Carried Into War
A Soldier's Life
Realities of War
The Home Front
Facing the Grim Reaper
Breaking the Blockade
The Last Campaigns
An Uncertain Future
Acknowledgments
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Camp Life
Campaigning
Soldiers on both sides spent much of their time in camp. Some military campaigns followed seasonal changes-battle in the spring and summer, camp in the fall and winter. Daily life in camp included drills and other military duties. Although soldiers complained of endless work and boredom, camp life also provided an opportunity to form friendships, reflect on loved ones at home, enjoy moments of recreation, and engage in spiritual renewal.
The Daily Routine
The hardest work I have had since we got here was standing guard duty six hours night before last.
—Private John T. Jones, Company D (Orange Light Infantry), First Regiment North Carolina Volunteers, May 8, 1861
Established duties occupied much of a soldier's daily life: reveille at dawn, morning and afternoon drill, dress parade, and finally taps. Warfare in the 1800s required soldiers to learn complex moves and commands so that they could move in unison. Consequently, drill occupied much time. Between drills, troops received uncooked rations, prepared meals, ate, cleaned and maintained equipment, and walked guard duty. Soldiers often complained about the endless drill during the day and then having guard duty at night.
Richard F. Hall
Richard F. Hall, a native of Salisbury, enlisted in Company H, Fifty-seventh Regiment North Carolina Troops. Promoted to the rank of third lieutenant, Hall was killed at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13, 1862. He purchased this drill manual from a fellow officer a short time before his death.
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A Winter Home
We are now busy completing our houses for the winter, but can't get along very fast as we have only one axe in the entire company, which we bought with our own money. We have one house up and ready to put the roof on. It is 14 x 16 and will hold us in case of shower or snowstorm. We expect to build one more.
—Private John J. Armfield, Company C (Brunswick Double Quicks), Thirtieth Regiment North Carolina Troops, at camp near Petersburg,
December 22, 1864
Establishing a winter camp enabled soldiers to create a temporary home. Once they selected a site, soldiers busied themselves clearing land and erecting crude wooden huts. These buildings often had chimneys made from barrels or wooden sticks daubed with mud. Split logs or canvas tents served as roofing. Such rustic quarters, coupled with warm clothes and blankets, allowed soldiers to survive the winter months and rest before warm spring weather brought a return to campaigning.
William S. Barnes
Eighteen-year-old William S. Barnes of Wilson County enlisted in Company F (Wilson Light Infantry), Fourth Regiment North Carolina State Troops on June 28, 1861. In late 1861, he was promoted to sergeant. He became adjutant (first lieutenant) on March 14, 1863, and transferred to the regimental staff of Colonel Bryan Grimes.
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Music from Dixie
On nearly every evening there would come out to our camp numbers of ladies and gentlemen from Kinston and we were vain enough to imagine our music was a large part of the attraction for them.
—Musician Julius Augustus Leinbach, Twenty-sixth Regiment North Carolina Troops, 1862
Many new songs were written during the war, and music played an important part in the lives of soldiers. Bands played on long marches to lift the spirits of weary soldiers on hot summer days. In the evenings, musicians entertained the troops in camp, as well as visiting civilians. Sometimes Union and Confederate bands camped near each other took turns playing the same songs in informal competition. During battle, bandsmen served as ambulance workers, retrieving the wounded and dead from the battlefield.
Oliver J. Lehman
A native of Forsyth County, Oliver J. Lehman enlisted in the Thirty-third Regiment North Carolina Troops in December 1862. From 1863 until the end of the war, Lehman served as a musician in the regimental band. He composed music for his regiment, using his lap or the head of a drum for a desk.
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A Link with Home
Kiss all the children for me; tell them I want to see them very much. Remember me to all friends.
—Colonel Francis M. Parker, Thirtieth Regiment North Carolina Troops, January 31, 1862
Most Civil War soldiers had never spent long periods of time away from their homes before the war. Consequently, many men became avid letter writers, and mail became an important morale factor. The arrival of mail was a welcome event that brought cheer to soldiers. Furloughs were rare, and homesickness increased as the war dragged on. Men returning from furlough were quizzed endlessly by fellow soldiers about people and events at home. Around their fires at night, soldiers composed letters and reread treasured mail received from loved ones.
John Wesley Armsworthy
John Wesley Armsworthy enlisted in the Confederate army in April 1862. He joined Company H (Western Rangers), Fifty-fourth Regiment North Carolina Troops as a private. Armsworthy wrote many letters home to his wife, all of them giving some news about the war, offering advice on the management of the farm, and expressing his love and concerns for his wife and children. He fought in several battles, was captured and exchanged in May 1863, and received a promotion to sergeant later that summer. On November 15, 1863, Armsworthy was wounded in the right arm and captured in battle at Rappahannock Station, Virginia. At a hospital in Washington City, he wrote to his family on December 8, told them of his unfortunate circumstance, expressed hope that he would soon recover, and sent his love to his wife and children. It was his last letter home.
Calvin H. Boyles
Calvin H. Boyles enlisted in Company I (Surry Marksmen), Twenty-first Regiment North Carolina Troops (Eleventh Regiment North Carolina Volunteers) on July 25, 1862. He was slightly wounded at Chancellorsville, Virginia, on May 4, 1863. He died at Jarratt Station, Virginia, on February 11, 1865, from wounds received at Hatcher's Run a week earlier.
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Letter written on the back of a tobacco broadside by Private Calvin H. Boyles to his wife, November 1, 1862.
November the first 1862
Dear Wife I seat my self this evening To drop you a few lines to let you no I am as well as common and I hope theas Few lines may find you well and harty We left gordinsvill the 6th of october and we Hav not stade in camp only 6 day we hav Bin marchin and taring up the railroads Every day sence we tore up the railroad That runs from ohio to baltimore and We burnt it we went the other night Through Charlestown and tore up the road all night and left at day lite we hav to march verry hard sum days we eat Twice a day Mary I had ruther be at Home I should like to see you the best Of all I want to see all the rest mity bad John H. Tuttle cum to us the other day He ses he feals mity weak he cant walk good Anuff to ceap up. Alexander Miller is Mity bad off every night with the colic Mary tell Phebe Tuttle And John P. Tuttle To rite to me I have rote the several times Mary take good cear of your self I will Remember me Mary I will remember you Mary I live in hopes of getting home safe Mary I can only trust god Mary trust God I must close I am true to you love to you my [graphic of a heart] hart love to you Calvin H. Boyles love to Mary M. Boyles
Recreation
It is fair now and the snow is melting and such snow balling you never saw. Cooks' Brigade and Kirkland's Brigade joined battle and I stood at one end looking over and saw the snow balls flying so if I could see you I could tell you a great deal about it for there was more laughing and hollering then ever I heard at one time.
—Private Theophilus Frank, Company B, Forty-eighth Regiment North Carolina Troops, October 16, 1863
Soldiers found numerous ways to pass time while in camp and not on duty. In order to supplement their rations and food received from home, they ventured into the woods and nearby countryside to hunt and gather nuts and berries. Soldiers also passed the time by fishing and swimming during warm weather. Recreation during the winter months was limited, although after snowfalls, soldiers often came out of their winter quarters for snowball fights. Smoking, drinking, and games such as cards, dominoes, and marbles went on throughout the year. For some men, alcohol abuse became a serious problem.
Quentin Busbee
Quentin Busbee enlisted in Wake County in Company K (Raleigh Rifles), Fourteenth Regiment North Carolina Troops (Fourth Regiment North Carolina Volunteers) on May 21, 1861. The following November, he received a promotion to first lieutenant. Busbee resigned his commission on February 22, 1862, after he was charged with absence from duty and "intoxication."
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Lice, Vermin, and Fever: Hygiene in Camp
Typhoid is very prevalent and a large percentage die. Measles are very frequent from the sequelae of which a great many are suffering.
—Surgeon John F. Shaffner, Thirty-third Regiment North Carolina Troops, September 1, 1862
Illness became a soldier's constant companion in camp. Many men had never been exposed to communicable diseases and common illnesses before the war. Crowded camps and tainted water supplies soon took a heavy toll on new recruits. As commanders and surgeons gained a better understanding of the relationship between disease and drinking water, they worked to improve sanitary conditions by moving latrines away from water supplies. Soldiers bathed infrequently during winter months, and most men became infected with body lice. Despite the conditions, many soldiers attempted to keep their uniforms and themselves as clean as possible. In the end, however, more North Carolinians died from diseases than from battle causes.
Religion in Camp
We have a revival going on in our Regt. & it is general through the army. Our Chaplain is doing much good.
—Lieutenant Colonel William Henry Asbury Speer, Twenty-eighth Regiment North Carolina Troops, April 28, 1863
Most North Carolina soldiers were evangelical Baptists or Methodists, and religion held a central place in the lives. Many felt that the hand of God protected them from harm and brought Southern armies victory on the battlefield. On several occasions, religious fervor in the form of revivals swept through the armies of both the North and the South. Fearful of death or anxious to invoke God's help for victory, many soldiers repented and sought salvation. Regimental chaplains and traveling ministers preached fiery sermons, distributed religious tracts and Bibles to soldiers, and urged them to turn to God.
Samuel A'Court Ashe
Born in New Hanover County in 1840, Captain Samuel A'Court Ashe served as a staff officer for Generals William D. Pender and Thomas L. Clingman. During the summer of 1863, Ashe acted as an engineer officer at Battery Wagner near Charleston. He ended his wartime service stationed at the Fayetteville Arsenal and Armory.
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