Desertion As Localism: Army Unit Solidarity and Group Norms in the U.S. Civil War

1991/12/01 by Peter Bearman · 3 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · Business, Management and Accounting · #Historical Economic and Social Studies #Culture, Economy, and Development Studies #American History and Culture

paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/sf/70.2.321

openalex publication_date 1991/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Drawing from the experiences of 3,126 enlisted men from North Carolina who fought for the Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War, this article focuses on the determinants of desertion. I argue that men deserted because their identity as Southerners was eroded by an emergent localism, sustained and organized within the Confederate army.

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