Brothers one and all : esprit de corps in a Civil War regiment / Mark H. Dunkelman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dunkelman, Mark H.

Series:

Conflicting worlds

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 154th (1862-1865).

United States.

United States. Army--Military life--History--19th century.

United States. Army.

History.

Fellowship--History--19th century.

Fellowship.

Soldiers.

Social conditions.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Social aspects.

Social aspects.

Soldiers--New York (State)--Social conditions--19th century.

Soldiers--United States--Social conditions--19th century.

New York (State)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Regimental histories.

New York (State).

Regimental histories.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Regimental histories.

Physical Description:

xii, 344 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, [2004]

Summary:

During the Civil War, the regiment was the fundamental component of armies both North and South, its reliability and effectiveness crucial to military success. Soldiers' devotion to their regiment -- their esprit de corps -- encouraged unit cohesion and motivated the individual soldier to march into battle and endure the hardships of military life. Although historians have often remarked on the importance of esprit de corps within Civil War regiments, few have examined the phenomenon in depth. In Brothers One and All, Mark H. Dunkelman identifies the characteristics of Civil War esprit de corps and charts its development from recruitment and combat to the end of the war and beyond through the experiences of a single regiment, the 154th New York Volunteer Infantry. Dunkelman offers a unique psychological portrait of a front line company that fought with distinction at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Lookout Valley, Rocky Face Ridge, and other engagements. Drawing on three decades of research and more than a thousand wartime letters and two dozen diaries kept by members of the 154th, he traces the evolution of natural camaraderie among friends and neighbors into a more profound sense of pride, enthusiasm, and loyalty forged as much in the shared unpleasantness of day-to-day army life as in the terrifying ordeal of battle.

Brothers One and All reveals precisely how esprit de corps gave the men of the 154th reason to keep marching and fighting despite boredom, homesickness, illness, and the death of comrades. And while Dunkelman notes the limits of regimental loyalty in instances of cowardice, malingering, and desertion, he finds that most of the men shared an abiding concern for their regiment's reputation and honor. Even after war's end, a strong sense of esprit de corps survived among veterans, who for decades attended regimental reunions and contributed to war memorials. With freshness and striking effect, Dunkelman has re-created the particular experiences of the 154th while offering universal insights into the nature of war and the bonds between soldiers.

Contents:

Part 1 Home Ties

1. Demographics and Identity 15

2. Lines of Communication 30

3. Friends and Foes 54

Part 2 War Ties

4. Comrades, Cowards, and Survivors 75

5. Enduring Hardships 98

6. On the Battlefield 120

7. The Wounded, Captured, and Dead 142

8. In Camp and Beyond 170

9. Shoulder Straps and Courts-Martial 205

10. Morale and Regimental Pride 226

Part 3 Veteran Ties

11. E. D. Northrup and the Betrayal of Esprit de Corps 251.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-326) and index.

ISBN:

080712978X

OCLC:

54082124