" Each side was sincerely convinced that it was carrying out God’s orders. In the North and the South, soldiers and ministers and civilians believed and said again and again, “God is on our side.” Sermons on both sides depicted the war as part of the divine plan, a holy battle on the way to Armageddon and Christ’s reign. "

― Kurt Andersen , Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History