An Analysis of Unit Cohesion in the 44th Georgia Infantry.

The Army of the Northern Virginia built its foundation on bedrock regiments like the 44th Georgia Infantry. It is the collective battlefield performance by regiments such as these that gave the Army of Northern Virginia a reputation that few armies ever attain. This thesis analyzes the cohesive factors of training, economic background, religion, family ties, and leadership in the 44th Georgia. The regiment needed all of these factors to hold together through a series of battlefield victories and disasters. Material concerning the 44th Georgia comes from family histories, soldier diaries and letters, reminiscences, census records, and the soldiers individual compiled service records. The conclusion is that the 44th Georgia continued to be an effective fighting force on par with other Army of Northern Virginia regiments until the very end of the war. It could do regimental remnant together and fighting.