For Cause and Comrades

341 Words2 Pages
Thesis: The thesis for James M. McPherson’s For Cause and Comrades is stated on page 12 as, “These are the themes explored in the chapters that follow. I have borrow part of my conceptual framework from John A. Lynn, an historian of the armies of the French Revolution. Lynn posited three categories: initial motivation; sustaining motivation; and combat motivation. The first consists of the reasons why men enlisted; the second concerns the factors that kept them in the army and kept the army in existence over time; and the third focuses on what nerved them to face extreme danger in battle…This book will argue for a closer relationship among these three categories for Civil War soldiers than some scholarship on combat motivation posits for that and other wars.” Six pages before the purpose of the book was stated McPherson brings up a controversy idea that many of the men who said they fought for “country, duty, honor, and the right” (6) really sought avenues of averting battle. Supporting Evidence: Initial motivation Powerful Convictions/Patriotism: pg. 15&17 (chapter 8, 9, 10) A theme that developed throughout the Civil War was brothers fighting brothers. One set of brothers mentioned in this book, John and James Welsh, James supported Lincoln whereas John did not. A trail of nasty letters are shown within the text. One from John states that He was “very much pained to find…that I have a brothers who would advocate sending men here to butcher his own friends and relations…I have always opposed secession but I shall vote for it today because I intend to submit to black Republican rule.” John also told James that by becoming a Republican he had forsworn “home, mother, father, and brothers and were willing to sacrifice all for a the dear nigger” (15-16). 1) Duty/honor : pg.19&22/24 2) Rights/Defense: pg.19/22 Combat motivation 1) Manhood:pg.78 2) Pride and
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