For Cause and Comrades

This book uses diaries and letters home as the primary source of information, however
the author does concede that part of the conceptual framework for this book was
borrowed

from historian John A. Lynn. Lynn posited three categories: Initial motivation;

sustaining motivation; and combat motivation.

It was interesting to read that the Civil War so divided the United States. Family members
would choose opposite sides of this war that can be called fratricide. This breakup sometimes
forced members of the same biological family to choose opposite sided. was a powerful point
as to how divided the country really was.
It is interesting to see how inexperienced soldiers were ready jump into the battle to face
the Elephant, to serve with honor. The belief in duty, honor, and country that had caused them
to enlist in the first place held them to the firing line. was a point why soldiers would
persistently move toward the battle, however did not explain why they would fight the way they
did. ..combat frenzy, fighting madness, or battle rage. and combat narcosis were terms used
to describe the effects of the extreme adrenalin combat soldiers experienced in battle and to why
they would fight with such veracity.
Good training, discipline, and leadership were important for both armies but these factors
were lacked in both of them. In addition to duty and honor, religious belief and obligations to
defend their homes were reasons to endure difficult combat conditions. Courage, honor, selfrespect and primary unit cohesion were significant motivating factors in combat.
The majority of men valued personal honor more than life itself. The main concept is that
once a soldier is seasoned there is a line between why a soldier has come to war and why he
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performs on the battlefield. Brotherhood would be the best term in that once the battle begins the
fight is for the preservation of self and his comrades.
In most chapters, the division of ideology between the South and North is apparent. The
same ideologies had different meanings for both armies. Confederate and Union fought for
Country, Honor and Independence. While northerners believed they fought for preserving the
Union that emerged after 1776 and unification and freedom of all men, confederates believed
they battled for property and homes and their own freedom from a dictatorial government. The
South was primarily fighting for the North for.