LIFE OF A SOLDIERAMERICAN CIVIL WAR

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About 2.75 million soldiers fought in the Civil War.

Most soldiers were white male farmers between the ages of 18 and 39 with an average age just under 26.

THE CIVIL WAR SOLDIER

The Confederacy instituted the first draft in April of 1862. The Confederacy only had 9 million compared to the Union with a population of 22 million.

Abraham Lincoln instituted a draft a year later, likewise calling on all able-bodied 18-35 year old men to serve.

THE DRAFT

Thousands of women in the United States and the Confederacy joined volunteer brigades and signed up to work as nurses.

In June 1861, women helped form the United States Sanitary Commission to fight disease in army camps and hospitals.

CIVIL WAR WOMEN

In the Union army, 80 percent of the men were in the infantry, 14 percent in the cavalry, and 6 percent in artillery.

In the Confederate army, 75 percent of the men served in the infantry, 20 percent in the cavalry, and 5 percent in artillery.

RIFLE, HORSE, OR CANNON?

The Union and Confederacy waged war on the Atlantic Ocean, in the Gulf of Mexico, and on inland rivers.

Cotton trade with Europe was vital to the Southern war effort, which led Union General Winfield Scott to order a blockade known as the "Anaconda Plan."

NAVY BATTLES

Engineers also invented the first ironclad warships.

Both sides fought for control of rivers that were essential to the fast transport of men and material.

Soldiers on each side initially earned $11 per month. In June 1864, the Confederacy raised each soldier’s pay to $18 per month. That same month the Union upgraded its soldiers’ monthly wage to $16.

African American soldiers were initially paid just $10 per month. This changed in June 1864 after several protests.

WAGES OF WAR

Only a small percentage of a soldier’s time was spent in battle.

Soldiers often wrote letters to family, friends, and sweethearts. Others drank and gambled. They played games like checkers and chess.

Reading was also common.

PASSING THE TIME

Soldiers on both sides loved to sing–on the march, in camp, and sometimes even in battle.

The Union soldiers favored ‘Battle Cry of Freedom,’ ‘Red White and Blue,’ ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ and others.

The Confederate soldiers often sang ‘Dixie,’ ‘Bonnie Blue Flag,’ ‘Yellow Rose of Texas,’ and other songs.

SONGS OF WAR

YouTube - I Wish I Was in Dixie

The daily Union ration consisted of 22 ounces of bread and either 12 ounces of pork or a pound of salted beef. Confederates were supposed to be supplied similar rations.

Vegetables such as beans and peas often proved hard to come by. Most soldiers depended on hardtack, cornbread and coffee.

Men on both sides got what they could from foraging.

RATIONS

More than 400,000 soldiers were captured over the course of the Civil War.

In the beginning, captured troops were regularly exchanged to keep the total number of prisoners manageable. But this didn’t last.

PRISONERS OF WAR

Thousands of Confederates died in the freezing camp at Elmira, New York.

The camp at Andersonville, Georgia held Union prisoners and become one of the most infamous in the history of war.

Of every 1,000 Union soldiers, 112 were wounded, and 150 of every 1,000 Confederates soldiers were hit.

A Union soldier stood a 1 in 8 chance of dying due to illness and a 1 in 18 chance of dying in battle.

A Confederate soldier had a 1 in 5 chance of succumbing to disease and a 1 in 8 chance of dying in combat.

DANGEROUS ODDS

Roughly 1,264,000 American soldiers have died in the nation's wars--620,000 in the Civil War and 644,000 in all other conflicts.

TOTAL CASUALTIES

Men on both sides were inspired to fight by patriotism, state pride, the chance for adventure, or steady pay.

REASONS FOR FIGHTING

Union soldiers fought to preserve the Union; the common Confederate fought to defend his home.

Later in the war, increasing numbers of Union soldiers fought to abolish slavery.

Write 2 – 3 sentences for the following question:

What part of being a soldier during the Civil War was the toughest? Why?

DISCUSSION QUESTION

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