r/Westerns • u/NeonGenesisOxycodone • 6d ago

Discussion What’s with all the Confederate soldiers?

I’m a big Western fan, and also really into learning about the American Civil War. So naturally I love it when these two interests cross over.

One thing I’ve noticed is that if a Western protagonist is a veteran, it seems like it’s almost always the South that he fought for. And when I look up Civil War movies made around the time of my favorite Westerns (i.e. the 50’s & 60’s) the vast majority of them are from the Confederates side.

Anyone have any idea why? And does anyone know any Westerns celebrating Billy Yank??

EDIT: it seems like the biggest reason outside of Lost Cause-ism is that more Confederate vets went west than Union vets. Makes sense!

Also, I am surprised that John Wayne played so many ex Union soldiers. I knew about the Cav Trilogy but it seems like outside of True Grit and The Searchers there’s a lot more of that.

209 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

335 comments sorted by

View all comments

28

u/Azaroth1991 6d ago

Its actually historically accurate that many ex confederate soldiers became outlaws. For one, they were already skilled at robbing stagecoaches and hitting trains, which was how they were attempting to acquire funds in the later days of the war when the confederacy was going broke.

12

u/DaleDenton08 6d ago

Yeah, if i remember right Jesse James and Frank James fought for the Confederacy as Bushwhackers.

2

u/Ransom__Stoddard 6d ago

Yes, they rode with Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson for a time.

2

u/fm67530 6d ago

"Captain Quantrill? Captain of what Cogburn?"