I just found out that one of my great great grandfathers served on the Confederate side

[No Vested Interest]

127. Be very proud of your Confederate ancestor.

The was fighting in the tradition of Robt. E. Lee, who was a graduate of West POint and an officer in the US military, but when the civil War erupted he felt he had to defend his native place- Virginia. Your ancestor no doubt felt the same way.

The Confederacy was way underfunded - not so much manufacturing and they had to import some weapons, etc. from Europe. As the War went on, they suffered much - gave up their horses, the war was fought more on their land then in the North. Following the War, they were subject to carpetbaggers running their governments. Many were maimed or sick for the rest of their lives - frostbite, etc.

My great grandfather fought in the Michigan Volunteer infantry, in Tennessee and the Battle of Chickamauga. I sent for his Union Army pension records, and that of his brother-in-laws, which gave much family history, including wedding dates, witnesses, etc. That is all very helpful in assembling family history. He and his wife were apparently very active in the G.A. R., marching in costume in annual parades, etc.

It was possible to hire substitutes to replace you if drafted into the Union Army - I don't know about the Confederates- I doubt it, as their numbers grew slim.

It's all a fascinating part of our history, and when we see those ancestors as they were in their time, in gives us an insight into what made us who we are today.