Average American Soldier

“Enlisted the United States Service August 16th, 1862, at Mound City, Kansas.” (Wing, 1), “On January 22nd 1862 we left Camp Siegel, Milwaukee Wisconsin on train for Chicago and arrived at Chicago the same evening.” (Christ, 21). These are not just words from someone’s diary, these are two real separate documents from the life of an average american soldier. Soldiers who fought on the same side for one of the most gruesome wars that America has ever witnessed, The Civil War. There are several aspects that come to mind when you think of the average american soldier. Throughout the Civil War, the Average American Soldier’s role, and perspective was constantly evolving. Soldiers throughout the Civil War had to adapt to wartime preparations,

There were times though when even the most highly trained soldiers were not prepared for, which were the times of casualties and loss. Sometimes it would be minor casualties such as getting lost, or maybe a train robbery. Although that might not like a small issue, in reality items from a train can be recovered, and on most occasions when soldiers from any side got lost, they eventually found their way. No soldier though was prepared for very dark events, such as death, fatal injuries, diseases, harsh weather, hunger, sleep depression, even rough terrain. Anyone who was part of any war will tell you how awful it was, whether it was a victory or not. Nobody was ever prepared for an ally or a close friend’s death, whether they’ve been shot by an enemy soldier, or a sacrifice, or even death caused by disease. Sometimes death can be caused due to any physical condition, such as climbing steep hills or walking through rivers that almost reached an average soldier’s torso. Weather was very hard on soldiers, not because they always got struck by lightning, but sometimes it would be a very slow death, such as hypothermia or being caught by a rough current from crossing a river. If you were not in physical shape, you couldn’t be able to survive the hell in which the inevitable fate of war will bring to

You would wake up, do what you were assigned to do that day, or what you may do that night, and then repeat. As I mentioned earlier, soldiers were not completely separated from the outside world, thanks to the use of trains, steamboats, and other means of transportation. The fact that you were able to contact others was a good way to help the mental health of a soldier, maybe the comfort of a loved one or maybe a conversation from other residents or friends. However, trains were not around for the confederate side because they did not have lots of railroad lines compared to the north, and also as a fun fact they had a different gauge, which was shorter than the standard gauge (4’ 8”). I also mentioned that one of the different jobs you can take as a civil war soldier, was what was known as “Guard Duty”. This can be compared to a security guard or police officer. The point of the Guard was to look out for anyone on the opposite side who may attempt to sabotage, or kill any members of the Union Army. In the beginning, before the Union invaded the south, hardly any prisoners were found, but as they grew closer, more and more prisoners were found and caught. The Union didn’t have a very secure way of keeping these prisoners, so inevitably, the prisoners