BE PREPARED…
1) Grab a paper from the table
Meal Time
• Commissary Departments relied
on food that could be preserved
(salted meats, canned foods, and
hardtack) because they were
transported over long distances
to soldiers
• Daily rations were given to
soldiers but uncooked
• Officers had a cook prepare their
food for them
• Majority of soldiers gathered in
small groups (“messes”) each
evening to prepare their food
• Prepared their food over a
campfire on an iron skillet or
kettle
Hard Life of Soldiers
• Most under age of 21
– South drafted 17 yearold boys and 50 year-old
men
• Slept on ground
• Learned to stand firm
with bullets flying and
cannon blasts
Available Food
• In Union camps, sutlers
(civilian merchants) sold
items like canned fruit,
sugar, tobacco, and
coffee
• Confederate soldiers did
not have sutler stores,
and relied on the
generosity of local
farmers for occasional
treats such as fruit.
• Civil War soldiers did
occasionally have fresh
meat to eat. This included
cattle, pigs, and sheep.
Armies would have entire
herds following them while
they were on campaign.
• When in enemy territory,
soldiers frequently helped
themselves to chickens,
fruit, vegetables, and other
items from local farms and
households, considering
these the spoils of war.
Hardtack (“Tack”)
• Made from flour, water, and
sometimes salt
• Inexpensive and long-lasting
• Most convenient food for
soldiers
• Could last for 50 years as
long as it stayed dry
• Eaten by itself or crumpled
into the soldier’s coffee or
soup
What does this look like?
“Grabbing a Root”
• To have dinner/meal
“Swamp Cabbage Stew”
• Way back when, the cabbage palm was felled and
the heart taken to make this dish. Obviously this is a
"southern" dish as there are not many swamps in
Mass. or RI.....
• Cut up salt pork into chunks, fry in cast iron pot.
(large) Slice, not chop, onions and cabbage. Fry these
in pot with salt pork. Add stewed tomatoes to make
a stew. (remember this will cook down so add water
if necessary so it doesn't burn.) Add spices to taste.
Method of Cooking
• Water which has been
boiled is freed from the
bad effects it frequently
has
A Substitute for Coffee?
• Take sound ripe acorns, wash them while in
the shell, dry them, and parch until they open.
Take the shell off. Roast with a little bacon fat,
and you will have a splendid cup of coffee.
“Eggs on the March”
• Eggs may be roasted by standing them on end
in hot ashes. They may be boiled hard to carry
in the pockets on forced marches.
New Weapons
• Minnie’ ball (heavy)
• Ironclad warships
• Rifle musket (very accurate)
Artillery fire
USS Monitor (gun turret)
Both the conical shape of the Minnie ball and
the ridges at its base that fit into the grooves
of the rifled musket allowed this bullet to be
fired at a much faster speed. The Minnie ball
would spiral through the air and upon contact
could shatter the bone of the unlucky soldier
who met its path.
The concept of a rifling
bullet is similar to a
football being thrown in
the air
Hammer – percussion
cap ignites the gun
powder
Ram rod – packs
the powder
Single-shot
Muzzle loading
Rifled barrel
Used .58 cal Minnie Ball
Loading a Musket
A muzzle-loading rifle required 10 specific movements to prepare it
to fire: (1) lower musket to ground, (2) handle cartridge, (3) tear
cartridge, (4) charge cartridge, (5) draw rammer, (6) ram cartridge
twice, (7) return rammer, (8) cast-about [return gun to firing
position], (9) prime [insert primer cap], (10) cock the hammer and
point the rifle. Trained soldiers were expected to complete these
steps in 20 seconds and be able to fire three aimed bullets per
minute
YouTube - Firing a Civil War Rifle With Commands
Union pistol – used by
officers and cavalry
.44 caliber six-shot
Samuel Colt sold more than 150,000
.44 caliber revolvers during the war
(mostly to the Union)
Confederate pistol – used by officers and
cavalry
six-shot
Steel was in short supply
for the Confederates so
they used brass and
iron to make guns
Napoleonic Linear Fighting Style
(Line of Battle)
What was wrong with this
style of fighting during the
Civil War?
Reality of War
• A soldier’s chances of surviving the war =
1 out of 4
• Bullets shattered bones (many amputations)
– Bullets carried germs into the wound and caused
INFECTION
Which tool
stands out?
Improved technology of weapons
+
=
High casualties
Style of fighting
Amputations
• “Biting the bullet” – biting down on
something to help with the pain
• Soldiers often received doses of
anesthesia
– Chloroform or ether used during
amputations
– People screaming meant there
wasn’t enough anesthesia used
during the operation (short supply)
• Infection often spread after soldiers
were wounded
– Doctors didn’t sterilize equipment
– Doctors went days w/out washing
hands
Civil War Physicians
• Doctors received little training just before the
war
– 2 years or less of medical school
– Referred to as “butchers” by patients and the
press
Surgeons Today
Civil War Surgeons
Tourniquet – Amputation of a leg/arm
If the answer is…
A.
B.
C.
D.
YELL THE NAME OF YOUR FAVORITE TEACHER (“_____ ROCKS”)
FLEX LIKE HULK HOGAN
YELL “HISTORY IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE CLASS”!
MOONWALK
• What was the greatest fear of a Civil War
soldier?
•
•
•
•
A.
B.
C.
D.
The army doctor
Drowning in a river
Being attacked by a grizzly bear
Sleeping on the ground
If the answer is…
A.
B.
C.
D.
YELL THE NAME OF YOUR FAVORITE TEACHER (“_____ ROCKS”)
FLEX LIKE HULK HOGAN
YELL “HISTORY IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE CLASS”!
MOONWALK
• What was the most convenient food for a Civil
War soldier because it did NOT spoil?
•
•
•
•
A.
B.
C.
D.
Beef
Chicken
Fresh fruit
Hardtack
If the answer is…
A.
B.
C.
D.
YELL THE NAME OF YOUR FAVORITE TEACHER (“_____ ROCKS”)
FLEX LIKE HULK HOGAN
YELL “HISTORY IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE CLASS”!
MOONWALK
• Which of the following is TRUE about the Civil
War?
• A. Anesthesia was used on every patient
• B. Disease was the most common form of
death in the war
• C. Antiseptics helped prevent infection
during the war
• D. Medics were very well trained
If the answer is…
A.
B.
C.
D.
YELL THE NAME OF YOUR FAVORITE TEACHER (“_____ ROCKS”)
FLEX LIKE HULK HOGAN
YELL “HISTORY IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE CLASS”!
MOONWALK
• Improved technology and the style of fighting
during the Civil War often led to…
•
•
•
•
A.
B.
C.
D.
amputations
bloodless battles
all of the soldiers retreating
spectators watching battles