The Human Face of War EQ: What was life like for soldiers and on the home front?

The Soldier’s Life Men from all over fought in the Civil War Many hoped for excitement and glory; instead they found terror in battle and boredom in camp  a camp is a group of temporary shelters, such as tents

Entertainment Soldiers read, sang, or wrote letters to pass the time in camp Some put on shows or printed newspapers They loved to get letters

Necessities Food in the army was usually poor  Union soldiers grew tired of eating the same food almost every day.  Confederate soldiers suffered more because they often did not have enough to eat.

Who were the Soldiers? Soldiers came from a variety of backgrounds – at first, almost all were white and born in the USA. As the war went on, the Union allowed African Americans to join. About 180,000 African Americans served in the Union army

Immigrants also joined the Union army (Germany, Ireland, Italy, American Indians) Thousands of boys went into the battle even though they were too young  Some were drummers who sent signals to soldiers in battle  Hundreds of women on both sides disguised themselves as men and joined the army  Women also served as spies for one side or the other

Casualties of War This was the deadliest war in American history Not only were the casualties of war high, but disease killed twice as many soldiers as the fighting did

Nurses Women helped take care of the sick and wounded Women in both the north and south served as nurses – some in hospitals, others in their own home  Clara Barton – later founded the American Red Cross

On the Home Front Soldiers left their families behind when they went to war – those families are part of the home front (all the people who aren’t in the military)

Women’s role With men gone, women took on new tasks  They ran farms and businesses  Thousands of women sewed uniforms, knitted socks, made bandages, and raised money for their armies

A new invention Most of the battles took place in the South … few people in the North could see the war happening  The new technology of photography let civilians see what the war looked like.  Civilian = person who is not in the military  Matthew Brady took pictures & showed them to the North. Civilians saw that war was much worse than they realized

The Southern Home Front Life on the home front was especially hard in the South.  Their farms became battlefields  Their cities, homes, and barns were destroyed  Soldiers and citizens often didn’t have enough to eat – prices of food increased which made it harder to afford

Tough times for both sides Davis & Lincoln each needed to start a draft to find more soldiers Draft = government selects people to serve in the military People rioted against the draft and thousands of soldiers had to be sent to stop the riots (a violent protest)

Effects of War Because the majority of the battles had been fought in the South, they experienced the most hardships. By the end of the war, the South was devastated: Railroads, farms, industries, and homes were all destroyed. Many soldiers on both sides died from diseases. The Confederacy lost so many men that teenage boys began to join the Army later in the war. The Union economy prospered during the war. Farmers produced more crops to feed the soldiers, and industries grew to provide military supplies.