Description
Marvel further suggests that the largely forgotten economic depression of 1860 and 1861 contributed in part to the disproportionate participation in the war of men from chronically impoverished occupations. During this fiscal downturn, thousands lost their jobs, leaving them susceptible to the modest emoluments of military pay and community support for soldiers' families. From newspaper accounts and individual contemporary testimony, he concludes that these early recruits, whom historians have generally regarded as the most patriotic of Lincoln's soldiers, were motivated just as much by money as those who enlisted later for exorbitant bounties, and that those generous bounties were made necessary partly because war production and labor shortages improved economic conditions on the home front.
A fascinating, comprehensive study, Lincoln's Mercenaries illustrates how an array of social and economic factors drove poor northern men to rely on military wages to support themselves and their families during the war.
About the Author
William Marvel, author of numerous books about the American Civil War including Lincoln's Autocrat: The Life of Edwin Stanton, is a past recipient of the Richard Barksdale Harwell Book Award, the Lincoln Prize, the Douglas Southall Freeman Award, and the Bell Award.
Book Information
ISBN 9780807169520
Author William Marvel
Format Hardback
Page Count 352
Imprint Louisiana State University Press
Publisher Louisiana State University Press
Weight(grams) 333g