Army+Life

=Army Life =     


 * Page Authors**: Katherine, Fiona, Molly, Jay, Ashley, Pat, Chinekwu, Eva, Dominic, Gia, Joey, Eryka, Dennis, Katie, Kyle Mac, Gabriella, Emma, Steven


 * Page editor**: Mrs. Z
 * Page Updated:** April 24, 2008

Page Contents:
====Who Were the Soldiers? / Army Organization / Branches of the Civil War Armies / Tactics and Strategies / Camp Life & Recreation / Music / Food / Uniforms / Flags / Sutlers / Discipline / Religion / Prisons / Weapons ==== = = = = = =

Who Were the Soldiers?
Many men were needed throughout war in both the army and the navy. The army accepted any able-bodied man. The army consisted of "Regular" soldiers and volunteer soldiers. The "Regulars" were soldiers that were part of the United States Army before the Civil War began. Other soldiers were volunteers. Some soldiers were drafted, meaning they were forced to join, because both the Confederacy and the Union had shortage of soldiers. Some men volunteered for the military out of respect or they may have joined because they knew others who did The army also consisted of criminals that would join and receive a bounty, or signing bonus, then desert and go the opposite army and receive another bounty.

Almost 4,000 boys under the age of 17 were in the Union Army. The Southern states encouraged boys as young as 15 to join the army and they also pressured elderly men into the military. They did this because they faced a shortage of manpower, which the North did not. some families accompanied the men to camp and took care of them. Some children ran away to join the army, even though their parents would not allow them to join. When it came time for a man to leave his home to join the military, his entire regiment would arrive at his house just to pick him up. It was very hard for the men to leave their families because they knew they might never see them again.

=Army Organization=

Both the Union and the Confederate Armies had similar[| organizations]. The Union and Confederate armies were both originally part of the U.S. Army, so they were organized the same way. Infantry volunteers who enlisted in the army joined a **regiment**, named by number and by state. The regiments were divided into **companies** of 100 men. The companies were commanded by a captain.

Ten companies formed a **regiment** of 1,000 soldiers. The regiments consisted of volunteers who elected their officers and captains who often had had little or no experience.Because of the many deaths, the number of soldiers in a regiment was sometimes as low as 200 men. The regiment was commanded by Colonel. (pronounced: kernel).

A **brigade** was composed of three or more regiments and varying from 800 soldiers to as many as 4000, with Union brigades generally about half the size of Confederate units. Confederates generally formed their brigades of regiments from the same state. A brigade was commanded by a Brigadier General.

A **division** was usually composed of two or three brigades and ranged from 3000 to 7,000 soldiers among Union forces and from 6000 to 14,000 for Confederates. A Brigadier General or a Major General commanded a division.


 * A Corps** (pronounced: core - French for "body" - not to be confused with corpse) was usually composed of two or three divisions and totaled from 10,000 to 20,000; with Confederate corps usually considerably larger than Union corps. Some corps had 36,000 men. In the Union Army, a corps was commanded by a Major General and by a Lieutenant General for a Confederate corps.

The **Army** was composed of several corps.



The **Union armies** were named after major rivers, such as the Potomac, Cumberland, Ohio or James. **Confederate armies** were also named for rivers and for locations, such as The Army of Northern Virginia or The Army of the Tennessee. The armies that fought at Gettysburg were the [|Army of the Potomac] (Union) and the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederate).

In reality, the numbers of men in the regiments, brigades, divisions and corps varied due to sickness, desertions, deaths and furloughs. When new recruits joined the armies, they were not assigned to the under-strength regiments. Instead, they were formed into new regiments. As the war went on, brigades added understrength regiments to bring up their numbers. By the end of the war, many brigades were comprised of five or six regiments.

= = = Branches of the Civil War Armies=

Both the Union and Confederate armies had the same three branches: the cavalry, the artillery and the infantry. Each had a specific combat skill.

**[[image:cav10 width="231" height="180" align="left" caption="Cavarly re-enactment"]]The Cavalry**
The [|cavalry] were soldiers who fought on horseback. They also had the important role of screening the movements of the infantry and the artillery and protecting the commanders. The cavalry was "the eyes and ears of the army." They were also responsible for providing information about the enemy's location and troop strength. Most men joined the cavalry because they thought it was most appealing to the ladies. The cavalry also conducted raids. Frequently, the cavalry traveled on their horses but they fought dismounted. When they fought dismounted, every three soldiers would fight while a fourth held their horses. Some horses would get shot and killed in battle or would run away. After battle, if a horse was suffering,the soldiers would shot it. A cavalry regiment had 12 troops, or companies.

**[[image:Artillery-Civil-War-003.jpg width="226" height="198" align="left" caption="Artillery battery"]]The Artillery**
The branch of the armies that used cannons were the [|artillery]. The artillery could fire at the enemy from far away. The artillery arranged their cannons in batteries (4-6 in a row). New technology made guns more powerful and more available. Usually, the artillery was placed behind the infantry, who sometimes fought in hand-to-hand combat, while the artillery fired from long ranges. The artillery were grouped in large masses, defending their infantry. Even though they were usually far away from the action, being in the artillery was still a hard and dangerous job. It usually took about seven people, who were called gunners, to fire a cannon. The gunners had very little means of protecting themselves if something went wrong. Gunners had to handle blasting caps and gun powder, so the job could get very risky.

[[image:Infantry-150NewYork.gif width="162" height="248" align="left" caption="150th NY Volunteer"]] . [[image:iron05 width="186" height="231" caption="Re-enactor-Iron Brigade."]]**The Infantry**
The Infantry are soldiers who fight on foot. Usually they fought with rifled muskets. They attack or defend according to the battle plan.

Other Branches:
There were other important branches of the army. The //quartermaster// makes sure everyone has what they need to fight and eat. The //medical corps// took care of the sick and wounded. The //signal corps// used flags to communicate messages. The //engineering corps// planned and built roads and bridges and sometimes planned entrenchments to protect the forts.

=Tactics and Strategies Used by the Armies=


 * Tactics** is the art of employing armed men in combat. The United States Military Academy at West Point taught that mass infantry charges were the key to victory. Both armies believed that the "best defense was a good offense", so troops were pushed until they were exhausted. Northern soldiers were told they could go home if they marched more quickly. When marching, soldiers marched in unison, elbow to elbow, keeping a distance of 13 inches from the soldier in front of them. Soldiers were taken to their posts early so that they were ready to fight. They were told to wait for orders. Both armies used trenches as a main defense towards the end of the war.

The Civil War is called the bloodiest battle in American history because the guns were much more accurate and could do more damage than before. Despite this, the Civil War was fought the old-fashioned way with orderly columns of men and horses advancing on the enemy. This was the way Napoleon fought and this is called a Napoleonic tactic. This tactic worked only when guns were inaccurate, even at close range. With more accurate guns (the rifled musket), the neat lines of foot soldiers and cavalry were quickly shot down. Generals on both sides would not change their style despite high casualties because guerrilla warfare was considered cowardly and dishonorable at the time. The rifle changed the war a great deal, which caused the armies to change plans and strategies.

A **strategy** is a plan to achieve an objective of the war. The strategy of the South was to survive and to conserve their resources until the North gave up. The South's strategy also included help from European countries. The strategy of the North was to invade the South and destroy their resources and attack their miliary.

The Union strategy was known as the [|Anaconda Plan]. The Anaconda plan was developed by Winfield Scott (not the same as Union General Winfield Scott Hancock) who was a Union general in the Civil War. He designed the Anaconda plan as a way to blockade the Mississippi River and stop the flow of supplies to the Confederate Army. He proposed that 60,000 troops move down the Mississippi with gunboats until they had secured the river from Cairo, Ill., to the Gulf of Mexico. He said would form an effective blockade, would seal off the South. Scott was criticized by the press and many other generals for wasting time and ships on the seemingly worthless blockade. They also ridiculed his more passive parts of the plan because they wanted to wage war, not try to make peace. But the Confederate Navy did not have enough ships to bypass the blockade entirely so he recieved some small credit for slowing down the influx of Confederate supplies. There is a debate on whether his "boa constrictor" (an anaconda snake) plan actually helped to strangle the South of supplies.

= = =Camp Life=

[|Northern] and [|Southern] men were excited to enlist as soldiers because they thought it would be a short war. Some soldiers were tempted to desert, but didn't want to die. They wanted to return home in one piece. Soldiers spent at least 75% of their time in [|camp .]

While becoming a [|soldier], the men were subjected to harsh training everyday in all kinds of weather. During training soldiers learned to follow orders, practice weaponry, and also how to march in unison as one body. They learned how to pitch a tent in ten minutes. Obedience was the hardest lesson for soldiers to learn.

Between battles, soldiers did much work. In camp, drilling, cleaning equipment, cooking, mending, and standing guard were some of the jobs that took place. They also gathered wood for cooking and heating. During the day the men would have 5 drill sessions. At these sessions, they learned how to shoot their weapons well. The sessions lasted about two hours each. One soldier described his day: "First thing in the morning is drill. Then drill, then drill again. Then drill, drill, a little more drill. Then drill, and lastly, drill." Many soldiers anticipated fighting in the war in their spare time.

In camp, a soldier's home was a rectangular piece of canvas that formed a small two-man tent. The soldiers called them "dog tents" because they joked that only a dog could fit in it. Every soldier was given one for use in active warfare and for camp life. Most Confederates didn't receive tents for shelter. During the war, many Confederate camps were filled with Union tents that were captured. They also had Union blankets, canteens, and bags for carrying supplies. In the winter, both armies would use tree logs to make warmer huts for the soldiers. These housed several men.

Another problem besides boredom was disease and death. The biggest problem was being clean. The availability of clean water for drinking and bathing was often limited, and illness from contaminated water and poor hygiene was rampant. There were so many men living closely together that diseases passed easily. (See the Medicine page for more information). But the men coped with bad conditions as best they could.

= = = = = = =Recreation=

Soldiers became [|bored] in camp because no fighting occurred. The soldiers said that too much free time was bad. Many were [|homesick] and [|wrote letters] home to their friends and family when they found a quiet place. When they were lucky, their families would send the soldiers new books and magazines to read and look at. Diaries were also a great way to keep the lives of the soldiers from completely consuming them. Many soldiers wrote in their diary how drunk everyone would get and how there was always fighting.

When they were not drilling, soldiers had free time. During their free time, soldiers had many activities, including boxing, broad jumping, wrestling, foot races, hurdles, cock fighting, and baseball. Games such as chess, checkers, dominoes, dice, and marbles were played. Soldiers even had louse (lice) races when they were bored. The most common game played was cards. Cards were hard to get, so soldiers made their own cards but they didn't have numbers on them, just suits, or sometimes they would use pictures of generals.

In the winter, the soldiers would ice skate,sled, build snowmen and have snowball fights. Some snowball fights resulted in black eyes. The soldiers would also race their horses and sometimes they even gambled on them.

Soldiers would also sing and make music together.

=Music=

[|Bands] performed at Civil War rallies to help encourage enlistments and recruits. The bands also inspired the troops to do better in battle. The United States War Department approval regimental brass bands in May 1861. The War Department permitted one 24 man band for each infantry or artillery regiment and one 16-man band for cavalry regiments. The bands usually played concerts after dinner and they also played at dress parades, funerals and on marches. Some regiments didn't have brass bands but there were still musicians such as buglers and drummers. The drummers and buglers marked important times of the day by playing reveille and announcing orders.

Bands were also very popular in the Confederate Army. Sometimes the bands from both sides would join up, and play together. During battles, the musicians served as stretcher bearers or helped the doctors with surgery or they provided nursing care. In the Union Army, it cost a lot of money to keep a brass band, so the brass bands were discontinued in July 1862. The drum corps provided most of the music after that time.

= = = = =Food=

The [|food] both the Union and Confederate soldiers ate included dessicated vegetables, hard tack, fresh vegetables, meats and molasses. The soldiers called the dessicated vegetables "desecrated vegetables" and the hard tack was called "worm castles" because of all the worms in them. Hard tack was a cracker or biscuit made from flour, water and salt. It was inexpensive and did not spoil. The only meat they would get most of the time was pork and sometimes beef. The soldiers spread anything on it or dunked it into coffee or water.

At night, sometimes soldiers would sneak past the guards and steal from the nearest farm. The army calls this "foraging." Regiments were allowed specific amounts of food. For example, bread was to be weighed before being distributed. Soldiers received 20 os. of very salty beef or dried pork, beans, potatoes, turnips and corn. All of these were not distributed in one day; it is just an example of what they ate.

They would cook food by either broiling it on coals or over fires. Some soldiers cooked their food in individual tin dippers and some even brought frying pans, taking turns carrying in while marching.

=Uniforms=

If you were a volunteer soldier, you didn't look as professional as a career soldier. Career soldiers had uniforms professionally made for them. Sometime soldiers in the same branch of service had completely different uniforms. When the war began, it was difficult to tell the difference between a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier. For example, even though the 7th regiment soldiers were part of the Union, their uniforms were grey, just like some Confederates, which caused other Union soldiers to shoot at them, killing their own men.

Clothing for the South was a problem. The South didn't have enough woolen mills. Wool was one of the best fabrics to wear. Shoes were hard to replace, so soldiers were given green cowhides. Green cowhides were usually made into moccasins for their feet.

Usually uniforms in the Civil War did not fit. They were made only in four sizes. The Confederacy was always short on uniforms and the soldiers often went barefoot. Many manufacturers for the Union army produced "shoddy materials" that would fall apart. They were called "profiteers" because they made a profit from the war at the expense of the soldiers. When African Americans became soldiers, they got the last choice of uniforms.

A colorful uniform was worn by soldiers known as Zuoaves. They wore baggy red pants and white hats with red tassels, making them giant targets on the battlefield.

=Flags=

[|Flags] were called "colors." They showed which army, Confederate or Union, the soldiers belonged to. Flags were put outside forts so people could identify which group they belonged to. Flags were carried on marches so soldiers could see where they needed to go. Most regiments had their own flags with special designs on them. Some designs included the state initials of the regiment or the names of the battles that the regiment fought in. Some people said the more colors on the flag, the stronger the army.

=Sutlers=

Sutlers were like traveling salesmen. They followed the army and set up shop, selling items that soldiers wanted or needed, such as candy and shoelaces, things that might or might not be necessary items. The soldiers usually made $13 a week while at war and with that money they would buy the food and other treats the sutlers sold. The soldiers bought this food from them because they may have been tired of eating the same kind of food every day. Usually the items were sold at very high prices. Sutlers could become prisoners of war.

=Discipline=

They were not professional soldiers. Most of them were volunteer soldiers. They lacked discipline. They would assault officers. Soldiers were also known to abandon equipment and loot towns. Once it was apparent that the war would not be over quickly, many soldiers ran from their regiments and desert. This was a big problem.

The Union had 200,000 soldiers desert and the Confederacy had 104,000. Sometimes they left because their families needed them or they were homesick. Furloughs (official passes to leave the army for a short time and then come back to the army) were rarely given. Sometimes they deserted because of low morale or from fear of battle or from lack of supplies. Other soldiers were sent to find them. There was a $30 reward for turning in deserters. Some deserters hid in the attics or barns of their family. If they were found they were beaten or punished and then sent to fight again.

Punishment wasn't always administered consistently. The type of punishment depended on the offense and the officer in charge of the punishment. There were several different types of punishment, but the most severe was by firing squad. This was usually the punishment for deserters. On the way to Gettysburg, General Meade ordered any deserters to be shot. During the war, 141 Union soldiers were executed for desertion but Lincoln signed pardons for many more.

Religion
[|The United States Christian Commission] was formed in fall of 1861 by Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). It was formed to "take active measures to promote the spiritual and temporal welfare of the soldiers in the Army and the sailors and marines in the Navy in cooperation with chaplains and others." Over 5,000 people were part of the organization and they distributed over $6,000,000 worth of goods and supplies to soldiers and sailors in the Union army on the battlefields, camps, hospitals, and prisons. They would on occasion serve Confederates as well. They provided medical care, hospitality and nursing care to Union soldiers, as well as religious services.

In camp, the soldiers held religious services by the regimental chaplains almost every night. Most soldiers had their own religion. The soldiers had many hard times on the battlefield and they prayed at night and in the morning because they believed God would protect them. They also believed that God helped them to be strong. Jewish soldiers were not allowed a rabbi as a spiritual leader in the Union army even though the Christians were allowed a priest. There were many chaplains with the armies, and some generals and officers were also ordained ministers.

At Gettysburg is a monument honoring Father William Corby. He served with the 88th New York Infantry of the Irish Brigade. When the brigade was ordered into battle on the second day, Father Corby asked for permission to delay the order for a few minutes while he spoke to the soldiers. He stood on top of a boulder, raised his right hand, and amidst the noise of the battle, administered general absolution. The brigade then went into battle. After the war, Fathe Corby was president of Notre Dame University, where there is an identical copy of the Gettysburg statue was placed on the campus.

This [|link] provides information on the soldier's views on religion.

= = = = = =

=Prisons=

When soldiers were captured, they became prisoners of war and they were sent to [|prisons]. Both sides had prisons. The most infamous prison was **Andersonville Prison,** a Confederate Civil War prison camp. It had the reputation for worst prision camp in the South. The conditions at Andersonville were so bad that 13,000 of the 45,000 men imprisoned there died. As many as 100 men died a day from starvation, disease, and exposure. Andersonville was built to hold 10,000 prisoners, but it held around 33,000 at a time and inmates little shelter from heat and cold. Most slept in holes in the ground and drinking water came from a very small creek, that was also used as a sewer. The commander at Andersonville, Captain Henry Wirz, was the only person executed for war crimes after the Civil War.

=The Navy=

The most famous naval battle of the Civil War occurred at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on March 9, 1862. It was fought between ironclad steam ships and was the end of sailing warships. The U.S.S. Monitor and the converted steam frigate Merrimac were in the battle. The Union scuttled the Merrimack in 1863. The Monitor foundered off Cape Hatteras, N.C., was located by archaeologists in 1973 and1983. The ships had a canopy that covered the rounded,revolving turret when not in battle, and ventilators sent air to the dark cramped quarters.

=Military Trivia=


 * A 9-year old boy joined the army in 1863, and he stayed in the army until 1915. He was the oldest servicemen in the U.S. Military who had fought in the Civil War.
 * Nathan Bedford Forest led soldiers to capture thousands of Union soldiers and take millions of dollars worth of Union supplies.
 * General McClellan was the head of the Union Army until November 5, 1862.
 * Ulysses S. Grant took over the Union Army in 1864.
 * Robert E. Lee took over the Confederate Army after Joe Johnston was kicked out. Lee was more daring than Johnston.
 * The Ten Worst Generals
 * 1) Braxton Bragg 2. Nathanial Banks 3. Ambrose Burnside 4. John Floyd 5. Benin Butler 6. Leonidas Polk 7. Joseph Hooker 8. John Pope 9. P.G.T. Beauregard 10. George McClellan