Response to: A Soldier's Motivation

During the Civil War, only men were allowed to join the military. All of the men had different reasons for why they wanted to join. Some men wanted adventure, others wanted to show their loyalty, some needed the money to feed their families,  and some men were pressured to join because their fellow friends and neighbors joined. Nowadays, men and women are allowed to join, and they join to serve their country, or for the recruitment money. Rarely do men and women join the army to risk their lives for adventure or boredom. 

I'm willing to fight for our country, but I won't fight in the form of joining the military. I can't imagine killing somebody else unless it was for self-defense. I will do anything in my possibility to help out the war effort (donations, letters, packages), but I feel like going out into war won't help me, because if I were to perish in war, it would cause my family to freak out, and I don't feel like that is a good reason to join. 

During the Civil War, women weren't allowed in the army, and I probably would have helped the wounded men around the area i lived in. I wouldn't have the guts to actually go out and battle for whichever side I happened to be on (Union). If I did join, I would fear the safety of my family more than death.

So in all, I would probably have helped in anyway but actually fighting.