Baseball during the Civil War

1. Baseball during the Civil War The Impact

2. Preview • Main Idea/Focus • Leisure Activities • Building Morale during the Civil War • The First Baseball diamond • Baseball at the start of the war • Newspaper Clipping • Timeline of Baseball • Differences in Baseball and Soldiers then and now • The overall effects of the war

3. Main Idea/Focus • During the late 1800’s, cities grew and changes, while education, leisure time activities, and the arts reflected those changing times. • What developments affected leisure?

4. Leisure Activities • More time to play and watch sports due to higher incomes and more free time. • Baseball became popular during the Civil War • Baseball was a way of bringing people together during a time of crisis. It was an emotional escape • Here is a picture of what it may have looked like:

5. Picture of Baseball during Civil War

6. Building Morale During Civil War • Union and Confederate Officers endorsed baseball as a much needed positive activity and for physical conditioning. • Teamwork on the baseball diamond meant better teamwork on the battlefield. • Many letters home were more pleasant to read about the baseball games instead of the hardship of battle.

7. The First Baseball Diamond • Union General Abner Doubleday was the “father of the modern game.” • City of Cooperstown, NY dedicated Doubleday Field in 1920 as the official birthplace of organized baseball. • Cooperstown eventually became the home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

8. Baseball at the start of the war • In 1861, there was an amateur team made up of members of the 71st New York Regiment. They defeated the Washington Nationals baseball club by a score of 41-13. • They played a re-match in 1862 and the Nationals won 28-13. However, the New York’s best athletes had been killed at Bull Run only weeks after their first game. • The biggest attending sporting events of the nineteenth century occurred on Christmas in 1862. the 165th New York Volunteer Regiment play at Hilton Head, South Carolina with more than 40,000 troops looking on.

9. Newspaper Clipping A newspaper illustration of the Maine's baseball team identified several crewmembers, including an African American, Fireman William Lambert. (NARA, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, RG 24

10. Timeline of events for baseball during the Civil War • Date Participants Notables 1862 Trainees from 13th Massachusetts Games were played and 51st Pennysylvania evenings on the drilling field in many training camps prior to deployment 1862 165th NY Infantry vs NY Regiment The most famous of all Civil War games witnessed by 40,000 troops. 1862 The Irish Brigade vs themselves Confederate troops watched Union games played during their march to Richmond.

11. Timeline continued… • Date Participants Notables 1862 57th NY vs 69th NY Incoming Confederate cannon fire ended this game abruptly. 1862 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division Army of Members of both the the Potomac vs selected members brigade and 1859 the Honey Run Club team champions practiced regularly throughout the War. 1863 24th Alabama vs themselves Rebels, played daily

12. Timeline continued… • Date Participants Notables 1863 26th Pennsylvania vs 22nd All four regiments met Massachusetts vs 13th for games but disputed New York and 62nd NY the differences between Volunteers the MA and NY rules. 1863 13th MA and 1st Rhode Both teams recorded Island Light Artillery so many victories, many vs misc Army felt they were capable of beating any pro- fessional team of the late 1800’s.

13. Timeline continued… • Date Participants Notables 1863 Union soldiers encamped During this game, the camp in Alexandria, Texas was attacked resulting in the loss of the center fielder and the ball. 1864 2nd New Jersey Volunteers Billed as another big game vs 77th NY Volunteers newspapers openly criticized the 77th after a no-show. 1865 Union and Confederate Following Robert E Lee’s soldiers played surrender of the Appomattox, soldiers played to pass the time. 1866 POW’s detained at the Despite pleasant accounts of Confederate Prison Camp baseball early on, many in Salisbury, NC players died due to overcrowded conditions.

14. Differences from Civil War baseball from today • Baseball played during the war was very different than the game we know today. • Some rules included: The Striker (batter) gets to choose where he wants his pitch. • The pitcher must throw underhand – no leading off the bag. • No base stealing • No foul lines • All balls were fair

15. Soldiers then and now • You have learned about what the soldiers did for entertainment during the Civil War. They played baseball when they could. • Soldier’s now have different methods of technology to keep them entertained. IPOD’s, laptops, PSP’s and so on. • Soldier’s now can keep in better contact with their loved ones through all the communication devices available.

16. The effects from the Civil War • The American death toll reached close to 700,000. • This exceeds the nation’s loss in all its other wars from the Revolution through Vietnam. • The Civil War was devastating on our country when our own men in the United States are fighting each other. • President Lincoln suffered many losses during the war. He aged what seem to be 30 years in those few years. • Baseball brought a lot of joy to fighting soldiers and others at home. It was nice to read about a leisurely activity instead of the gruesome effects of the battlefield. • Today, baseball still brings joy to homes. That is why it is America’s pasttime.