What I would I ask Elisha if I could sit down with him?

The first thing I would ask Elisha is a hypothetical question: if he knew all the events and horrors he would experience as a soldier, would he still choose to enlist? Elisha fought in many battles, lost many friends, and experienced countless hardships. He frequently writes about being homesick and wanting to see his family again, so I wonder if, knowing what the future held, he would still decide to join the Union Army and fight against the Confederacy.

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Another question I would ask Elisha Hunt Rhodes would be about his overall view of the war. Do the ends justify the means? My prediction is that he would say they do, because he often writes that the Confederates deserved what was coming to them and displays a deeply patriotic spirit. He seemed to put his country above his own life, which some people may see as admirable while others may view it as foolish. Elisha also believed more citizens should have been drafted into the war. As his regiment marched through towns, he was disappointed to see so many men refuse to enlist.

Because of this, I think Elisha strongly believed in the purpose of the Civil War and supported its outcome.

 

Finally, I would like to ask Elisha what he personally believes was the greatest hardship he faced. He endured physical suffering through illness and combat, but he also witnessed countless tragedies. He watched many of his fellow soldiers die in brutal ways, often describing these events only briefly, which suggests how common they had become during the war. Since Elisha fought in so many battles, it is difficult to guess what his answer would be. Regardless of what he said, it is clear that his experience as a soldier was anything but carefree.

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What would have been difficult for me personally had I been enlisted?

One of the things that stood out to me throughout the book and other sources was the constant marching. Elisha and the other soldiers traveled across large parts of the country on foot. The distance alone would have been exhausting, but constantly moving from town to town and camping wherever they were ordered meant they rarely had the chance to get comfortable. The weather only made things worse, with rain, mud, and storms making it difficult to sleep or even stay dry. I think I take my home for granted sometimes, because for a 19th-century soldier, home was simply whatever patch of ground they happened to set up camp on that night.

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I also think I would struggle with the mental challenges of being a soldier. Many veterans from later wars, such as World War II, experienced post-traumatic stress because of what they lived through, and I believe I would have a difficult time handling the constant pressure of combat. At one point, Elisha describes how, while camped in the woods, a Confederate artillery shell landed near his regiment and eventually destroyed the tent where he had been sleeping. If he had not moved, he likely would have been killed. I don't know if I could ever sleep peacefully knowing that, at any moment, an attack could happen without warning.

 

Lastly, the overall lifestyle of a Civil War soldier does not appeal to me. Leaving my family behind to fight in a war is not something I would willingly choose, and I would much rather remain safe at home. Soldiers endured exhausting training filled with blood, sweat, and tears, yet even that training could never fully prepare them for the reality of combat. Spending years fighting under those conditions for such little pay is not something I think I could handle, and if I had lived during that time, I probably would have tried to avoid being enlisted if I could.

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What surprised me after reading All for the Union?

One of the things that surprised me most after reading All for the Union was how Elisha Hunt Rhodes was able to rise through the ranks of the Union Army. He started as nothing more than a 19-year-old private, and at first, doctors even considered him unfit for battlefield service. Despite this, he eventually rose all the way to the rank of colonel. The officers who promoted him clearly trusted his abilities and recognized the quality of his work as both a soldier and a leader. As a reader, I found myself admiring his dedication and commitment to the Union Army.

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Another thing that surprised me was what happened at the end of the war when Rhodes described interacting with captured Confederate soldiers. After years of fighting, it would have been easy for both sides to view each other as completely different or even as enemies without anything in common. However, Rhodes found that many of the Confederate soldiers were very similar to the Union soldiers. They were also tired of the war and relieved that the fighting was finally over. It was interesting to see that two groups of people who had fought such a long and violent war could still have so much in common.

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Finally, I was surprised by how many battles Elisha Hunt Rhodes fought without suffering a major injury. Throughout the book, Rhodes describes his experiences in many dangerous battles, but he rarely mentions being seriously wounded himself. Considering how many bullets were fired and how dangerous Civil War battles were, this was remarkable. Rhodes often credited God for protecting him and allowing him to continue serving his country for so many years. Serving for four years and surviving countless battles was already an incredible achievement, and it made me appreciate his courage and perseverance even more.