For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War Chapter Summary & Analysis - Chapter 4, If I Flinched, I Was Ruined Summary

Chapter 4, If I Flinched, I Was Ruined Summary and Analysis

Most soldiers were motivated in the traditional way - through training, discipline and leadership. But Civil War volunteers had little of these. They hated being regimented, some of them thinking it unworthy of a democratic people. Their battle tactics were poor and had not improved much since the Revolutionary War. Privates often compared their lot in life to that of slaves. Officers often complained about how undisciplined their soldiers were, but McPherson often thinks they complained too much, given how effective the soldiers were.

Sometimes the officers would use coercion to force soldiers to act, sometimes threatening them with deadly force. Coercion was used more and more as the war pressed on. And when the order came to shoot fellow soldiers was given, few cavalrymen would follow through. So by 1863, both armies had professional men to keep soldiers in line. Other times officers would rebuke them with...
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