The singular purpose of the American Civil War soldier was to fight a battle
and win.
Unlike American soldiers who fought in international disputes and wars,
the American Civil War soldier, whether from the North or South, had much in common. With the exception of recent emigrants,
the majority of the soldiers, whether generals or privates, spoke the same language, enjoyed the same music, food
and hobbies, and were even affiliated with the same Christian denomination. Some Union and Confederate soldiers claimed
the same home state, attended the same university, had the same surname, and were even raised in the same house. Many
households were divided, witnessing brothers and close family members on opposite sides of the battlefield, causing many to
refer to the conflict as the Brothers' War. While motives for enlisting and fighting in the war varied, politicians had
their own convictions as to what caused the Civil war. While the
cause and even name of the war itself are subjects of debate and controversy, most agree, however, that the war
caused at least 620,000 deaths. See also Causes and Origins of the American Civil War.
Bible saved me more than once, stated the Union soldier
(About) Photograph of a Civil War soldier who, although he had been
shot twice, had survived dozens of battles during the four year conflict. Photo of Walter G. Jones, Pvt., 8th New York
Cavalry, Co. C., U.S.A., half-length, facing front. His New Testament with bullet holes and the two spent bullets that lodged
in his Bible are also in the display. While there is no shortage of Civil War stories circulating from soldiers
who exclaimed how enemy bullets were halted from Bibles to belt buckles, this tintype photo alongside the author's Bible,
with the spent bullets, is solid Americana that is rare indeed. Any soldier,
regardless of the conflict, will say that if he dies he would rather be killed at the beginning of the war
and not on its last day. The second bullet that struck the little Bible in front of Private Jones' heart occurred on the
same day that Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrendered to Gen. U.S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, which signaled
the end of the four year Civil War. Jones, obviously moved and humbled by the very thought that he was only a fraction
of an inch from death, opened his New Testament and placed it on a crude makeshift memorial, but only after he made his
heartfelt entry. The private's short testimony accompanying his Bible speaks volumes, for he did not brag, boast, or
even attempt to exaggerate his social status or military accomplishments, but he simply opened his New Testament and
began his testimony by stating who he was not. Jones stated that he was not famous or from any of the prominent
and wealthy families of his community, but that he was just a private. He also understood what it meant by saying that the
"little Testament" was located in his "blouse pocket," for that pocket is located in front and near to the vital
organ necessary to pump the lifeline of blood through the body. By indicating that it was a "little Testament,"
meant even more to the New Yorker. Not one shot, but two bullets had hit a very small target, his Bible, and because it halted the
metals betwixt the pages, he perhaps believed that it was none other than Jesus himself who had intervened and saved him. If
you look closely at the opened bible you will see the "Gospel of Matthew," which is literally translated as "Gift from
God."
Recommended Reading: The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy (444
pages) (Louisiana State University Press) (Updated edition) (November 2007) Description: The Life of Johnny Reb
does not merely describe the battles and skirmishes fought by the Confederate foot soldier. Rather, it provides an intimate
history of a soldier's daily life--the songs he sang, the foods he ate, the hopes and fears he experienced, the reasons he
fought. Wiley examined countless letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and official records to construct this frequently poignant,
sometimes humorous account of the life of Johnny Reb. In a new foreword for this updated edition, Civil War expert James I.
Robertson, Jr., explores the exemplary career of Bell Irvin Wiley, who championed the common folk, whom he saw as ensnared
in the great conflict of the 1860s. Continued below...
About Johnny Reb:
"A Civil War classic."--Florida Historical Quarterly
"This book deserves to be on the shelf of every Civil War modeler and enthusiast."--Model
Retailer
"[Wiley] has painted with skill a picture of the life of the Confederate
private. . . . It is a picture that is not only by far the most complete we have ever had but perhaps the best of its kind
we ever shall have."--Saturday Review of Literature
Recommended Reading: Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union (488 pages) (Louisiana State
University Press). Description: This fascinating social history reveals that while the Yanks and the Rebs fought for very
different causes, the men on both sides were very much the same. "This wonderfully interesting book is the finest memorial
the Union soldier is ever likely to have. . . . [Wiley] has written about the Northern troops with an admirable objectivity,
with sympathy and understanding and profound respect for their fighting abilities. He has also written about them with fabulous
learning and considerable pace and humor.
Recommended Reading:
The Fighting Men of the Civil War, by William C. Davis (Author), Russ A.
Pritchard (Author). Description:"A must for any Civil War library!" The sweeping histories of the War Between the
States often overlook the men in whose blood that history was written. This account goes a long way toward redressing the
balance in favor of the men in the ranks. The reader follows the soldiers from enlistment and training to campaigning. Attention
is also given to oft-forgotten groups such as the sailors and black troops. Continued below.
No effort has
been spared to include rare war era photographs and color photos of rare artifacts. Engagingly written by William C. Davis,
the author of more than thirty books on the American Civil War. Award winning author and historian James M. McPherson states:
"The most readable, authoritative, and beautifully designed illustrated history
of the American Civil War."
Recommended
Reading:
Hardtack & Coffee or The Unwritten Story of Army Life. Description:
Most histories of the Civil War focus on battles and top brass. Hardtack and Coffee is one of the few to give a vivid, detailed
picture of what ordinary soldiers endured every day—in camp, on the march, at the edge of a booming, smoking hell. John
D. Billings of Massachusetts enlisted in the Army of the Potomac
and survived the hellish conditions as a “common foot soldier” of the American Civil War. "Billings describes an insightful account of the conflict – the
experiences of every day life as a common foot-soldier – and a view of the war that is sure to score with every buff." Continued
below...
The
authenticity of his book is heightened by the many drawings that a comrade, Charles W. Reed, made while in the field. This
is the story of how the Civil War soldier was recruited, provisioned, and disciplined. Described here are the types of men
found in any outfit; their not very uniform uniforms; crowded tents and makeshift shelters; difficulties in keeping clean,
warm, and dry; their pleasure in a cup of coffee; food rations, dominated by salt pork and the versatile cracker or hardtack;
their brave pastimes in the face of death; punishments for various offenses; treatment in sick bay; firearms and signals and
modes of transportation. Comprehensive and anecdotal, Hardtack and Coffee is striking for the pulse of life that runs through
it.
Recommended Reading:
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War. Description:
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tony Horwitz returned
from years of traipsing through war zones as a foreign correspondent only to find that his childhood obsession with the Civil
War had caught up with him. Near his house in Virginia,
he happened to encounter people who reenact the Civil War--men who dress up in period costumes and live as Johnny Rebs and
Billy Yanks. Intrigued, he wound up having some odd adventures with the "hardcores," the fellows who try to immerse themselves
in the war, hoping to get what they lovingly term a "period rush." Horwitz spent two years reporting on why Americans are
still so obsessed with the war, and the ways in which it resonates today. Continued below...
In the course of his work, he made a sobering side trip to cover a "murder that was provoked by the display
of the Confederate flag," and he spoke to a number of people seeking to honor their ancestors who fought for the Confederacy.
Horwitz has a flair for odd details that spark insights, and Confederates in the Attic is a thoughtful and entertaining
book that does much to explain America's continuing obsession with the Civil War.
Recommended Reading:
Tracing Your Civil War Ancestor
(Hardcover). Description: It is tantalizing to
speculate about the role your ancestors may have played in the great national drama of the Civil War. But family records are
often inaccurate, or provide precious few leads on where to begin the search. Now, experienced historian Bertram Hawthorne
Groene shows you how easy it is to trace your forbearers' role in the war, where and how long they fought, whether they were
Union or Rebel, soldier or sailor -- even with a minimum of information. Continued below...
Tracing Your
Civil War Ancestor provides you with:
-- The names
and addresses of all state archives.
-- Names and
addresses of institutions that hold microfilmed service records from the national archives.
-- Names and
publishers of useful regional Civil War reference books.
-- Names and
publishers of sourcebooks for identifying Civil War weapons and accoutrements.
-- And much
more.
Historians,
genealogists, antique dealers, and collectors of Civil War artifacts will find this concise guidebook of great value. But
most of all it is of inestimable practical value to family historians, North and South, who are discovering the pleasure and
satisfaction of compiling an accurate family history.
Recommended
Reading:
Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia: Arms, Uniforms and Equipment
of the Union and Confederacy. Description: This comprehensive and exhaustive reference identifies and describes the use and application of
more than 800 items. Arranged alphabetically by topic, subjects range from artillery accouterments and boats to tools and
patriotic sheet music. "Everything an interested reader would want to know . . . A must-have book." — Antiques &
Auction News. Over 350 rare illustrations. Continued below...
The Civil War buff and even serious
collector of Civil War arms, uniforms and equipment should purchase the Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia: Arms, Uniforms
And Equipment Of The Union And Confederacy as an indispensable reference and core guide in this specialized area of military
antiques and collectibles with noted authority Francis A. Lord covering almost everything to do with Civil War memorabilia--from
equipment to Union and Confederate uniforms.
Recommended
Reading for "The American Civil War Soldier; Causes and Motives of the American Civil War Soldier; Soldiers of the American
Civil War; Why They Fought."
Tags:Life as an American Civil War Soldier
History, What was it like to be a Civil War Soldier, Experiences of a Civil War Soldier, Photo, Photos, Photographs, Pictures,
List of Female Civil War Soldiers, Picture Amputee, Amputees' Limbs, Limb, Arm, Arms, Leg and Legs, Civil War Medal of
Honor
