No, I would not accept that single Confederate Officers personal answer as the absolute only reason, because he was not any of my three grandfathers, who served as privates the entire war, who did not own slaves, but were some of the first to volunteer in 1861. I want to known why They volunteered. They didn't have a 'Dog in the fight' as far as owning slaves or ever having a reason to own any. I don't see them as 'Fighting for the Man' or because of loyality to their state and some politicians. And because they were volunteers they were not, at the time they volunteered, being forced to fight by conscription laws.

I want to know that after fighting in some of the great battles of the east, and each being severely wounded and one even killed, and one even being captured and sent to prisons twice, why they went back and kept on fighting until the end of the war when others went and stayed home.

I want to know why the Confederate soldier stayed in the field and kept on fighting when he did not have shoe, or clothes, or food. I want to know why he kept on fighting when he only carried roasted acorns in his haversack as his only food item.

I might listen IF that Confederate officer could address those concerns. But, I've already dismissed all the post war modern day common popularist answer as being unrealistic. I would not have fought for those reasons, But I do know why I would fight today if the situation were to present itself again and I believe that they would have fought for those same reasons that I would, with that level of dedication to that fight.