1. By: Monte, Marty, Julie, and Katie
Life in the Army
By: Monte, Marty, Julie, and Katie

2. Those Who Fought
Majority of the soldiers were between the ages of 18 to 30.
Largest group of soldiers were farmers.
German and Irish immigrants made up largest ethnic group in the army.
People joined the Army because they saw it as an adventure.
Some African Americans fought in the North.
Native Americans fought on both sides.

3. Turning Civilians into Soldiers
Volunteers were sent to nearby camps.
They would live in tents and huts in the winter.
The soldiers’ days were full of drills.
In between drills they cleaned camps, dug trenches, performed guard duty, and cut wood.

4. Hardships of Army Life
Camps were unsanitary and often smelled like garbage and excretion.
Soldiers rarely took showers and were dirty for the most part. Their clothes also didn’t fit right so they had to trade items to obtain a good fitting uniform.
Poor Hygiene caused the soldiers to have chronic diarrhea or other intestinal sicknesses.
The people did not know about germs, so disease spread.

5. Changes in Military
Military technology became more efficient and casualties went up.
Rifles began to use minié balls. This allowed rifles to be more accurate and shoot farther.
Ironclads turned out to be a major improvement over older wooden ships.

6. Letters Home Port Royal Hilton Head, South Carolina November 19, 1861
Very Esteemed Brother-in-Law,
     I cannot refrain from sending you a few lines and I hope that you may receive this letter in health and I also am in good health. I understand from Govert's letter that you would also like to receive a letter from me. That is why I am sitting down once to write you because I came back again from drill practice and yesterday I have been out of camp again. We don't have it easy now because we also stand guard seven days a week and then work in between. That no more get sick I don't understand, because they have to do all kinds of things. They have to sleep outdoors at night and work in the water, etc. I have slept outside each night almost eight days and you can certainly understand that it doesn't just affect our clothes but that it gets into our bodies. I still like it very much, the most important thing is that I am still in good health and then you can take it, but when one gets sick then one does long for home, because then it's not much good here. Our doctor does not come running and that is a bad situation when one does not have a good doctor, but it is even still more fortunate if one stays out of his hands and fortunately I am free from that.
    We have captured two fortresses here. They fired at one of these for six hours, but against the other one they did not have to do much. In each one there stood 27 cannons. They could not understand that they gave up so soon, because these were heavy cannons but it seemed that they did not have the know how to set up the cannons, because those who know how to do it would be able to sink the first gunboat that arrived there. It is a strong fort where we now serve. It is a kind of island full of plantations with corn and cotton. I will enclose one with the letter, which I took out of a shed with cotton, the seed is still on it.   

7. Works Cited
Jesus, Garcia, and Ogle Donna M. Creating America: A History of the United States. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littell, Print.
Dirk, Keppel. "Private Dirk Keppel." Civil War Archives. Web. 1 Mar <