The Civil War is known to send chills down spines. It was considered one of the bloodiest wars in America. Also the fact that the war played brother against brother deemed it as a hell on earth. The motivations of each side played the most important role in determining the victor. In Gettysburg it was made apparent that the Confederate soldiers fought for sake of winning. They wanted to protect their “rights” and wanted to rid themselves of the Union. The Union soldiers as demonstrated by Colonel Chamberlin, fought not for the sake of fighting but they fought for something more than themselves. They fought to free the slaves and to preserve the Union. They wanted to gives the slaves a fighting chance to become respected people. As stated in the movie by Colonel Chamberlin’s Second in Command, no man is truly equal, but everyman deserves a fighting chance. Men make themselves equal by proving their worth. Slaves were never given this chance. This started out as motivation to suppress a rebellion and turned into a fight for survival of the state and a fight for true natural rights.
Colonel Chamberlin is man who lives on sheer determination and willpower. His fight started in Maine with 1000 troops in his command. However as the war raged on, he was left with less than 300. This simple fact gives this protagonist a harsh background showing that the war took its toll on him. Despite his harsh loss, he still proves to be a fantastic leader in the battlefield. Before going to battle he was even able to convert 114 mutineers who were done with the war into fighting under his command by giving them a solid reason to fight. Not only that, but he is a humble man and respects every man equally. This is seen when he treats the mutineer private with informality and when he a various occasions walks like the rest of his soldiers. On the battlefield we see his willpower, when he defeats the Confederate flank. As last on the line, it was his job to make sure the Confederate soldiers were unable to pass through. In this battle, his military strategy of “swinging through like a door” earned the utmost respect and success as he was able to defend his position and capture rebel troops. The key to his success however, isn’t only accredited to his tactics, instead it his willpower and dedication to the cause that brings him victory.
General Robert E Lee (old granny) was one of the most respected and highly successful military generals of the Civil War Era. He held solid victories against the Union army and it proved his worth as a general. General Lee, also cared for his troops but he let his strive for victory blind him. In aims of achieving one more win, Lee used his whole military force of 70,000 at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was a man who carefully planned out powerful military strategies and was swift. In the Battle of Gettysburg however, he lost the upper hand and instead of flanking from the right, he intended to face the enemy head on. This action is what made him lose. General Lee, was too concerned with crushing the enemy that he exhausted his man power by sending them into and open battlefield. His pride as a General drew him to make the wrong decision in the end and as a result he lost. Also, I felt that there was a lack of true motivation. He wasn’t really fighting for anything accept for the sake of winning.
Comparing the two military leaders, we see that Chamberlin was successful because of his sheer willpower. Willpower motivated by something as powerful as freeing men, is great strength and will generally always bring victory. To Chamberlin he just and in the right. Fighting for the right reason brings the thought that, “we must win”. Lee on the other hand, is fighting for winning. He must realize that his reasons aren’t just and as a result, he treated the War as a fight not as a battle for freedom.
Sources: http://digitalcampus.swank.com/stonybrook/SDC/Watch.aspx?v=2bc0246b612740cf8e08a839f1c9bcf6
Gettysburg
AP US History Knowledge