472 CHAPTER 16

22 Life in the ArmyLife in the Army TERMS & NAMEShygiene

rifle

minié ball

ironclad

Those Who FoughtLike Peter Vredenburgh, the majority of soldiers in the Civil War werebetween 18 and 30 years of age. But both the Confederate and Unionarmies had younger and older soldiers. Charles Carter Hay was just 11years old when he joined an Alabama regiment. William Wilkins was 83when he became one of the Pennsylvania Home Guards.

Farmers made up the largest group among Civil War soldiers. Abouthalf the soldiers on both sides came from farms. Having rarely traveledfar from their fields, many viewed going off to war as an exciting adven-ture. Some rode a train for the first time.

Both Union and Confederate soldiersendured many hardships serving inthe army during the Civil War.

The hardships endured led to long-lasting bitterness on both sides.

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

ONE AMERICAN’S STORYWhen the Civil War began, Peter Vredenburgh, Jr., the son of a well-

known judge, was working as a lawyer in Eatontown, New Jersey. In

1862, he answered President Lincoln’s call for an additional 300,000

soldiers. Nearly 26 years old, Vredenburgh became a major in the 14th

Regiment New Jersey Volunteer Infantry. Less than two months after

joining the regiment, he wrote a letter urging his parents to keep his

18-year-old brother from enlisting.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

I am glad that Jim has not joined any Regt. [regiment] and I hope henever will. I would not have him go for all my pay; it would be veryimprobable that we could both go through this war and come outunharmed. Let him come here and see the thousands with their arms and legs off, or if that won’t do, let him go as I did the other day through the Frederick hospitals and see how little account a man’s lifeand limbs are held in by others and what little return he gets inreputation or money for the risk and privations of enlisting and his ideas of the fun of the thing will vanish in thin air.

Major Peter Vredenburgh, Jr., quoted in Upon the Tented Field

On September 19, 1864, Vredenburgh was killed in battle. In this

section, you will learn more about other soldiers and what their

experiences were like.

Major Peter Vredenburgh, Jr., wasan officer in the Union army.

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Although the majority of soldiers in the war were born in the UnitedStates, immigrants from other countries also served. German and Irishimmigrants made up the largest ethnic groups. One regiment from NewYork had soldiers who were born in 15 foreign countries. The com-manding officer gave orders in seven languages.

At the beginning of the war, African Americans wanted to fight.They saw the war as a way to end slavery. However, neither the Northnor the South accepted African Americans into their armies. As the wardragged on, the North finally took African Americans into its ranks.Native Americans served on both sides.

In all, about 2 million American soldiers served the Union, and fewerthan 1 million served the Confederacy. The vast majority were volunteers.Why did so many Americans volunteer to fight? Many sought adventureand glory. Some sought an escape from the boredom of farm and factorywork. Some signed up because their friends and neighbors were doing it.Others signed up for the recruitment money offered by both sides.Soldiers also fought because they were loyal to their country or state.

Turning Civilians into SoldiersAfter enlisting, a volunteer was sent to a nearby army camp for training.A typical camp looked like a sea of canvas tents. The tents were groupedby company, and each tent held from two to twentymen. In winter, the soldiers lived in log huts or in heavytents positioned on a log base. In the Civil War, recruitsin training elected their company officers. Both theUnion and Confederate armies followed this practice.

A soldier in training followed a set schedule. A bugleor drum awakened the soldier at dawn. After roll calland breakfast, the soldier had the first of several drill ses-sions. In between drills and meals, soldiers performedguard duty, cut wood for the campfires, dug trenches forlatrines (outdoor toilets), and cleaned up the camp.

Shortly after they came to camp, new recruits weregiven uniforms and equipment. Union soldiers woreblue uniforms, and Confederate soldiers wore gray or

DRILL SESSIONS

“The first thing in the morningis drill. Then drill, then drillagain. Then drill, drill, a littlemore drill. Then drill, and lastlydrill.” That is the way one sol-dier described his day in camp.

A soldier in training mighthave as many as five drill sessionsa day, each lasting up to twohours. The soldiers learned tostand straight and march in for-mation. They also learned toload and fire their guns. Showndrilling below are soldiers of the22nd New York State Militia nearHarpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1862.

A. SummarizingHow did mostmen in the Northand the Southfeel about goingoff to war?A. Answer Mostwere excited bythe idea of adven-ture and commit-ted to doing theirduty for theircountry.

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yellowish-brown uniforms. Getting a uniform of the right size was aproblem, however. On both sides, soldiers traded items to get clothingthat fit properly.

Early in the war, Northern soldiers received clothing of very poorquality. Contractors took advantage of the government’s need and sup-plied shoddy goods. Shoes made of imitation leather, for example, fellapart when they got wet. In the Confederacy, some states had troubleproviding uniforms at all, while others had surpluses. Because the statesdid not always cooperate and share supplies, Confederate soldiers some-times lacked shoes. Like soldiers in the Revolutionary War, theymarched over frozen ground in bare feet. After battles, needy soldierstook coats, boots, and other clothing from the dead.

At the beginning of the war, most soldiers in army camps received plentyof food. Their rations included beef or salt pork, flour, vegetables, and cof-fee. But when they were in the field, the soldiers’ diet became more limited.Some soldiers went hungry because supply trains could not reach them.

Hardships of Army LifeCivil War soldiers in the field were often wet, muddy, orcold from marching outdoors and living in crude shel-ters. Many camps were unsanitary and smelled from theodors of garbage and latrines. One Union soldierdescribed a camp near Washington. In the camp, cattlewere killed to provide the troops with meat.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

The hides and [waste parts] of the [cattle] for miles uponmiles around, under a sweltering sun and sultry showers,would gender such swarms of flies, armies of worms, blastsof stench and oceans of filth as to make life miserable.

William Keesy, quoted in The Civil War Infantryman

Not only were the camps filthy, but so were the sol-diers. They often went weeks without bathing or wash-ing their clothes. Their bodies, clothing, and beddingbecame infested with lice and fleas.

Poor hygiene—conditions and practices that pro-mote health—resulted in widespread sickness. Mostsoldiers had chronic diarrhea or other intestinal disor-ders. These disorders were caused by contaminated

water or food or by germ-carrying insects. Peopledid not know that germs cause diseases.Doctors failed to wash their hands or theirinstruments. An observer described howsurgeons “armed with long, bloody knivesand saws, cut and sawed away with frightfulrapidity, throwing the mangled limbs on apile nearby as soon as removed.”

DEADLIER THAN BULLETS

“Look at our company—21 havedied of disease, 18 have becomeso unhealthy as to be discharged,and only four have been killed inbattle.” So a Louisiana officerexplained the high death rate inthe Civil War.

More than twice as many mendied of disease as died of battlewounds. Intestinal disorders,including typhoid fever, diarrhea,and dysentery, killed the most.Pneumonia, tuberculosis, andmalaria killed many others. Badwater and food, poor diet, expo-sure to cold and rain, unsanitaryconditions, and disease-carryinginsects all contributed to thehigh rate of disease.

B. Answerattention tohygiene in campsby soldiers anddoctors

B. MakingInferences Whatchanges couldhave helpedlower the spreadof disease amongsoldiers?

BackgroundBefore uniformsbecame standard-ized, soldiersdressed in outfitssupplied fromhome. This causedconfusion on thebattlefield.

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The Civil War Begins 475

2. Taking NotesComplete the chart below.

Which hardship do you thinkwould have been most diffi-cult to endure? Why?

3. Main Ideasa. How were the wartimeexperiences of Northern andSouthern soldiers alike?

b. What factors contributedto the spread of diseaseamong soldiers?

c. How did the use of the rifle and minié ballchange combat tactics in the Civil War?

4. Critical ThinkingForming and SupportingOpinions What were themotives that led individualsoldiers to fight in the Civil War?

THINK ABOUT• the multiple reasons that

people had for enlisting• what you consider valid

reasons for fighting

1. Terms & NamesExplain the

significance of:• hygiene• rifle• minié ball• ironclad

Section Assessment

ACTIVITY OPTIONS

LANGUAGE ARTSART

Imagine you are a soldier in the Civil War. Write a letter home to your parentsabout your experience or draw an illustrated map of your training camp.

2

Age

Occupation

Training

Hardships

The Typical Civil War Soldier

Vocabularycasualties: num-ber of peoplekilled or injured

C. Answer Rifleswith minié ballsincreased thecasualty rate andchanged battletactics.

C. DrawingConclusionsWhich changes inmilitary technol-ogy had an effecton the averagesoldier? Why?

Changes in Military TechnologyWhile camp life remained rough, military technology advanced.Improvements in the weapons of war had far-reaching effects. Battletactics changed, and casualties soared.

Rifles that used minié balls contributed to the high casualty rate in theCivil War. A rifle is a gun with a grooved barrel that causes a bullet to spinthrough the air. This spin gives the bullet more distance and accuracy. Theminié ball is a bullet with a hollow base. The bullet expands upon firingto fit the grooves in the barrel. Rifles with minié balls could shoot fartherand more accurately than old-fashioned muskets. As a result, mountedcharges and infantry assaults did not work as well. Defenders using riflescould shoot more of the attackers before they got close.

Ironclads, warships covered with iron, proved to be a vast improvementover wooden ships. In the first ironclad battle, the Confederate Virginia(originally named the Merrimack) battled the Union Monitor off the coastof Virginia in 1862. After hammering away for about four hours, the bat-tle ended in a draw. (See page 476 for more information on ironclads.)

Despite new technology and tactics, neither side gained a decisive vic-tory in the first two years of the war, as you will see in the next section.

The naval duelbetween theUnion Monitor andthe ConfederateMerrimack (orVirginia) took placeon March 9, 1862.

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