After the feverish mobilization of secession had faded, why did Southern men join the Confederate army? Noe examines the motives and subsequent performance of "later enlisters." He refutes the claim that they were more likely to desert or perform poorly in battle and reassesses the argument that they were less ideologically savvy than their counterparts who enlisted early. He argues that kinship and neighborhood, not conscription, compelled these men to fight. But their age often combined with their duties to wear them down more quickly than younger men, making them less effective soldiers.

Kenneth W. Noe is Draughon Professor of History at Auburn University. He is author or editor of five books, including Perryville: This Grand Havoc of Battle.