What was life like for a soldier during the Civil War?

Answer 1

The life of a shoulder in combat is never a pick-nick. You have to worry about being ambushed, captured, injured or killed by the enemy. You often see the dead bodies of both the enemies and your own troops -- that is not easy to look at. The dead always look worse in real life then what you see on TV especially if you see them die painfully. Many people have a hard time adjusting after a war. You are also outside a lot, often in the wilderness for days or even weeks at a time so you have to worry about heat, cold, rain, snow and bugs. Being in those conditions for days can be quite miserable and some get sick or even die from it. In the old days it was usually worse then now. They didn't have as good survival gear as they do now so some shoulders froze, got hypothermia, frostbite or sick in the winter and dehydration or heatstroke in the summer. They didn't have as good medical treatment or medicines to block pain so if an solder got sick or was shot it was much more serious then. Sometimes a solder would get gangrene from an infected wound and the only way they knew how to treat it was to cut off an arm or leg. This was very painful because there were no anesthetics in those days and the patient would have to be held down. If he was lucky maybe his friends would get him drunk first which would help the pain some. Also, it wasn't always easy to get get supplies in those days especially if the enemy cut them off So they often didn't eat well and sometimes they went hungry till they could get more. They often ate a lot of beans. There probably were s few good times for them though. Like when they got extra food to celibate a victory. Maybe they would get some dancing girls to put on a show for the men or things like that. When the weather was nice and the enemy was far away it may have been a bit like camping except they didn't have sleeping bags they used blankets. There was probably some singing, banjo or harmonica playing around the campfire when it was easy times. They didn't have showers so they would normally use a wash tub cloth and soap to stay clean. And of course they had to dig outhouses for the bathrooms.

Answer 2

It wasn't all war. Many went home to take care of the family farm. There were so many they were called "sunshine patriots". The colonies were 95% farmers. In Valley Forge there is a fable about the men starving, not having shoes, and in the cold. This is not true. Federal park historians have found that they were well fed, clothed, and in warm huts. The officer wives joined their husbands. Washington in his letters to Congress couldn't admit this because he knew they would cut funds. So, he spun a story. The 10,000 man army was supplied each month with a million pounds of flour, a million pounds of meat and fish. Each man was allotted more than 3 pounds of flour, meat, and fish per day.

Answer 3

1. Most had no cloths, shoes, etc.

2. It was insanely cold

3. Bloody footprints/frostbite

I'm sorry I don't have much more cause I asked the same question and the guy was inappropriate but if it helps a bit.

Answer 4

Life during the American revolution was horrible if you were a soldier or had a relative in the army. Soldiers legs would freeze and then start rotting so the only thing could do is saw it off. And the war went on for a couple off years, even if you were not involved with soldiers it was still pretty bad.

ilovecatz1234:

Women would stay home and look out for the family, and men would fight in the war. Some wealthier people had mansions and slaves doing work for them. People had meetings and went to Church. As the war went on many petitions and rallies ended badly with people getting hurt. But, at the end, we got support from France and Spain, and won the war!

Answer 5

Life in the American Revolution was hard on the colonists. Many loved ones had died fighting for their country's freedom from Britain. The colonists protested against many of the taxes. Some of the colonists thought that Britain should have control over the colonies. These people were called Loyalists. The people who fought against Britain were called Rebels.

Answer 6

British soldiers fighting in the American Revolutionary War, were held together by strict discipline military practices. For Great Britain, the strongest world power at that time, this was natural for British soldiers. There had to be a discomfort among the soldiers, however, in that most of the people in the colonies were of British heritage. So in a sense they were fighting in a miniature civil war. Also, the Americans did not honor the military practices of Europe. The Americans used guerrilla tactics and the strategy of planned retreats, tiring out the British regulars as they tried to chase doen the rebels.

Answer 7

Well to make it simple it sucked.. It was cold, they were dirty, some were hurt.

Answer 8

Nasty, brutish, and all too often, short.