What motivated Confederate soldiers to fight?

As with any war, there are a multitude of motivations for those that fight: cause, defense of the home, peer pressure, family ties, economics, compulsion, etc. The cause of the war was secession. The cause of secession was slavery. read more

Claiming that the interests of slave owners motivated Confederate soldiers to fight, is as perceptive and intelligent a remark as claiming that the interests of oil companies motivated the American soldiers to fight in Iraq. read more

In The Confederate war by Gary W Gallagher he quotes multiple soldiers letters home as saying the reason they were fighting was because of what they saw as northern tyranny, oppression and northern invasion. read more