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Why It Was

The Confederate States of America — also referred to as the Confederate States, CSA, and the Confederacy, — existed between 1861 and 1865 in North America, comprising states that seceded [1] from the United States of America. The territory of the C.S.A. consisted of most of the southeastern portion of today's United States. Due to contention from the U.S., there was never a definitive delineation of the Confederate States' northern boundary; its southern land boundary was with Mexico. It was otherwise bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

The formation of the Confederacy precipitated the American Civil War in 1861, with the vast majority of combat taking place in Confederate territory. The Army of Northern Virginia, under General Robert E. Lee, also made limited incursions onto Union soil. The Confederate States were defeated in 1865, after which they were reunited with the U.S.

The Confederate soldier knew the elements of his success -- courage, endurance and devotion. He knew also by whom he was defeated -- sickness, starvation, death. He fought not men only, but food, raiment, pay, glory, fame and fanaticism. He endured privation, toil and contempt. He won, and despite the cold indifference of all and the hearty hatred of some, he will have for all time, in all places where generosity is, a fame untarnished. With a temperament ill suited for the harsh discipline that army life required, fighting half starved in his thread bare clothes, the Confederate soldier was one of the finest warriors to ever take the field of battle in any army, in any war.

The volunteer of 1861 made extensive preparations for the field. Boots, he thought, were an absolute necessity, and the heavier the soles and longer the tops the better. His pants were stuffed inside the tops of his boots, of course. A double breasted coat, heavily wadded, with two rows of big brass buttons and a long skirt, was considered comfortable. A small stiff cap, with a narrow brim, took the place of the comfortable "felt" or the shining and towering tile worn in civil life.

Then over all was a huge overcoat, long and heavy, with a cape reaching nearly to the waist. On his back he strapped a knapsack containing a full stock of underwear, soap, towels, comb, brush, looking glass, toothbrush, paper and envelopes, pens, ink, pencils, blacking, photographs, smoking and chewing tobacco, pipes, twine string and cotton strips for wounds and other emergencies, needles and thread, buttons, knife, fork and spoon, and many other things as each man's idea of what he was to encounter varied. On the outside of the knapsack, solidly folded, were two great blankets and a rubber or oilcloth. This knapsack, &c., weighed from fifteen to twenty five pounds, and sometimes even more. All seemed to think it was impossible to have on too many or too heavy clothes, or to have too many conveniences, and each had an idea that to be a good soldier he must be provided against every possible emergency.