Amateur Armies and Initial Advantages Essay

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Amateur Armies and Initial Advantages

Today, cliches about the valor of troops are part of the patriotic language of America. However, during the time of the Civil War, this was not always the case. The American army was relatively limited in size when the first shots were fired in the Civil War. In most states, the standing army had devolved into what effectively functioned more as social clubs than fighting units.[footnoteRef:1] This lack of concern about maintaining a standing army reflected the profound distrust so many Americans still felt for centralized authority and control. However, during the initial phases of the wartime struggle, volunteers were plentiful on the Union side, and it was the Confederate troops who were more unruly, as they had expected an easy victory against the Yankees. [footnoteRef:2] [1: Steven E. Woodworth, This Great Struggle: America's Civil War, (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2011), 44-45] [2: Woodworth, 52]

The Confederates also suffered from certain problems inherent to the Confederate structure of states -- by definition, they were a loosely-organized conglomeration of state entities, rather than a united fighting force, and still possessed state over national loyalties.

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But the Union struggled more than the Confederates to find valuable cavalry volunteers, given the nature of Southern agricultural culture.[footnoteRef:3] And the Union itself was a diverse, fractious force, despite the fact it was fighting for the preservation of the Union. America was becoming increasingly ethnically diverse in the North. [3: Woodworth, 209]

Ultimately, relying upon an all-volunteer force was not effective and likely prolonged the war. The problem with an all-volunteer force was that it was not experienced in obeying orders, fighting, or the rigors of military service. At one point, when General Grant's inexperienced troops stopped to celebrate what they perceived to be a victory, they were….....

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