For Cause and Comrades : Why Men Fought in the Civil War

The author recreates the war and battle experience of the Civil War from the point of view of the soldiers themselves, drawing on over 25,000 letters written by more than 1000 soldiers, both Union and Confederate.

He shows that, contrary to what many scholars believe, these men remained highly motivated and idealistic about the cause for which they fought, regardless of the obstacles and deprivation that they faced.