“To Reach Sweet Home Again”:The Impact of Soldiering on New Jersey’s Troops During the American Civil War

Abstract

This paper examines the profound disillusionment with soldiering, caused by sheer physical hardship and psychological trauma, experienced by New Jersey servicemen during the Civil War. While not unique to New Jersey soldiers, ample sources are cited in the footnotes examining this phenomenon endured by soldiers from other states. The paper is also placed in a larger historiographic debate, spearheaded by military historian Gerald F. Linderman, surrounding soldiers' motivations regarding enlistment and the more varied and complex reasons for remaining in the ranks. Such motivations encompassed principally patriotic and religious beliefs, as well as the motivation to prove one's manhood and courage on the battlefield. Linderman convincingly argues that the war's horrors and brutalities soon transformed lofty ideals into sentiments of utter despair and hopelessness which historians have failed to appreciate. Historians James M. McPherson and Earl J. Hess directly responded to Linderman's thesis and argue instead soldiers' beliefs and values not only induced their enlistment but actually sustained them as the war dragged on. This paper attempts to validate, through the medium and experience of New Jersey servicemen, Linderman's more compelling argument regarding the transformation of Civil War soldiers.