Between 2.2 to 2.5 million men fought for the Union armies (the U.S.A.) These numbers included about 100,000 white men from the Confederate states, 200,000 white men from the border states, 150,000 ex-slaves and southern free blacks, and 50,000 northern free blacks.
The main Union army in Virginia was the Army of the Potomac.
Commanding generals were:
The main Union army in Virginia was the Army of the Potomac.
Commanding generals were:
- Brigadier General Irvin McDowell: Commander of the Army and Department of Northeastern Virginia (May 27 – July 25, 1861)
- Major General George B. McClellan: Commander of the Military Division of the Potomac, and later, the Army and Department of the Potomac (July 26, 1861 – November 9, 1862)
- Major General Ambrose E. Burnside: Commander of the Army of the Potomac (November 9, 1862 – January 26, 1863)
- Major General Joseph Hooker: Commander of the Army and Department of the Potomac (January 26 – June 28, 1863)
- Major General George G. Meade: Commander of the Army of the Potomac (June 28, 1863 – June 28, 1865)
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Article - Confederate Armies
Civil War Soldier Deaths
Combat Other (disease) Total
Union 140,414 224,097 364,511
Confederate 75-94,000 225,000 300,000+
Totals 215-234,000 450,000 654,511 - 750,000
750,000 deaths over a 4 year period averages over 500 deaths per day.
Confederate statistics:
Died in POW camps = 26,000 - 31,000
Wounded = 194,000 - 226,000
Deserters = 130,000 (estimate)
Draft Evaders = 70,000 (estimate)
Size of Confederate armies at final surrender - 174,000
Civilian Deaths = 50,000(?)
Wounded = 194,000 - 226,000
Deserters = 130,000 (estimate)
Draft Evaders = 70,000 (estimate)
Size of Confederate armies at final surrender - 174,000
Civilian Deaths = 50,000(?)
Article - Death in the U.S. Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust on NPS website referring to Civil War National Cemeteries
Why Confederates Fought...
A. Preservation of Slavery
1. Slave owners wanted to protect slavery
2. Some non-slave owners hoped to own slaves
3. Poorer southerners who lived in slave areas wanted to preserve their social standing as not being the "mudsills" of society. Article - Mudsill theory. James Jeffrey Hammond Senate Mudsill Speech, 3/4/1858
4. Kinship relations with slave owners.
5. Fear of retaliation if slaves should be freed.
6. Fear of "Miscegenation"
Why Confederates Fought...
A. Preservation of Slavery
1. Slave owners wanted to protect slavery
2. Some non-slave owners hoped to own slaves
3. Poorer southerners who lived in slave areas wanted to preserve their social standing as not being the "mudsills" of society. Article - Mudsill theory. James Jeffrey Hammond Senate Mudsill Speech, 3/4/1858
4. Kinship relations with slave owners.
5. Fear of retaliation if slaves should be freed.
6. Fear of "Miscegenation"
B. Protection of Home and Family. This was especially important to southern males because their beliefs in themselves as male protectors of the helpless was apart of the concept of southern honor and was a defining notion of their concept of manhood.
C. Anger over the supposed Yankee threat to control southern society. Many Union soldiers had similar motives about slave owners.
D. For a paycheck/bonuses/substitute pay, a career in the military, to make professional connections for after the war.
E. Adventure, glory, pier pressure, to impress women (mostly the early 1861 volunteers).
(Union men shared similar motivations C, D, & E)
Soldiers did not necessarily fight for only one of these reasons; they often fought for some combination of them.
Army of Northern Virginia
Article - The Army of Northern Virginia
Article - List of Virginia Civil War Units
Commanders: P.G.T. Beauregard - June 20, 1861 - July 20, 1861
Joseph E. Johnston - July 20, 1861 - May 31, 1862
C. Anger over the supposed Yankee threat to control southern society. Many Union soldiers had similar motives about slave owners.
D. For a paycheck/bonuses/substitute pay, a career in the military, to make professional connections for after the war.
E. Adventure, glory, pier pressure, to impress women (mostly the early 1861 volunteers).
(Union men shared similar motivations C, D, & E)
Soldiers did not necessarily fight for only one of these reasons; they often fought for some combination of them.
Army of Northern Virginia
Article - The Army of Northern Virginia
Article - List of Virginia Civil War Units
Commanders: P.G.T. Beauregard - June 20, 1861 - July 20, 1861
Joseph E. Johnston - July 20, 1861 - May 31, 1862
Robert E. Lee - June 1, 1862 - April 9, 1865
Significant Division Leaders under Robert E. Lee:
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (d. 5/10/1863)
James Longstreet
J.E.B. Stuart (Cavalry) (d. 5/12/1864)
Daniel H. Hill
Ambrose Powell (A.P.) Hill (d. 4/2/1865)
Jubal A. Early
Richard S. Ewell
Confederate Conscription Acts
After the jubilation of the Confederate victory at Manassas in July 1861, army morale sank as inactivity, the Virginia winter, lack of supplies, etc affected the men. First, the government offered perks for the men to reenlist, then in April 1862 created the first Conscription Act in American history. Liberty minded soldiers often considered the three Confederate Conscription Acts akin to making them slaves, a distinction they often drew upon, especially when the 20 Negro Law in the Second Conscription Act exempted a planter or his overseer from military duty.
"A Rich Man's War and a Poor Man's Fight" Fallacy
Because of the 20 Negro Law and that wealthy men could purchase substitutes to fight for them, the Civil War, from then until recently, has often been called "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight." But recent studies on the Army of Northern Virginia show this is not true; the army consisted of a balance of men across economic classes, which seems to tilt somewhat toward more commitment from the wealthier segments of society.
Military Desertions
About 1 in 9 Union soldiers deserted the Union armies during the war. Because of lost records, the number of Confederate deserters is less certain, but 1 in 7 (130,000 out of 900,000) is probably pretty accurate with the largest numbers of desertions occurring in the last nine months of the war when Confederate defeat seemed increasingly imminent. Many soldiers deserted to see to their families as Union armies, especially Sherman's, were increasingly plundered the Southern home front. The highest percentage of deserters from Lee's army were 1) over 30, 2) were fathers, 3) were conscripts, 4) joined the army in 1863-64.
Significant Division Leaders under Robert E. Lee:
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (d. 5/10/1863)
James Longstreet
J.E.B. Stuart (Cavalry) (d. 5/12/1864)
Daniel H. Hill
Ambrose Powell (A.P.) Hill (d. 4/2/1865)
Jubal A. Early
Richard S. Ewell
Confederate Conscription Acts
After the jubilation of the Confederate victory at Manassas in July 1861, army morale sank as inactivity, the Virginia winter, lack of supplies, etc affected the men. First, the government offered perks for the men to reenlist, then in April 1862 created the first Conscription Act in American history. Liberty minded soldiers often considered the three Confederate Conscription Acts akin to making them slaves, a distinction they often drew upon, especially when the 20 Negro Law in the Second Conscription Act exempted a planter or his overseer from military duty.
"A Rich Man's War and a Poor Man's Fight" Fallacy
Because of the 20 Negro Law and that wealthy men could purchase substitutes to fight for them, the Civil War, from then until recently, has often been called "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight." But recent studies on the Army of Northern Virginia show this is not true; the army consisted of a balance of men across economic classes, which seems to tilt somewhat toward more commitment from the wealthier segments of society.
Military Desertions
About 1 in 9 Union soldiers deserted the Union armies during the war. Because of lost records, the number of Confederate deserters is less certain, but 1 in 7 (130,000 out of 900,000) is probably pretty accurate with the largest numbers of desertions occurring in the last nine months of the war when Confederate defeat seemed increasingly imminent. Many soldiers deserted to see to their families as Union armies, especially Sherman's, were increasingly plundered the Southern home front. The highest percentage of deserters from Lee's army were 1) over 30, 2) were fathers, 3) were conscripts, 4) joined the army in 1863-64.
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