1AEssay
Aram Garabedian
Professor McFaul
English 1A
28 Septemember 2012
"Deservingly Unsung Soldiers" Samuel Clemens' story of "The Private History of a Campaign That Failed" tells a tale among many in which men attempted to fight in the Civil War, but failed to pursue their ultimate "goal" of actually staying in that war. A lot of the militia involved in these stories were mostly indifferent to the reasoning for the war. Most of the men didn't even know why they were fighting this war, or why they were considered members of the Union or the Confederates. There were many uncertainties steming from this war but one thing was for sure, these militia men were scared. "I had got part of it learned, I knew more about retreating than the man that invented retreating" (Clemens 307). A majority of these make-shift soldiers did in fact have experience in the army, but not of that remotely close to the Civil War. When all hell started breaking loose, men were left to choose either the side of the Union, or Confederates, there was no middle ground. Although they did choose their sides, they fought blindly. A lot of these soldiers had never been in fields of battle, or seen any traumatic events caused by wars, so it was no surprise that when encountered with these events, they would flee. Due to the scarcity and suddenness of the Civil War, these confederate soldiers/militia men suffer from a definite fear of war, blind patriotism, and an overwhelming lack of certainty. Along the many turmoils brought on by the Civil War, blind patriotism was a major contributor. Much like many of the confused rebels of that time, Clemens' main character had no idea as to which side he should fight for. "He was strong for the Union; so was I," he said at the beginning of the story, but in less than a month his pilot mate "[...] was piloting a Union gunboat and shouting for the Union again and I was in the Confederate Army" (Clemens 299). This clear indicator of blind patriotism
Professor McFaul
English 1A
28 Septemember 2012
"Deservingly Unsung Soldiers" Samuel Clemens' story of "The Private History of a Campaign That Failed" tells a tale among many in which men attempted to fight in the Civil War, but failed to pursue their ultimate "goal" of actually staying in that war. A lot of the militia involved in these stories were mostly indifferent to the reasoning for the war. Most of the men didn't even know why they were fighting this war, or why they were considered members of the Union or the Confederates. There were many uncertainties steming from this war but one thing was for sure, these militia men were scared. "I had got part of it learned, I knew more about retreating than the man that invented retreating" (Clemens 307). A majority of these make-shift soldiers did in fact have experience in the army, but not of that remotely close to the Civil War. When all hell started breaking loose, men were left to choose either the side of the Union, or Confederates, there was no middle ground. Although they did choose their sides, they fought blindly. A lot of these soldiers had never been in fields of battle, or seen any traumatic events caused by wars, so it was no surprise that when encountered with these events, they would flee. Due to the scarcity and suddenness of the Civil War, these confederate soldiers/militia men suffer from a definite fear of war, blind patriotism, and an overwhelming lack of certainty. Along the many turmoils brought on by the Civil War, blind patriotism was a major contributor. Much like many of the confused rebels of that time, Clemens' main character had no idea as to which side he should fight for. "He was strong for the Union; so was I," he said at the beginning of the story, but in less than a month his pilot mate "[...] was piloting a Union gunboat and shouting for the Union again and I was in the Confederate Army" (Clemens 299). This clear indicator of blind patriotism