1. The Revolutionary War
Corporal punishment
Arduous military duty
Lack of food
Lack of clothing and related provisions
Illness
Lack of pay
Homesickness
Economic need
British enticement
British prisoners of war
Bounty-jumping
Ambivalence to the cause
Fear
Self-preservation
2. The War of 1812
Problems with pay
Lack of supplies
Lack of food
Illness
Poor leadership
Inadequate weaponry
3. The Mexican-American War
Harsh conditions
Poor leadership
Corporal punishment
Lack of belief in the cause
Lack of basic rights as American citizens
Poor wages
Discrimination
4. The Civil War
Nine categories of reasons for desertion
Union policy on desertion during the Civil War
5. The Philippine-American War
Horror of war, and apathy toward the cause of the war
6. World War I
Absent without official leave
Straggling
Desertion
7. World War II
Inability to adjust to military life
Disagreement with or apathy towards the war
Incompetent leadership
Horror of war
Family considerations
8.The Korean War
Disagreement with the purpose of the war
Poor leadership
Horror at war's atrocities
Family and home concerns
9. The Vietnam War
Disagreement with the cause of the war
The horrors or war
Resistance to military life
Family and personal needs
10. The Gulf War
Cruelty towards the Iraqis
living conditions
Disagreement with the war
The "stop loss" policy
11. The Iraq War
Disagreement with the war
The horror of war
The stop-loss program
12. Other conflicts ; peacetime desertion
Poor pay
Conditions
Inability to adjust to military life
Poor leadership
13. Summary and analysis
Contact injustices
Judicial injustices.