thesperate need food. their men are living on not even half-rations. they re eating rats. their clothes are rotted. their shoes are falling off their feet. they haven t had any food, so some guys just give up and basically quit the war. as his army withers away, davis tries to maintain a confident public image, but there is no relief from the burdens of war. mr. president? mr. president, this is my husband, robert baxton. he s with the 8th virginia. he said he was a deserter, and you sentenced him to die, but he hasn t done nothing wrong. he was taking care of his family. i know, mrs. baxton. i ll see what i can do. thank you. desertions were a nightmare for both armies, but when lee loses at gettysburg and now has to pull back into the south, that is a huge, devastating blow to morale, and the confederacy starts losing men like crazy.