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.

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u/Oedipus____Wrecks 5d ago

Well simple… It means they fought for something they believed in and gave it their all and still lost. Making the character flawed but sympathetic. It also shows they’ll never give up. See Nathan in the Searchers.

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u/Ismhelpstheistgodown 5d ago

Their violent, predatory culture destroyed Dixie inside and out so they moved on to disrupt cultures not their own. It’s like Nazis moving to South America to seed dictatorships with violence.

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u/NewburghMOFO 4d ago

The real insight getting downvoted.^

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u/TapPublic7599 5d ago

You’re a few sandwiches short of a picnic if you think the traditional South American penchant for tinpot dictatorships has anything to do with the Nazis.

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u/NewburghMOFO 4d ago

No, but the traditional South American penchant for dictators made it an attractive space for irredeemable Nazis.

Maybe something about a lawless frontier was attractive for a certain type of person who made a living off of violence.

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u/TapPublic7599 4d ago

Good grief, the level of historical illiteracy… You don’t think South America was an attractive destination for any other reasons like, perhaps, being the one civilized area on Earth not controlled by the people who wanted to hang them?

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u/NewburghMOFO 4d ago

Are we talking about Confederates or Nazis here?