Personal Motives during the Civil War

Another motive which helped Lee through the guilt of leaving his family was his devotion and love for God.  Although Lee was a very successful man, leaving his family behind left Lee feeling emptiness.  At the end of each of Lee’s battles, he always gives a silent prayer.  He feels that God will guide him through the depression of war, and guide him back to his family.  He is a very powerful general, often correctly making decisions which are priceless to the Confederate army.  However, he never feels the pride and joy in the military as he would have if he were present with his family.  He comments, “He had missed a father’s great joy of watching his children grow and learn” (p. 9).  Since he does often feels nostalgic, he continually uses God as a comfort.  After he obtains possession of Marye’s Heights (a very strategic spot for the Confederates) during the Battle of Fredericksburg, he prays, “Thank You for this place, for this ground”.  This capture of Marye’s Heights gave Lee a sense of comfort because, at that point, he knew that he had the upper hand in the battle.  Later in the battle of Gettysburg, Lee feels “this sense of comfort… eighty thousand men around him… [And] he said a small prayer, ‘By Your mercy, we will not lose many…’  [and he] realized he had already been given much” (P. 311).  Lee is thankful for his further success in the battle at Gettysburg, and thanks God deeply for it.  God was his protector, and until he reunited with his family, he would need a constant reminder of the warmth his family gave him.  His devotion to his God, and his home of Virginia ultimately helped atone for his guilt towards his family.

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was a Confederate hero whose amazing victories at the first and second Bull Run were a direct result of his religious zeal influenced by the death of his dearest daughter.  However, this passion turned to hopelessness with the death of his daughter.  At this great time of depression, Jackson outpoured his deepest thoughts for God.  He remarked, “I have been told that if we do not suppress our love for human things, and give more to God, He… makes us pay great pains.”  He believed that God always had his reasons, and he takes the death of his daughter to “try harder to please Him” (P. 20).  From this point on, Jackson would do whatever it takes to please God.  This helped focus his attention toward his duty as a teacher and General in the United States Military.  Before the Civil War commenced, Jackson was a teacher at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI).  Tom is described as “a teacher with no talent for teacher… but out here, with the guns, there was something [the] cadets could feel” (P. 18).  In class Jackson did not evidence his passion for the subject matter.  However, when he got out into the field, he knew this is what God wanted him to do, thus exerting the passion which the “cadets could feel”.

At the turn of the Civil War, Jackson found himself with no assignment.  He goes to Robert E. Lee in Richmond, and requests an assignment.  He is made the Colonel in charge of a brigade near Harper’s Ferry.  He affirms Lee, “General, duty has called me, and I can think of nothing that will please the Almighty more than my performing my duty” (p.131-132).  This is Jackson’s first major assignment in the war, also the first chance he has to please “the Almighty”.  Ultimately, Jackson becomes the hero of the first Bull Run, standing “like a stone wall” as the enemies were assaulting his army.  He gathered this courage (and won the battle) through his deep devotion to please God.  This singular courage makes Jackson a very powerful Confederate fighting force.  Soon, Jackson “received the news of the promotion (into a general) without comment… [he] feared if word got out, God would not be pleased… he would take [Anna], as He had taken his daughter” (p. 288).  Although Jackson is becoming indispensable in war, he never loses his initial reason for his belief in God, to please God in order to ensure that God does not punish his close ones.  This belief keeps his arrogance from consuming his personality, as God may punish him for doing so.  This constant strive to please God made Jackson one of the most devout leaders in the Civil War.

        Winfield Scott Hancock was a very devoted individual driven to fight in the Civil War with the intent of preserving the Union.  However, many of his views on the war develop from his close relationships with other military officials (on both the Union and Confederate sides).  These relationships helped strengthen his views on the war.  At the onset of the war, Hancock is faced with an important decision, the decision to either stay in the Union or join the rebellion of the South.  His commanding officer, General Johnson, resigns his position to fight for the confederacy, and he recommends that his men do the same.  Hancock’s longtime friend Lewis Armistead decides to go South with Johnson, as many others choose to follow him.  However, Hamilton decides to stay north and fight for the Union.  In justification, Hamilton says, “we must all do what we believe is right” (p. 125).  Hamilton then tells Johnson and his fellow troops, “I will fight for my country, my whole country.  I do not believe we are a collection of independent states, but one nation, and my duty is to preserve our nation” (p. 128).  This was a brutally hard decision to make.  As Hancock sees more and more of his closest friends going south to fight for the confederacy, it became increasingly difficult to “go against the flow”.  However, this action showed his dedication to the Union because he believed so strongly in what the Union fought to preserve.

Joshua Chamberlain was also a very devoted individual driven to fight in the Civil War with the intent of preserving the Union.  However, his devotion sprouted from the idea Chamberlain felt that he had been a failure in life.  Chamberlain lived his adolescent years in constant disappointment by his father.  Chamberlain’s father relentlessly pushed him to attend West Point and enroll as a soldier in the United States military.  Chamberlain however took his mother’s advice and attended Bowdowin, a prestigious Theological seminary.  “It had been the happiest day of his mother’s life… [but] to his father, there was another disappointment” (p. 32).  His graduation in 1852, Chamberlain had been holding this shame and disappointment within himself for seven years.  This long period of time where he spent pondering his alternate options made him a very ashamed man.  A year passes, and he is lecturing his students at Bowdowin, when he notices many of his own students marching outside wearing “fresh and blue [uniforms]” (p. 197).  Chamberlain immediately stops his intended lecture, and looks admirably to the young men lined up for duty.  He preaches, “If you believe something is truly important, you have an obligation to fight for it.”  This comes as a reality check for Chamberlain because he feels like a hypocrite preaching to others that they should join in the war if their beliefs direct them to, but not taking the advice for himself.  He delivered two very passionate speeches which clearly show Chamberlain is very passionate about the war.  However, the motivation for these two very passionate speeches stems from his earlier adolescent moments where he remembers the disappointment his father felt towards him.  He rises against this feeling of shame, and begins his journey to becoming a military leader.