Confederate Soldier simple infantry, America 1863

The Confederacy had volunteers or recruited its soldiers from many ethnic groups. Soldiers of Native American origin as well as African Americans and Chinese Americans joined the Confederate forces. The numbers of soldiers fought is a guestimate at any particular point in time. Because records have been destroyed, and soldiering was not a constant occupation, numbers changed from month to month. Many soldiers were farmers and when seeds needed to be planted and crops needed harvesting, 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 three quarters of a million to one million in totality.

Under the commands of Robert E. Lee and Samuel Cooper, soldiers of the Confederacy lived by the Motto “Deo Vindice” (God will vindicate us).