A Soldier s Life The Civil War

Transcription

1 A Soldier s Life The Civil War

2 Who Joined the Army? In the North Most soldiers were farmers and factory workers They were young. The minimum age was 18, but that did not stop 16 and 17 year-olds from lying about their age. Two million men would join. 400,000 would lose their life.

3 Where were they from? Soldiers did things together. They joined the army together. They traveled together. They died together. Whole villages and towns would send their young men to fight in the war. A large battle could be devastating to a small town, and often was. Immigrants from Ireland and Germany made up many companies. Immigrants saw the war as a chance to prove they were Americans and show their pride.

4 Why did they fight? Although some did, most men did not join the war to free slaves or end slavery. Men volunteered to fight because their country had been attacked. Men signed up to fight because they felt a loyalty to their country. Others simply signed up because it sounded adventurous. Defending their country was something their fathers had done, their grandfathers had done, and was now their duty to do so.

5 Firsts for the Union Army At the beginning of the war, President Lincoln had called for volunteers to serve for 90 days. By 1863, with the war dragging on, many men were needed, but few were volunteering. To answer this, in 1863, Congress passed the first draft. Men would be required by law to sign up to fight In 1863, the war became a fight to end slavery. In response, African Americans were allowed to sign up to fight. Almost 200,000 would join, and almost 34% would die by war s end.

6 Who Joined the Army? In the South The ranks of the Confederate army were filled with shop-workers, farmers, and students from military academies. Rich kids didn t fight. At the beginning of the war, most soldiers were 18, 19, and 20-year olds. It was an all-white army. The Confederate Army would only number about 1 million men by the end of the war.

7 Where were they from? Most soldiers came from poor backgrounds and lived in the rural, rustic, country-sides of the South. This was a chance to prove their worth to the upper class. Officers for the army often came from the military academies, the primary form of education for wealthy southerners. Those academies still exist today, such as The Citadel, and Virginia Military Institute. The regular soldier was most likely illiterate. What is horse- spiddle?

8 Why did they fight? Like the patriots of the American Revolution, many southerners felt they were separating from a terrible government and forming a new nation. The South just wanted to be left alone. Most of the fighting in the war would take place in the South. Despite a home-field advantage, many Southerners were fighting to defend their homes, their families, and their way of life.

9 Firsts for the Confederate Army The Confederate army was outnumbered from the start. By the end of the war, the South took anyone willing to fight. In 1865, 16-year olds were allowed to join and men 40 and older were urged to fight. Some Confederate soldiers were not yet in their teens. In a last desperate attempt to win, in 1865, the South allowed free African-Americans to vote, and promised freedom to any slave willing to fight for the Confederacy. Not so surprisingly, many did.

10 Supplies and Training In the North The uniform was made of wool with cotton undergarments. Each soldier received a wool flannel shirt and a woolen overcoat. At first, women provided their sons, husbands, and boyfriends with their uniform and uniforms were all different color. The United States eventually made blue the official color of the army. Uniforms only came in 4 different sizes and seldom fit anyone well.

11 How was your day? Learning to march was a new adventure for many young soldiers. Many times, farm boys did not know their left foot from their right foot. Mean drill sergeants often solved this problem with the butt of a rifle or the heel of a boot. Others solved it by stuffing hay in their left shoe, and straw in their right and marched to the sounds of hay foot, straw foot.

12 Ouch! Early boots were square-shaped and had no left or right. Soldiers spent weeks breaking them in only to have to replace them once they wore out.

13 Keep busy The average day started at 5 AM with roll call and inspection. Much of the day was spent drilling and training. Chores usually consisted of digging trenches, laying roads, and other hard jobs.

14 Supplies and Training Meanwhile, in Dixie The Confederate government issued uniforms to its soldiers due to the massive quantity of cotton produced in the South. Gray was the color of choice and men were given red flannel shirts made from the petticoats of women. In the years during the Civil War, red petticoats became a fashion statement. Southern belles made uniforms and flags and gave them to their beaus.

15 Hurry Up and Wait The enemy of camp life was boredom. Weeks were spent just waiting for a battle that usually lasted just hours or a couple days. Most of camp time was spent searching for food. Most soldiers went months at a time before seeing a piece of bacon or beef. By 1863, most soldiers were starving.

16 Don t Drink and Battle Drinking and gambling became favorite pastimes and soldiers went to great lengths to get some alcohol. Some soldiers would smuggle alcohol into camp in watermelons and pumpkins. Some would make their own alcohol from corn or potatoes. This was a form of moonshine and was almost pure alcohol. The side effects would often cause blindness or death.

17 Hardships of the War In the North Sleeping arrangements started out with men sharing the same tent. The phrase spooning comes from this side of camp life. Whenever one man needed to turn over, he simply called out, spoon and everyone turned at the same time. This ensured everyone had a shelter, as well as kept everyone warm if the weather turned cold.

18 Eat it or shoot it. Hardtack, a special mixture of flour that was hardened and hammered into 3 x 3 squares, was handed out to soldiers. Often times, it was shot out of cannon at the enemy. Food was infested with worms. Meat often spoiled. Vegetables were non-existent and fruits were only available if trees had ripened. Nutrition was unheard of. To eat it, soldiers had to boil it in water to soften it up. The good news it worked. Bad news the worms would float to the top.

19 Hope you enjoy lunch! Disease was everywhere. For every man killed in battle, another 5 died from disease. The average soldier bathed 6 times in 4 years. Almost every soldier had lice. Men suffered from diarrhea, dysentery (explosive diarrhea), typhoid, and malaria. The Virginia Two- Step and Tennessee Trots were names given to such diseases.

20 Passing the time. Loneliness was everywhere. Most soldiers had never travelled more than 20 miles from their homes, but since the Union army had to travel south, most soldiers found themselves in unfamiliar surroundings. Songs made them more sad, especially those that sung about their home. Letter writing was popular and men used whatever was available pen, pencil, ink, crayon, wallpaper.

21 Hardships of the War For Confederate Soldiers Most of the time was spent marching. Stonewall Jackson was famous for this. His men became famous for the marches on which they would go. Jackson s men would routinely march miles at a time. Many times, this saved the Confederate Army from disaster. They would march 17 hours a day. Start at 3:30 in the morning and end at 8:30 in the evening. March for 50 minutes, rest for 10. The Army of Tennessee covered over 3,000 miles over the course of the war.

22 Ewwwww! Lice was so widespread in Confederate camps that men would pass the time by putting lice on tin plates and race them. Soldiers were afraid of having an accident during battle, and many often did. In some cases, soldiers would be bitten by fleas, chiggers, and mosquitoes. They would scratch the itches so much they would create sores on their bodies. These sores would often become infected.

23 Hurting for Supplies By 1863, half of the Confederate Army was barefoot at any given time. The Battle of Gettysburg happened purely by chance. A small Confederate force sent to the town to confiscate thousands of shoes accidentally ran into a small Union cavalry unit.

24 Military Technology In the North Because of the large percentage of industry and factories in the north, the production of these new weapons was quicker and greater than in the South. The North was the first to use the new rifle technology. Old muskets were accurate up to about 100 yards and would often malfunction. The new rifle had a range closer to yards.

25 Embracing Inventions and Innovations A new kind of bullet appeared, called the Minie Ball. It had a grooved surface which allowed it to spin and cut through the air easier, increasing its range and accuracy. The machine gun made its debut during the Civil War, along with many other inventions used by the North for the very first time.

26 Out With the Old, In With the New New inventions and improved ways of fighting meant leaders had to change the way armies fought. Trench warfare began to be used towards then end of the war. Centuries of warfare had men standing shoulder to shoulder, firing their weapons while being fired at. This was honorable. It was also catastrophic. The adjustment too a long time, but eventually generals saw the benefit to hiding behind earthen walls. By the last year of the war, the North started using repeating carbines or rifles that used cartridges. The soldier no longer had to stop to reload, he could now fire several times before having to reload.

27 Military Technology For the Olde South The south continued to use muskets and was slow to change to the newer rifles because of a lack of industry and factories. The bayonet was used more for roasting meals and digging. Bayonet charges almost never happened. The rifles used by the Confederacy used bullets that were ¾ in diameter.

28 Coming Up a Bit Short. The iron needed to make cannon was found in the hills of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, both Union States. It did not matter the Confederacy only had one factory that could make cannons, the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Va.

29 Ahead of His Time Robert E. Lee was one of the first military leaders of his time to use trench warfare strategies. In order to fight a defensive war, he needed to keep his men as safe from harm as possible. At first, his men hated the idea and began to call the general the King of Spades because he relied on the shovel more than the rifle.