Super helpful thread for noobs. Thanks a million.

Well said, Gray Fox. My prejudice towards the political figures of the South has caused me to overstate my views, perhaps. You are correct, of course. Simple soldiers are the heart of any Army and they fight for each other mostly, rarely for a cause. I respect and appreciate your service. And yet. A...

As a historian, I studied in college the revisionist views of causes for the war, which included, innate militarism of Southern culture inspired by Europe, the high value placed on federalism - cherished and promoted by the Southern-most founding fathers - the agrarian roots of the South versus the ...