A Day in the Life of a Civil War Soldier

1. A Day in the Life of a Civil War Soldier Lauren C. Snead

2. Daily Schedule of a Soldier • Rise before the sun even rose. • Eat small rations of food if there was any. • Would either march on to another camp site/battle site or do drills. • If there was free time, soldiers would write letters home of play games. • Most days could be extremely intense with fighting or with extreme boredom.

3. FOOD! • Most foods were bacon, corn meal, tea, sugar, and molasses. • “Johnnie Cake" that they made in the field from cornmeal, milk and a few other ingredients. • Most foods were uncooked to last longer. • Usually had salt pork, fresh or salted beef, coffee, sugar, salt, vinegar, dried fruit and vegetables. • Bread was hardtack. Confederate Army Union Army

4. Clothing for Confederate Troops • Most uniforms were made by ladies at home. • Not every soldier had one. • Hats were provided for warmth during winter and shade during summer. • Most uniforms were grey. • Footwear was hard to provide so most soldiers marched barefoot.

5. Confederate Soldier Uniform

6. Union Clothing/Uniform • Soldiers were issued uniforms. • Officers were expected to purchase their own and had to make sure that they met strict military requirements. • Blue uniforms blue blouse and light-blue pants of wool, worn both winter and summer. • Long overcoats, often with a short cape, were worn in cold and wet weather. • Cavalrymen and some infantry units wore broad-brimmed hats. • High leather boots for cavalry, shorter shoes for the infantry. • Advances in shoe manufacturing meant a good supply of footwear for Union troops.

7. Union Soldier Uniform

8. Weapons • A rifled musket. • Bayonets were sometimes used. • Cavalrymen and officers also used pistols, either single-shot breechloaders or the more modern revolvers. • Swords were carried but rarely used in combat. • The rifled musket was also the standard Confederate weapon. • Lacking the North’s manufacturing capacity, Confederate forces made widespread use of captured Union weapons • As in the Union Army, carbines and pistols were the chief cavalry weapons. Confederate Army Union Army

9. Religion • Most soldiers were very religious. • They tried to attend church services regularly. • Both Union and Confederate armies had a Chaplain at all times. • Most soldiers had a Bible in their pocket so “God would watch over them”.

10. Some Random Facts • More soldiers died from disease than from battle. • Soldiers weren’t paid a lot. Most of them volunteer.