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Patriotism

Timetoast

Originally aired on July 03, 1998 - In part 201 of our Civil War series, Virginia Tech history professor James Robertson discusses the role of patriotism during the Civil War.

#201 – Patriotism

Sam Watkins was a good soldier. He was a devoted Confederate who served in the Civil War as a member of the 1st Tennessee. Watkins was also observant and articulate. He wrote this of one of the battles, “when the Yankees fell back and the firing ceased I never saw so many broken-down and exhausted men in my life. I was as sick as a horse and as wet with blood and sweat as I could be and many of our men were vomiting with excessive fatigue, over exhaustion and sunstroke. Their tongues were parched and cracked for water and their faces blackened with powder and smoke. And our dead and wounded piled indiscriminately in the trenches. There was not a single man in the company who was not wounded or did not have holes shot through his hat and clothing.”

What caused men in the full bloom of life to offer their lives so readily on the altar of battle? Not surprisingly both sides in that Civil War gave the same justifications. An Iowa recruit explained in the first weeks of the war; “everyone seems to be actuated by the purest and most patriotic motives and is moved by a sense of duty”. At the same time a Louisiana soldier declared, “I had rather fall in this cause than to live to see my country dismantled of its glory and independence. For of its honor, it cannot be deprived.”

A common refrain throughout the Civil War letters was the soldiers’ vow to keep fighting to maintain the best government on Earth. Unfortunately, there were two governments and one country. Listen to this quote and guess on which side the soldier fought. “I consider that we should do what we can for the cause for which we enlisted and strive on until it is accomplished. If we do not succeed we will have the pleasure of saying that we done what we could.” Those were the words of an Illinois volunteer.

From the calmness of an army camp in 1863, a Wisconsin private wrote his family, “Home is sweet and friends are dear, but what would they all be to let the country go to ruin. If I live to get back I shall be proud of the freedom I shall have. If I shall not get back, it will do them good who do get back.”

Just before a battle began at Chancellorsville in 1863, Colonel Robert Riley called his 5th Ohio together, “some of you will not see another sunrise,” he told the soldiers. “If there is a man in the ranks who is not ready to die for his country, let him come to me and I will give him a pass to go to the rear for I want no unwilling soldiers or cowards in the ranks.”  In the fighting that followed Riley was killed and one hundred and fifty of the three hundred and thirty men in the regiment were injured.

Four months later occurred the Battle of Chickamauga in northern Georgia. Colonel Roger Mills of the 10th Texas officially reported the action. “Private William McCann stood upright, cheerful, and self-possessed. He bore himself like a hero through the entire contest and fell mortally wounded by the last volley of the enemy. I promised him during the engagement that I would mention his good conduct and as he was borne dying from the field he turned his boyish face upon me and with a light and pleasant smile reminded me of my promise.”

Next week we mark the 4th of July. The anniversary of the announcement of American independence. A show of patriotism should not be embarrassing nor should it need to be explained. Since 1776, over one million two hundred thousand American soldiers have died to preserve this land for us to enjoy. The one decent and little thing we all can do on July 4th is to pause just long enough to think of them and say thank you. Many people will be surprised at how good you may suddenly feel.       

Dr. James I. "Bud" Robertson, Jr., is a noted scholar on the American Civil War and Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech.