Description
Book SynopsisDuring antebellum wars the Regular army preserved the peace. The Civil War brought an influx of volunteers that overwhelmed the number of army Regulars, forcing a clash between traditional military discipline and the expectations of citizens. This title offers an examination of this internal conflict and the issue of discipline in the Union Army.
Trade ReviewAn ambitious, thorough, remarkably well-researched, and well-written examination of discipline, military justice, and punishment in the Union Army.... It makes an important contribution to the field.
-- William Skelton, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
As far as I know, there is nothing like this work out there, and if there is, it is certainly not as deeply researched and as thoroughly argued as this. [It] provides more valuable insights into the world—at home and in camp and field—of the Northern volunteer in the Civil War.
-- William B. Feis, Buena Vista University
Table of ContentsTable of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter
One: "Ancient un-American articles": American Military Justice to 1861
Two: "Damn Fool!": The Relationship between Officers and Enlisted Men
Three: "Fields of Satan": The Impulse of Indiscipline
Four: "Brawls, riots, and midnight orgies": Alcohol and the Union Army
Five: "There were threats to shoot the officers": Insubordination in Various Forms
Six: "The Pernicious Practice of Treasonable Persons": Desertion in the Union Army
Seven: "Descend to the level of the barbarians": Theft, Property, and Violent Crimes
0 Eight: "No punishment can be too severe": The Process of Courts-martial
Nine: "We have no right to shoot them": The Application of Punishment
Epilogue
Notes
Works Cited
Index
