Cowards, Traitors, and the Call of the Confederate Home Front: Dispelling the Mythology of the Confederate Deserter during the Civil War
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history 1789 to present
presentation
date published 21/04/2008
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SummaryConfederate soldiers listed as absent without leave from their units during the Civil War have typically been described as traitors, motivated by Unionist sympathies and cowardice. However, this view of the Confederate deserter may be more of a myth perpetuated by the need for the appearance of Confederate solidarity than an accurate description of the Confederate deserter. Although no doubt there were individual cases of cowardice and Union sympathy, the bulk of Confederate deserters may have been motivated by other forces, including homesickness, and, most importantly, a conviction that they were needed back in their individual communities and homes to protect and provide for their families. Ironically, this motivation for desertion is strikingly akin to the motivation for the Confederacy’s own desertion from the Union.
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