Themes of the American Civil War
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| Life in Camp Thousands of men allover America found their way to the public recruitment meetings that took place in almost every village, town, and city. At these meetings local politicians and civic leaders would encourage men to join up—sometimes offering themselves as leaders for the company or regiment they hoped to form—and, once a sufficient number had been enlisted, the men would be directed to report to a camp of rendezvous on a certain date. In the South, where the authorities faced an acute scarcity, men were often invited to bring rifles or equivalent weapons with them. These camps were usually placed in a central and readily accessible location, often close to a major town in the state, but they served a very limited purpose. The volunteers were organized into the companies for which they had enlisted—giving them a strongly local character—and were then combined into regiments of eight to ten companies each, commonly amounting to around 1,000 men. Initially very little else was done at these camps, but in those units commanded by more organized and influential men they often received their clothing and equipment at this stage. As military organization improved in the early months of the war the issuance of equipment and weapons became more common. In the Confederate states, where the authorities were still inconsiderable confusion in the spring of 1861, and where supplies of uniforms, equipment, and weapons were especially scarce, men often went without such essentials fora prolonged period. In early 1862 some volunteer regiments were still training without weapons, and many southerners continued to wear civilian apparel, attracting the name butternuts because of the distinctive color of their homespun clothing. 19 The Union soldiers were little better off in the first months of war. William T. Sherman recalled the conglomeration of troops he found upon his arrival in Washington DC in the summer of 1861: their uniforms were as various as the States and cities from which they came their arms were also of every pattern and caliber and they were so loaded down with overcoats, haversacks, knapsacks, Men at Arms • 85 tents, and baggage that it required up to fifty wagons to move a regiment from one place to another. 20 The first wave of volunteers on both sides were quickly moved up to the frontier, massing most conspicuously in Washington and northern Virginia, but rushing also to threatened points in Kentucky, Missouri, and at Pensacola on the Gulf coast. These men would be trained where they stood, while making regular forays to reconnoitre enemy positions—often only a few miles distant. Most volunteers, however, found themselves delivered from their camp of rendezvous to a camp of instruction although, in some cases, this was the same place and only the designation changed. The camps of instruction varied considerably in their climate, environment, size, and discipline. Camp Moore in Louisiana, for example, was notorious for its poor location, the ubiquity of its insect population, and the prevalence of disease among its inhabitants. Frank L. Richardson, of the 13th Louisiana, later remembered it as being more like a camp of destruction than instruc- tion.” 21 Disease was common and expected in all camps, the exposure of men previously unfamiliar with diseases such as mumps and measles made that unavoidable. Equally endemic in the camps was ill discipline. Few volunteers had any prior military experience—the regular army had a prewar strength of only 15,000; the Mexican War, fought fifteen years previously, furnished some experienced volunteers, but even the forces involved in that conflict were dwarfed by Civil War armies some immigrant volunteers had received training or experience in Europe, but again, there was not sufficient numbers of them to make a serious impact and the militia system, by which citizens were expected to gain some military education, had long since fallen into disuse in all but a handful of states. Some contended that southerners held an advantage due to a natural martial spirit born of rural life, but this was considerably exaggerated, and neglected the fact that most northerners came from similar, farming backgrounds. 22 Indeed, Peter Maslowski has suggested that the case was quite the reverse, and that Southerners were consistently in worse mental condition and consistently enjoyed army lifeless than Northerners.” 23 Whether or not this is overstating the case, initial reaction to the discipline and training that was imposed upon the volunteers in the camps of instruction was decidedly mixed. As with any large body there were those who took to military life with ease, and those who found it utterly insufferable. Between these extremes, most men got on as best they could, enjoyed the camaraderie and positive features of camp life, and gradually adapted to the new regimen they found themselves under. With the benefit of hindsight, many looked back upon the early days of the war with some fondness. Thomas Hopkin Deavenport was one Confederate who could reflect upon the hardships of later campaigns and refer to the first year of the war as our easy days We worked a heap, drilled much and stood guard not a 86 • Andrew Haughton little he recalled.“We had good tents with brick chimneys, biscuits, beef and coffee in abundance. We thought it was poor fare. We have since learned better.” 24 Most volunteers found camp life difficult at first, but quickly adapted to the routine that was set for them. Those units with efficient commanders would drill from four to five hours a day, answer several roll calls, and perform dress parade in the early evening. The remainder of the day would be spent on guard duty, cleaning weapons, preparing for dress parade, or doing general fatigue duties around camp. Soldiers filled their spare time by playing cards, writing letters to their friends and family, reading any newspapers available, and indulging in the prime occupation of all soldiers in camp—rumormongering. Most soldiers eventually received a uniform, a weapon, and some items of equipment. Federal soldiers were better fed than any other military force in the Western world Confederate victuals were a little more capricious in both quantity and quality. 25 Yet, whatever their rations, the men of both Union and Confederacy lacked discipline and any form of training when they arrived at camps of instruction, and the process of instilling basic obedience to orders was the single most pressing problem for the new officers, and undoubtedly the greatest annoyance for enlisted men throughout the first year of the war. It took years to teach the educated privates in the Army that it was their duty to give unquestioning obedience to officers remembered an erstwhile Confederate in his memoir, and it was no exaggeration to describe the time frame in terms of years rather than months. 26 The underlying problem for both sides was that their officers, inmost cases, knew little or nothing more than the men they were expected to command. This was manifest when the commandant of Camp Curtain, a camp of instruction in Pennsylvania, promulgated strict rules and routines for the units in camp. The orders were based upon a faulty assumption according William J. Miller. They assumed that the inexperienced officers would or could enforce them With little idea of how to conduct themselves, much less control their men, it took months before the officers were able to execute the rules with any expectation of success. 27 The degree of discipline in a given unit varied widely, depending on the experience and competence of its commander even so, it was the exception rather than the rule into find a unit which measured up to the standards of officers trained at the U.S. Military Academy. As late as July, 1862, Sherman issued an admonition to his officers stipulating that all officers of this command must now study their books ignorance of duty must no longer be pleaded.” 28 However, discipline did eventually improve with experience, and this was amply demonstrated on the battlefields of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee in 1862 and 1863, where both sides repeatedly suffered appalling casualties. 29 Men at Arms • Download 2.25 Mb. Share with your friends:
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