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For Cause and Comrades by James M. McPherson

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For Cause and Comrades

Publisher
Tantor Media, Inc
Publish Date
24 March 2020
Run Time
9 hours 13 minutes
Format
Audiobook
$13.95

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What to expect

General John A. Wickham, commander of the famous 101st Airborne Division in the 1970s and subsequently Army Chief of Staff, once visited Antietam battlefield. 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." Why did those men risk certain death, through countless bloody battles and four long, awful years? Why did the conventional wisdom—that soldiers become increasingly cynical and disillusioned as war progresses—not hold true in the Civil War?



It is to this question—why did they fight—that James McPherson now turns his attention. He shows that, contrary to what many scholars believe, the soldiers of the Civil War remained powerfully convinced of the ideals for which they fought throughout the conflict. Motivated by duty and honor, and often by religious faith, these men wrote frequently of their firm belief in the cause for which they fought: the principles of liberty, freedom, justice, and patriotism.



McPherson draws on more than 25,000 letters and nearly 250 private diaries from men on both sides. For Cause and Comrades lets these soldiers tell their own stories in their own words to create an account that is both deeply moving and far truer than most books on war.

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Details

Author
James M. McPherson
Narrator
David Colacci
Duration
9 hours 13 minutes
Release Date
24 March 2020
ISBN
9781515943891
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Tantor Media, Inc
Genre
History, Military history, History of the Americas, Military veterans

Synopsis

General John A. Wickham, commander of the famous 101st Airborne Division in the 1970s and subsequently Army Chief of Staff, once visited Antietam battlefield. 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." Why did those men risk certain death, through countless bloody battles and four long, awful years? Why did the conventional wisdom—that soldiers become increasingly cynical and disillusioned as war progresses—not hold true in the Civil War?It is to this question—why did they fight—that James McPherson now turns his attention. He shows that, contrary to what many scholars believe, the soldiers of the Civil War remained powerfully convinced of the ideals for which they fought throughout the conflict. Motivated by duty and honor, and often by religious faith, these men wrote frequently of their firm belief in the cause for which they fought: the principles of liberty, freedom, justice, and patriotism.McPherson draws on more than 25,000 letters and nearly 250 private diaries from men on both sides. For Cause and Comrades lets these soldiers tell their own stories in their own words to create an account that is both deeply moving and far truer than most books on war.

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