Life in the Army

Civil War Descriptions

Section 1

Average age between 18-30 Both sides did have older and

younger for example: Charles Carter Hay was 11 when he

joined an Alabama Regiment William Wilkins was 83 when he

joined the Pennsylvania Home Guards Average height and weight – 5ft 8in,

143 lbs

Sect. 1

Farmers were largest group of soldiers About ½ of the soldiers from both sides

were farmers These men were excited; they got to ride

a train for the 1st time, leave the farm, travel, etc.

Majority were American born German and Irish made up majority of

immigrant soldiers (one regiment in New York had soldiers born from 15 different countries; the commanding officer had to give orders in 7 diff. languages)

Sect. 1

Beginning of the war African Americans were not allowed on either side

As the war drug on North allowed them to serve

African Americans wanted to serve with hopes of ending slavery

South wasn’t going to give guns to slaves to fight

Sect. 1

Native Americans served both sides About 2 million soldiers served the

Union, less than 1 million served Confederacy

Majority of soldiers were volunteers who were seeking adventure and glory

Some soldiers were seeking escape from the boredom of farm and factory life

Sect. 1

Some joined because friends and neighbors did

Some joined for the recruitment money Soldiers also fought because they were

loyal to country or state Soldiers had a 1 in 15 chance of dying Most soldiers as volunteers were

common infantry or foot soldiers

Sect. 1

At the start of the Civil War many volunteers, easy to get soldiers

As hopes of a swift victory faded, fewer and fewer volunteered

Promises of travel and glory carried little weight when balanced against the low pay of military service and risks of fighting

Sect. 1

In July 1861, the North began offering bounties (bonus to join) of $100

Later government tripled the amount

This encouraged bounty jumpers – would enlist – desert- and then enlist again somewhere else

Sect. 1

Still facing shortages of soldiers in 1862 the Confederate Congress began the 1st draft in American history

In the South men between 18 – 35 became subject to draft

North began draft in March of 1863 drafting men ages 20 – 45

Draftees could escape military service by paying $300 or hiring substitutes

In the South if you supervised 20 or more slaves you were freed from service

Sect. 1

Neither side favored the draft Riots broke out in New York Favored the rich, poor did not like it Draft continued but never proved to

be a great success Only a small percentage of

Northerners entered the Union Army as draftees

Sect. 1

Soldiers marched from battle to battle

Marched as many as 30 miles a day Ate meals of salt pork/beef,

cornmeal, coffee, and hardtack ( universal cracker usually with bugs in it)

Sect. 1

Southerners were often hungry and poorly supplied throughout the war

Soldiers usually carried a rifle, cartridge box, canteen, haversack, cap box, bayonet, and bed roll. Union troops sometimes carried knapsacks

Union soldiers wore sky-blue trousers, a four-button dark blue sack coat, and a blue forage cap

Sect. 1

Southerners wore whatever they could find

Regulations were a gray jacket with sky-blue trousers, but in reality many Rebs wore a brownish-colored jacket in a butternut shade. Wore a medium-brimmed soft felt slouch hats

Sect. 1 Questions

What were the characteristics and background of typical soldier?

What obstacles did African Americans face who wanted to serve?

Why did so many men volunteer?

Section 2

After enlistment, soldiers spent hours every day doing drills getting them ready for battle (boring) drilled as many as 5 times a day for 2 hours at a time

Also shown how to load and fire guns They were sent to camps to learn Typical camp looked like a sea of canvas

tents Tents grouped by company and held

between 2-20 men

Sect. 2

Recruits in training elected their company officers on both sides of the war

Training involved set schedule Bugle or drum call in morning at dawn After roll call and breakfast, soldier had 1st

of many drill sessions In between meals and drills, soldiers

performed guard duty, cut wood for campfires, dug trenches for latrines, and cleaned up the camp

Sect. 2

Shortly after arrival to camp, soldiers were given their uniforms and equipment (not always the right size; had to trade back and forth to get clothes that fit)

Early in the war, soldiers received poor quality of clothing

Manufacturers took advantage of the government’s needs

Sect. 2

Examples: shoes made of imitation leather that fell apart when wet

Southerners often went without uniforms including shoes

Soldiers often pilfered the dead after battles for clothing

Section 2 Questions

What training did soldiers receive? Why did both armies have problems

providing food, clothing, and shoes for soldiers?

Drills

Drills

Section 3

Activities Soldiers often looked for many things to

do to divert their attention from the war and the boredoms of camp life between the horrors of war

Activities included writing to friends, family, loved ones, neighbors, etc.

Many took up activities that were not allowed in their hometowns due to religious reasons

Sect. 3

Such activities included gambling on this, that and everything

Chicken fighting, dice, and card games Others wrestled Held raffles Gambling became such a passion they

often gambled all their money away They even gambled on such things as

lice races. They would put lice on tin plates and bet on which one would win

Sect. 3

They did play a game that was accepted by both sides and that was a game similar to the one we call baseball

Known to them as town ball, rounders, or goal ball

Played with 12 players Field was square with 4 bases Used stakes for bases

Sect. 3

Players could be called out if he was plugged (hit by a thrown ball while running the bases)

Especially played in the prison camps They did not use gloves, helmets, or

masks Games were called matches, runs were

called tallies, fans called standees Balls were tightly wound twine, bats were

long pieces of wood

Sect. 3

Outs were the same, except a one hop fly ball also an out

Grounders were grasscutters Pitcher threw underhand Batters were strikers Outfielders were scouts Home plate was striker’s point

Section 3 questions

What were the activities soldiers did to pass time?

What are 3 differences between civil war baseball and modern baseball?

Section 4

Punishments Army life produced imperfect soldiers,

who were generally a bored, restless, and diverse bunch.

Rules often broke in camp For problems such as mutiny, dereliction

of duty, straggling on marches, theft, desertion, drunkenness, cowardice, fighting, insubordination, etc. the following punishments were given:

Sect. 4

Bucked and gagged (hands and feet bound, knees drawn up between arms and a rod inserted so that it ran under knees and over arms, stick forced into the mouth)

Walked during guard duty with a heavy log instead of rifle

Tied up by the thumbs Rode the wooden mule (hands tied and

sat on a narrow rail with feet not touching the ground)

Sect. 4

Performed extra duties and fines Spent time in guardhouse Reduced in rank Flogged Branded and drummed out of the

army in disgrace Tied spread eagle on a wheel Executed by firing squad or hanging

Drills

Drills

Section 5

Prisons Few prisoners taken until 1862 Inadequate jails and warehouses Conditions horrid and inhumane Overcrowded, lacked proper food or

sanitation Many died due to suffering (approx.

29,000 between 2 armies)

Sect. 5

Some of the most extreme were: Andersonville, Belle Isle, Elmira, Camp

Chase, Castle Thunder, Fort Douglas, and Rock Island Prison

One prisoner described Belle Isle as, “a nightmare of starvation, disease, and suffering from cold.”

Worst prisons were probably Andersonville for the South deep in the Georgia swamps and Elmira for the North in New York

Sect. 5

Elmira – housed 12,000 prisoners, insufficient shelter, lack of vegetables, and illness resulted in many deaths daily. Prison was only in existence for one year and more than 1/3 of prisoners died

Andersonville – most likely worst in the entire war. More than 13,000 died here.

Conditions as bad or worse than every other prison

Sect. 5

The difference was the camp leader Dr. Heinrich Wirz (the monster) He struck, kicked, shot prisoners at will Had poor sanitation, shelter, food

shortages due to blockade, lack of medicine and criminals known as raiders who terrorized prisoners

Worse condition of this prison was the stream that ran through the camp was polluted causing many sicknesses and deaths

Sect. 5

Commander Wirz was tried, found guilty, and condemned to die on the gallows for his actions in the prison camp

Section 5 questions – wksht on Andersonville prison

Section 6

Medicine in the War Poor hygiene led to widespread sickness Soldiers’ bodies, clothing, and bedding

became infested with lice and fleas Most soldiers had chronic diarrhea or

other intestinal disorders These disorders were caused by

contaminated water, food, or insects

Sect. 6

People were unaware of germs Doctors often failed to wash their hands

or instruments Doctors often used bloody saws and

knives to cut off mangled limbs; they were often then just thrown on piles

Treatments for intestinal issues included doses of mercury, chalk to a plug of opium, and tree bark

Sect. 6

Pneumonia and bronchitis were treated by bleeding the soldier and then giving them quinine and sometimes accompanied by an application of mustard plaster

Scurvy was treated with such home remedies as onions, lemons, wine vinegar, green vegetables and fruit

If doctors didn’t have the use of opium pills, ether or chloroform for disinfecting or anesthesia they often used alcohol such as whiskey or brandy as the universal cure-all

Section 6 Questions

What were the major causes of widespread sickness in army camps?

How did the lack of knowledge contribute to the spread of disease?

Section 7

African and Native Americans in the war African-Americans played and incalculable

part in the war effort for the Union Former slave Fredrick Douglas counseled

Lincoln on such issues as the formation of black regiments

Thousands of nameless former slaves and free blacks helped the Union (approx. 185,000) so that their freedom would become a reality not just a hope or dream

Many fought on battlefields from Maryland to Mississippi

Sect. 7

There were 166 all A.A. Units in the Union 2/3 of the A.A. Soldiers were from the

South that escaped to help the North They were organized into all black

regiments led by whites Often given worst jobs to do At 1st they received ½ the pay as whites

until 1864 when Congress authorized full pay

20,000 A.A. served in the Navy. Made up ¼ of Navy sailors

Sect.7

Some A.A. regiments insisted on fighting without pay rather than accepting lower pay

The 54th Massachusetts One of 1st organized in North 2 members were the sons of

Fredrick Douglas Most famous regiment of Civil War

Sect. 7

Earned its fame in July 1863 when it led a heroic attack on Fort Wagner in South Carolina

A.A. soldiers faced great dangers in the war if captured. The South instead of taking them prisoner would just shoot them

Sect. 7

About 38,000 A.A. soldiers were killed

28 A.A. soldiers and sailors received the Congressional Medal of Honor

An A.A. regiment was the 1st to enter Richmond when General Grant captured the city

A.A. regiments participated in over 500 Civil War engagements

Sect. 7

It was after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that A.A. were allowed to participate in the war

About 90 A.A. became commissioned officers (lieutenants, colonels, major, etc.)

By the end of the war A.A. regiments made up about 10% of the Union Army

Sect. 7

Native Americans The five-civilized tribes (Cherokee, Creek,

Chickisaw, Choctaw, Seminole) forced to move West in the 1830’s still had ties in the South. These tribes raised several thousand troops for the South. (Cherokee Stand Watie became a Brigadier General of the 1st Indian Calvary Brigaide)

About an equal number fought for the Union as well

Most remaining Indian Territory was devastated

Section 8

Women in war transparency Where was this photograph taken? What happened to the two men in

the beds? What is the woman doing? What roles did women play in the

Civil War? What barriers to involvement do you

think they overcame?

Section 8

Women in the War Women had to provide for families and

supply the armies They worked in stores, factories, and

government offices, hospitals Women helped when supplies became

short ex. Melted church bells to make cannons, instead of paying expensive prices for coffee they roasted and brewed cornmeal

Sect. 8

Women bought many gov’t bonds to help out in the North

They sold jewelry and finery to help in the South

Women donated silverware, bales of cotton, whatever they could

Women worked in the fields as soldiers (disguised as men) nurses, and spies

Sect. 8

Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman, and Dorothea Dix all served as nurses

Belle Boyd and Rose O’Neal Greenhow worked as spies

Section 9

Technology in the War Thanks to improvements and changes in

weaponry battle tactics changed and casualties soared

Rifles with a grooved barrel were used (this groove caused the bullet to spin through the air, which allowed the bullet to travel farther and more accurate)

Shot farther than the old muskets that they used to use

Sect. 9

The bullets changed as well. Used minie’ ball which is a bullet with a hollow base

The bullet would expand upon firing to fit the grooves of the barrel

Because of the rifles mounted charges and infantry assaults did not work as well.

The civil war was also the 1st war telescopic sites were used with rifles

Sect. 9

1st war to use machine guns 1st war to use land mines and hand

grenades 1st war where they spied on enemy troops

from the air (in observation balloons) 1st war in which soldiers fought from

trenches, sometimes using periscopes to peer over the top without making targets of themselves

Sect. 9

Warships covered with iron called Ironclads were used compared to the all wood ships (look at overhead of ironclad)

Had a powerful iron hull almost entirely under water

Rotating gun turret Also 1st war in which the telegraph and

the RR were vital to a war effort

Sect. 9 Questions

What effect did changes in weapons have on the way war was fought?

What contributed to the high casualty rate in the Civil War?

Why were ironclads better than wooden warships?