Deserters  "Objects of Pity"

"My dear Edward- I have always been proud of you, and since your connection with the Confederate army, I have been prouder of you than ever before. I would not have you do anything wrong for the world, but before God, Edward, unless you come home we must die. Last night I was aroused by little Eddie's crying. I called and said, 'What is the matter, Eddie?' and he said 'O Mamma, I am so hungry.' And Lucy, Edward, your darling Lucy, she never complains, but she is getting thinner and thinner every day. And before God, Edward, unless you come home, we must die."

To resist such powerful entreaties from home was impossible for many soldiers, Northern and Southern. Desertions were few at the start of the war, but as it dragged on, soldiers would sometimes go six months or more between paydays. Their families at home, often dependent upon the meager checks sent through the mail, suffered painfully. The armies needed more and more men and could not afford to lose the ones they had. Deserters sometimes received stiff penalties and when caught, they were subject to court-martial and could be fined, flogged, imprisoned, thrown into solitary confinement, made to serve a longer term of service, or shot. After watching 14 deserters executed at one time, a Tennessee chaplain wrote, "I think they were objects of pity, they were ignorant, poor, and had families dependent upon them. War is a cruel thing, it heeds not the widow's tears, the orphans moan, or the lover's anguish".

Many of the 200,000 Union desertions were caused by the high bounties paid the men upon enlistment. "Bounty jumpers" would enlist and collect the cash, then desert and repeat the cycle somewhere else. One man confessed to deserting 32 times and collecting 32 bounties, was sentenced to only 4 years in prison. Confederate records indicate that Southern armies suffered 104,000 desertions, but that figure is unreliable.

Fascinating Fact:  The soldier who received that anguished letter, Pvt. Edward Cooper from North Carolina, deserted and was caught. He was saved from the firing squad by the painful cry of despair of the letter, which he produced at his trial.


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