[Private John J. Rhodes of Company K, 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment, C.S.A. (Stonewall Brigade)]

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States fought from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America. The Confederate States Army was the military ground force of the Confederate States. Many Army's records have been destroyed, army soldiering was not a constant occupation - it was not unusual for soldiers to take a leave of absence to tend to their farms. It is a fair estimate, however, that soldiers counted between 750,000 to one million total. The Confederacy's volunteer or recruited soldiers were from many ethnic groups. Under the commands of Robert E. Lee and Samuel Cooper, soldiers of the Confederacy lived by the Motto “Deo Vindice” (God will vindicate us).