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Motivations Of Civil War Soldiers From Western New York, Justin T. Howell

History Theses

The American Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in the history of the United States. Over 620,000 lives were lost during this war. Yet, what motivated volunteer soldiers to fight so valiantly for so long is the focus of this paper. After reading over 100 individual diaries and letters from volunteer Civil War soldiers from Western New York, who fought on the Union side, I have concluded that certain motivations influenced soldiers more than others to keep fighting. Motivations of the thrill of combat, adventure, and hatred of the enemy served as the initial motivations for Western New York Civil …