X. THE COMMON SOLDIERS
The average Civil War soldier was a farm boy between 18 and 30 years of age. He possessed little formal education; and by modern-day standards, his military training was superficial. He was more fighter than soldier, and he tended to scoff at military discipline and other formalities of army service.
Posing for photographs to send home to loved ones was a favorite pastime of Civil War soldiers. Typical servicemen of that period were, from left to right: Pvt. George A. Stryker of New York, Pvt. John W. Branch of the 12th Tennessee (C.S.A.), and Pvt. Philip Carper of the 35th Virginia Cavalry.
Several factors prompted his voluntary entrance into the army. Intense patriotism, the determination to fight for one’s particular cause, the enticement of enlistment bounties, or the simple love of adventure were all strong inducements. Many men, however, were drafted into service when both sides resorted to conscription in 1862.
In that same year the North began organizing regiments of ex-slaves. The first Negro regiment to perform conspicuous service was Col. Robert Gould Shaw’s 54th Massachusetts, which suffered heavy losses in a July 18, 1863, assault on Fort Wagner, S. C. In all, about 186,000 Negroes became Federal soldiers. They served under white officers and often suffered discrimination in such matters as pay and bounties. Yet they proved courageous fighters in several of the battles in which they participated.
Conversely, Confederate officials were slow to use slaves as Southern soldiers. Many feared an uprising once the Negroes were given arms; others opposed the use of slaves as soldiers on grounds that the Negro was ill-prepared for such high responsibility. Not until March, 1865, when the war was almost over, did the Confederate government authorize the formation of Negro regiments. While some units were mustered into service, none were sent into combat.
To become a soldier, a man normally joined a military company being raised in his own locality. This company then went to a state training camp and joined similar units preparing for war. At the completion of basic training, ten companies were banded together as a regiment and mustered into national service. Orders came soon thereafter assigning the regiment to duty in the field.
Confederate winter quarters near Centreville, Va. The huts were constructed of logs, mud, and wood slabs.