This war, being no different from most others, stemmed from disagreement, difference, and defiance. The issue at stake regarded the question of where regional autonomy stopped and federal power claimed superiority. The South felt that individual states, cities, and communities should be permitted to decide issues of policy; such as the hotly debated topic of slavery. In opposition, the North beli

Further causes that separate the North and South were described as the South fighting for their liberty in their land, their homes, and their farms. The North claimed nationalism and patriotism, fighting to keep the Union strong and together. Although these regions may have called their reasons difference names, the fact remains that they were truthfully fighting for the same thing. Each wanted to preserve their specific way of life and not be forced to do something they wished not to do. They were fighting for the founding fathers’ ideas of liberty and patriotism, democracy and freedoms. These brothers that fought the American Civil War were so eerily similar that stripped of their uniforms, the Confederates and the Union soldiers could not have been told apart.

The soldiers that fought in this war had no real physical differences except, perhaps, place of birth and the color of their uniforms. However, they were divided into the Union and Confederate armies and forced to fight brother against brother and father against son. Looking deeper into the thoughts and beliefs of these soldiers one can observe that the amount of similarities are striking and numerous. On the contrary, the differences between these two forces can be counted on one hand.

Religion and the Second Great Awakening also played major roles in both armies. Men who were not very religious at the beginning of the war where forced to find God, and those who were already religious became even more committed. All of the men fighting in the war were, of course, scarred of dying, and, by finding God, they were able to accept death more then before. A Georgian private wrote, “if a man ever needed God’s help it is in the time of battle (65),” while a private in the 25th Massachusetts wrote very similar words, “I felt the need for religion then if I ever did (65).” Religion and the need for God were almost identical between the Union soldiers and the Confederate soldiers.

When it came to battle, many men would fake sick before the battle began and be sent to the infirmary. Some would even try to run away once the battle began, but both the Union and Confederate armies had remedies to that problem. The officers would stand behind the lines and fire at any man who tried to run from battle (49). Soldiers were also rewarded for bravery in battle with future considerations for commands of new units (52).

However, both sides felt the agony of the same problems, especially when it came to deserters an

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