Although much is known about the political stance of the military at large during the Civil War, the political party affiliations of individual soldiers have received little attention. Drawing on archival sources from twenty-five generals and 250 volunteer officers and enlisted men, John Matsui offers the first major study to examine the ways in which individual politics were as important as military considerations to battlefield outcomes and how the experience of war could alter soldiers' political views.
The conservative war aims pursued by Abraham Lincoln's generals (and to some...
Although much is known about the political stance of the military at large during the Civil War, the political party affiliations of individual sol...
