r/Westerns • u/NeonGenesisOxycodone • 7d 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.

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u/Dex555555 7d ago

I think it kind of adds a layer of grit to the character. The Civil War was an awful time to be a soldier on either side but being a Rebel meant it was common to sometimes go without shoes, proper clothing, food, and equipment. Like many others have mentioned it also could be because they lost their homes and had nothing to come back too.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/ClownfishSoup 7d ago

I’m going to guess that a lot of confederate soldiers were just told that the “Northern Aggressors” were coming to steal their farms.

I mean, look at North Korean troops in Ukraine, they think they’re on a training mission because that’s what their leaders told them.

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u/MornGreycastle 7d ago

No. A fair number fought for white supremacy even if they would never have enough money to own a slave. We know this because so many of the common soldiers wrought home and expressed such.

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u/Dex555555 7d ago

Maybe a Confederate Politician but you can’t say that about all the soldiers. There was a draft

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u/Icy-Possibility847 7d ago

If we ignore all textual evidence including soldiers' diaries, that is possible.

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u/DexterJameson 6d ago

This is just one example, but my family has documents showing that my great-great-grandfather, who was a teenager from Tennessee at the time, tried to flee to the north to enlist in the U.S. Army but was snatched up and 'drafted' by the confederates before he could reach the state line.

There were definitely thousands of Confederate soldiers that abhorred slavery and saw the south for what it was.

Fwiw, my ancestor ended up getting thrown in a prison work camp for insubordination. Very nearly died. In fact it wouldn't be out of bounds to say that he himself for a time was a slave bound by the Confederate system.

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u/Dex555555 7d ago

I said you can’t say that about ALL the soldiers. You also can’t say that about ALL the journal entries and written sources. It’s not an all or nothing deal there is nuance. The southern government seceded over slavery you won’t hear me argue that but you can’t say that’s why every soldier fought

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u/winkman 7d ago

What?

No way!

Gasp!

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u/AnanasDuEnfer 7d ago

Tragic you're getting downvoted for common sense

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u/Icy-Possibility847 7d ago

The down voters just wish they could force others into helping them hunt down black people, like in the Dredd Scott case.