The War of the Great Rebellion had different motivations on different people.
The people who started the war, the politicians of the slave power, wanted to protect, extend and further the cause of slavery.
The people who refused to surrender to the slave power had war forced upond them, and had different motivations.
Conscripted southern soldiers wanted to stay alive, to keep faith with other men of their units, and to avoid being shot as deserters or skulkers by the Slave power.
Northern politicians didn’t want to hand over government to the politicians who supported the slave power.
Nothern soldiers were given leave to go home to vote in the 1864 election, and overwhelmingly supported Lincoln who would continue the war, over McClellan who would surrender to the slave power.
Would that be the slave power all us taxpayers are subject too?
Negroes by and large pay no federal income tax