The life of a soldier during the Civil War was difficult. Not only did the soldiers face the possibility of getting wounded or killed in battle but they also had to deal with hunger, bad weather, poor clothing and shelter and long stretches of boredom. They soon realized that war was not the exciting adventure they had originally imagined.
Preparing for Battle Since most of the military was made up of average citizens, the officers had the challenging task of training them how to be soldiers. When the new recruits arrived at camp, they spent most of the day going through drills and learning commands as they practiced for battle. The army had to learn how to fight as a group so each man had to know his place in the unit and learn how to quickly obey over 90 commands if they were to have any chance of victory.
Other Responsibilities When they weren't practicing for battle, soldiers had to do chores such as cook their meals, clean their equipment and fix their uniforms. Other responsibilities included taking care of livestock, gathering and cutting wood and serving on guard duty.
Free Time Time between battles wasn't all work. During their free time the men played sports such as baseball and games such as poker or dominos. They sang songs, wrote letters home to loved ones and attended church services. To keep their hands busy they would whittle and carve and if they were feeling particularly creative, they would even put on plays. They also liked to read whatever they could get their hands on such as magazines from home, dime novels and the Bible. Since camp food was not very tasty and sometimes arrived spoiled, the soldiers would forage, or search, for food to satisfy their cravings for fresh meat, fruit and nuts.
Wages Union and Confederates soldiers were initially paid $11 a month. Privates, higher ranking soldiers in the Union army, made $13 a month and a 4 star General made $700 a month. In June of 1864, The Confederacy raised soldier pay to $18 a month and the Union increased their soldier pay to $16 a month. Payments didn't always arrive in a timely manner. Some soldiers had to wait as much as 6 months to get paid.
Union Soldier Union soldiers of the Civil War were officially supposed to be given ration of 12 ounces of meat (about the size of a large steak) and 22 ounces of bread (about 3 sleeves of saltine crackers) each day. However, the promised ration was rarely available on a daily basis. A ration is a fixed portion of food allowed for each person in order to conserve, or save up, items that are in short supply. Meat was usually salted pork or salted beef that was boiled or fried over an open campfire. Bread was a hard cracker made from flour, water and salt called "hardtack". Hardtack could be eaten plain when on the battle field but most men preferred to toast it over an open fire, crumble it into soups or fry it in pork fat. Other food was supplied when available such as rice, peas, beans, dried fruit and potatoes. Coffee was the most cherished luxury during the war. Coffee beans were distributed green so it was up to the soldiers to roast them, grind them up and boil them to make coffee. Unfortunately, the promised rations were not always available so soldiers would have to hunt game and collect fruits, berries and nuts when needed.
Confederate Soldiers The southern soldier's food rations were not available as often or in as much quantity as the northern soldiers. The Confederate government tried to provide enough food for its troops but the Union blockades, a war strategy that was used to block off certain areas such as roads and rivers in order to prevent goods from entering, and lack of transportation prevented the food from being distributed to the soldiers on a regular basis. The average Confederate soldier's diet mainly consisted of cornbread. However, salted pork such as bacon, molasses, peas and rice were sometimes available. Coffee was rarely available to the southern soldiers so they had to make due with a coffee substitute. Towards the end of the war, hunger caused many soldiers to kill cows and hogs belonging to civilians and even eat horses, mules, dogs, cats and rats to survive.