You ought to be proud of those men and I too honor their bravery and fortitude. And the fact that they were putting their lives on the line meant that they were not back home extorting, murdering and exploiting their countrymen like the political criminal class that in too many cases led the Confederacy back home and who were unworthy of your great uncles' devotion and courage.
In one of my favorite writings from a regular soldier of the Civil War, “DIARY OF A TAR HEEL CONFEDERATE SOLDIER” No mention is made in the entire diary of the cause of slavery or even of the black race, until after the soldier is captured in 1864 and sent to a POW camp where they were guarded by black guards who had a very nasty reputation for brutality and murder against the Confederate prisoners.
In fact the North Carolina soldier is a Jew with both parents living in New York, his place of birth. So what pray tell made this young man decide to leave his job and take up arms against other Americans? I can assure you is was not to protect slavery. He couold of probably cared less about that hot-button issue of the day.
http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/leon/leon.html
You want to talk about murdering and exploiting their countrymen - It was the North who invented the term “SHOCK AND AWE”.
You should read some of the eye witness accounts of Shermans March.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/sherman.htm