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Position:Home>History> What does the following passage say about the Confederate soldiers and their loyQuestion: What does the following passage say about the Confederate soldiers and their loyalties to the South!? "My shoes are gone, my clothes are almost gone!. I'm weary, I'm sick, I'm hungry!. My family has been killed or scattered, and may now be wandering helpless and unprotected in a strange country!. And I have suffered all this for my country!. I love my country!. I would die - yes, I would die willingly because I love my country!. But if this war is ever over, I'll!.!.!. never love another country - "
Confederate soldier, 1863Www@QuestionHome@Com Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I'm afraid that the passage is very easy to misinterpret!. It is meant to be funny! It takes an experienced historian to recognize the humor in it, but if you pay attention, you can see it!. First, notice the vague attribution - it is just a "Confederate soldier!." I challenge you to find the original source of this quote! Hint: he is a 20th century Chicago newspaperman!. Wait, you say, how did a 20th century Chicago newspaperman collect a quote from 1863!? This is impossible to answer, but if you look at Snopes!.com, where many "urban legends" are debunked, you will see that it is quite common for funny stories to be told and retold, with changes in the setting and "costumes" to make them more funny to the intended audience!. In this case, the intended audience was a Northern audience that still had enough anger and resentment over the civil war, and enough prejudice against "stupid" southern whites, so that the Confederate soldier made an appropriate butt of the joke!. This suggests that this version of the joke originated sometime in the latter half of the 19th century - possibly during the civil war itself!. But the likelihood of the story being genuine is very small!. Now, to explain the joke: The poor soldier is talking about how much he has suffered for his love!. He is using very high language, the language of a speech or a play!. And then, at the end, he says something that, if taken seriously, would seem very strange: "I'll!.!.!. never love another country!." To say that your heart is broken and you will never love again of course makes perfect sense if you are talking about romantic love, love of a woman, but no sense if you are talking about "your country!." Countries are not things you fall in love with in the ordinary course of life, they are things that you are born into!. Patriotism is about your deep relationship with your community and country!. To say that you have suffered so much that you will never love another country, is totally absurd!. It shows you have no idea what patriotism is!. Why is this funny!? Or rather, why was it funny to a Northern audience during or after the Civil War!? The reason is that, to the North, the South was NOT a country!. It was a region that convinced itself was a country, and had to be unconvinced at the point of a gun!. That this poor straggler (for in the anecdote as found in McCormick, he is described as "a straggler") convinced himself that he was in love with a country that was not even a country, is comically pathetic!. It is as if a boy had his first romance with a person he didn't realize was a transvestite and fell in love with her, and then, after some really confusing and completely unexpected experiences in bed, proclaimed in the most romantic language that this woman had really made him suffer, and he was never going to fall in love again!. In other words, what the passage "says" about Confederate soldiers and their loyalties to the south is that they are poor idiots, and fell in love with a ridiculous cause!. The anecdote is highly sarcastic!.Www@QuestionHome@Com The passage shows a dedication and loyalty to a cause and an institution of course!. But it also admits that the soldier is war-weary!. The fact he admits his family is "wandering helpless and unprotected in a strange country" sounds like his home has already been overun by the Union!. And the way he speaks of "never love another country" suggests that he is already considering that the war is not going to be won by the South!. Certainly, the war was not yet lost at this point, but when you're poorly fed, poorly clothed, and the "Damned Yankees" keep coming no matter how many times you beat them, it's not a suprising the man would start looking to the future!. And its hard to be optimistic with your belly growling!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Loyalty!. He understands that he's fighting a lost cause, yet he is still willing to fight and die for it!. I do question how one can hold such extreme loyalty to a "country" when one acknowledges that his own family is probably homeless or even dead!? In the end, I see it as him saying "I'm in it so I'll stay!. I joined with good intentions!. But, now that I know the truth, and the real cost, I will NEVER do it again!. (If I live through it, of course-which he doesn't expect he will!.)" Wow - that's sad!.!.!.!. It's opinions such as his that may explain why many Southerners are still fighting the "War of Northern Aggression!." I must be way off base - but no matter who wrote it, when or why - it's still horrifically sad!. It sums up the Rebels experience!.Www@QuestionHome@Com It is basically saying this single Confederate soldier would give up anything for their country!. Their loyalty is quite strong with the South, even after he is suffering from poverty, a result from the war!. And yet he still fights on as a Confederate soldier and proud of it!. so basically going on about that!. hope this helped!.!.!. :] ( go harry potter! nn; )Www@QuestionHome@Com Honorable of course!.!.But remember the CSA was made up with people who saw their "states rights" being taken away whereas, most of the Union army came from recent immigrants (mainly from Ireland) who filled in for northerns for a fee because many northern men (not all) didn't want to fight in a war!.Www@QuestionHome@Com well, they are trying to say that even though the soliders had almost no reason to stay in war since they have nothing left to fight for, they're still loyal to the country by the way, you are very cuteWww@QuestionHome@Com |