Was Sam Watkins correct in saying that "the civil war was a rich man war and poor mans fight"?

Question

Was Sam Watkins correct in saying that "the civil war was a rich man war and poor mans fight"?

Answer 1

He was wrong. The rich and the poor fought side by side and both rich and poor were killed. Robert Gould Shaw came from a upper class family as did Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. General James Wadsworth was one of the richest men in the United States when he was killed at the battle of the Wilderness. The ones I just mentioned were some of the more famous but there were others.

I will say that the upper class did get commissioned officers more than the poor in fact no Harvard student was turned downed for a commission during the war.

Answer 2

He was absolutely right.  While many men of privilege did fight (they usually received a commission as an officer, though), many others hired a substitute to fight for them.  In the Union Army, for example, a man could pay $300 to be exempted from the draft.

Thus when the song, "We are coming Father Ab'ram, 300,000 more" became popular, so did the parody, "We are coming Father Ab'ram, $300 more."