X 10...million :D
Anyway, between "snow-pocalypse" moving in and having the soundtrack to Frozen stuck in my head, I decided to post about how snow affected Civil War soldiers. Just like today, it snowed in the winter months of the Civil War. Snow didn't stop just because fighting was happening.
Aside from locking a bayonet onto a rifle and charging into a sea of death, camping in the winter was one of the hardest trials a soldier had to face. Roads became almost impossible to use and lack of activities to pass the time caused overwhelming amounts of boredom. Supplies, including food and medicine, were unable to get through the elements and many soldiers died of disease while encamped. In fact, more soldiers died in camps than on battlefields. Although winter was a time to settle down, bond with fellow soldiers, and have some fun, the winter months were also bleak, long, and a struggle for both warmth and survival.
"The view is wild, bleak, and desolate"
-George McClellan (155th Pennsylvania Infantry)
During warmer months, soldiers slept in canvas tents or wrapped in blankets on the ground. In winter, they settled into more permanent forms of lodging. "Winter huts" were built with nearby materials like trees, mud, and leaves. Some even included fireplaces. However, these were not cozy abodes. Many had serious construction problems.
"Last night was very stormy – this morning no better. Our house leaks all over, and our chimney works badly, which make things rather uncomfortable."
-Lieutenant Charles Stewart (124th New York Volunteers)
Winter camps resembled run down villages of sorts. Some had street names and even a place of worship. However, the camps lacked clean water and proper waste disposal. Disease spread faster than rats in a tenement house and death usually followed in the wake.
As I mentioned before, food and medicine grew scarcer as the war went on. When the roads became slick with ice, snow, or mud, supply wagons had trouble traversing the frozen terrain. The Confederate troops suffered much more than their northern enemies since they were under lockdown and being starved by the blockade.
"Within a few hours of Washington, men are dying of scurvy because they haven’t transportation enough to give us potatoes & onions. Some of my men are in a horrible state."
-Captain Henry Livermore Abbott (20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry)
Boredom among the troops was a constantly pressing issue. To combat it, soldiers established day to day activities including drilling, camp cleaning, religious services, letter writing, card games, and sharing stories. Another popular game that all ranks of soldiers gleefully participated in was snow ball battles.
"There is a string band in the regiment, and occasionally they have a serenade around the different companies and call out the Colonel and captains to make them a speech, which is generally responded to."
-Sergeant Henry G. Orr (12th Texas Cavalry)
As with all war related events, winter during the American Civil War the seemed neither romantic or heroic. Even when soldiers didn't have to load a gun for battle, they still had to struggle for survival.
"We bivouac on the cold and hard frozen ground, and when we walk about, the echo of our footsteps sound like the echo of a tombstone. The earth is crusted with snow, and the wind from the northwest is piercing our bones. We can see our ragged soldiers, with the sunken cheeks and famine glistened eyes."
-Sam Watkins (First Tennessee Regiment)
Until next time.
XOXO, Kate
(Quotes, photos, and inspiration taken from www.civilwar.org)
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