ask a question about For Cause and Comrades. Not a bad approach but it was choppy. These men were drawing their weapons against other men that they have known throughout their entire lifespan. For Cause and Comrades deserves similar accolades, as McPherson's masterful prose and the soldiers' own words combine to create both an important book on an often-overlooked aspect of our bloody Civil War, and a powerfully moving account of the men who fought it. For Cause & Comrades: Why Men Fought In The Civil War, by James M. McPherson, Historian James M. McPherson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the fine, Well-sourced and argued from both sides relying mostly on letters home from the most literate armies on earth at the time. Gazing at Bloody Lane where, in 1862, several Union assaults were brutally repulsed before they finally broke through, he marveled, "You couldn't get American soldiers today to make an attack like that." McPherson arrives at a different interpretation because he takes seriously the sometimes ñorid Victorian prose of soldiers about The war was about slavery and union. 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