Using Desertion as a Military Tactic
Both the North and the South valued desertion as a military tactic. It was easier for a soldier to desert rather than be killed by the opposing army. Both armies encouraged desertion of the other. In the summer of 1862 the Union army encouraged Confederates to desert, promising amnesty. (Weitz) The Confederate soldiers simply had to swear the oath of allegiance to the Union and were then allowed to return home. Southern deserters would be escorted as far South as the Union occupied or offered transportation to the asylum of the North. Confederates also took advantage of desertion. Union defectors were offered sanctuary in the South as well as jobs and even land. Both sides encouraged their enemies to desert, hoping to deplete the enemy’s forces.
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