War is never a pleasant experience and neither are the conditions that many soldiers must conform to, both present and future. However, conditions for soldiers during the Civil War were much harsher as opposed to today, due to many technological advances. The Civil War accounts for 620,000 deaths, which is the highest casualty rate in history. The men and women who serve and have served our country deserve only the best care. Unfortunately, being a soldier during the Civil War was accompanied by many hardships, such as poor medical conditions and inadequate clothing and food supplies.
Medical services have drastically improved from the time of the Civil War and many advancements are being discovered everyday. Practices such as antiseptic control, organized hospitalization systems, and advanced equipment were unknown in the nineteenth century. Many soldiers endured wounds, infection, and disease during the Civil War, and in fact, more soldiers died from disease as opposed to being killed by their opponent. Hospitals became overwhelmed with sick patients, desperately needing attention; soldier Alexander Hunter wrote, “The ambulances were full, and the whole route was marked with a sick, lame, limping lot, that straggled to the farm houses…” (page 3). Nurses and doctors work desperately to help these badly injured soldiers, even if it means working all day long. Doctor W.C. declares, “Day before yesterday I dressed the wounds of 64 different men - some having two or three each. Yesterday I was at work from daylight till dark - today I am completely exhausted - but stall soon be able to go at it again.” (page 4). As mentioned earlier, the hospitals had a poor operating system; most men remained in their bloody clothes and were left unclean. Once a soldier was wounded, a medical personnel immediately bandaged the wound, and the solider was given whiskey to ease the pain. If the wounds needed more attention, then the soldier was transported to the nearest hospital. Soldiers on either side of the war failed to eat adequately, due to the simple fact that soldiers could not preserve food like we can today. …show more content…
Canned food was available at the time of the war, but it was difficult to transport to the traveling soldiers. There were times where troops “… went hungry, for six days not a morsel of bread or meat… Many became ill from exposure and starvation…” (Hunter, page 3). The Union soldiers relied heavily on a hard cracker known as Hardtack, made with only flour, salt, and water. Disgustingly enough, many Hardtacks housed weevils- a type of beetle- and maggots. The Union soldiers also relied on cornmeal, molasses, coffee, and rice. Many also relied on care packages from home; John Redfield wrote to home saying, “… send me some cider put up in bottles, and some apples… and don’t try to send me any cake or anything that will get smashed, but I want anything that will keep a week. (Page 7)”. However, the Confederates were not as lucky as the Union soldiers. By the end of the war, most Confederate soldiers were close to starvation by the end of the war. The Confederates relied on cornmeal as their main source of food. They also had resources to molasses, dried peas, and peanuts. Neither side received meat often, and if they did, it was either too tough or rotten to eat. If these soldiers were not constantly traveling, they would have been much more nourished. Thirdly, inadequate clothing was another hardship soldiers endured. For the Union soldiers, they were dressed in blue, while the Confederate soldiers were dressed in gray. At the beginning of the Civil War, soldiers on either side were not as distinguishable due to the fact that men wore the clothes they brought from home. However, when cloth became scarce in the South, the Confederates would repurpose captured Union soldier’s uniforms to wear instead; the Confederates would then boil the uniforms and the color resulted in a light tan color, and the Confederates were then known as “butternuts.” However, they just had that one uniform to wear, and they could not have them washed regularly, if they could wash them at all since they were constantly on the move. One soldier recalls, “Our under-clothes
Medical services have drastically improved from the time of the Civil War and many advancements are being discovered everyday. Practices such as antiseptic control, organized hospitalization systems, and advanced equipment were unknown in the nineteenth century. Many soldiers endured wounds, infection, and disease during the Civil War, and in fact, more soldiers died from disease as opposed to being killed by their opponent. Hospitals became overwhelmed with sick patients, desperately needing attention; soldier Alexander Hunter wrote, “The ambulances were full, and the whole route was marked with a sick, lame, limping lot, that straggled to the farm houses…” (page 3). Nurses and doctors work desperately to help these badly injured soldiers, even if it means working all day long. Doctor W.C. declares, “Day before yesterday I dressed the wounds of 64 different men - some having two or three each. Yesterday I was at work from daylight till dark - today I am completely exhausted - but stall soon be able to go at it again.” (page 4). As mentioned earlier, the hospitals had a poor operating system; most men remained in their bloody clothes and were left unclean. Once a soldier was wounded, a medical personnel immediately bandaged the wound, and the solider was given whiskey to ease the pain. If the wounds needed more attention, then the soldier was transported to the nearest hospital. Soldiers on either side of the war failed to eat adequately, due to the simple fact that soldiers could not preserve food like we can today. …show more content…
Canned food was available at the time of the war, but it was difficult to transport to the traveling soldiers. There were times where troops “… went hungry, for six days not a morsel of bread or meat… Many became ill from exposure and starvation…” (Hunter, page 3). The Union soldiers relied heavily on a hard cracker known as Hardtack, made with only flour, salt, and water. Disgustingly enough, many Hardtacks housed weevils- a type of beetle- and maggots. The Union soldiers also relied on cornmeal, molasses, coffee, and rice. Many also relied on care packages from home; John Redfield wrote to home saying, “… send me some cider put up in bottles, and some apples… and don’t try to send me any cake or anything that will get smashed, but I want anything that will keep a week. (Page 7)”. However, the Confederates were not as lucky as the Union soldiers. By the end of the war, most Confederate soldiers were close to starvation by the end of the war. The Confederates relied on cornmeal as their main source of food. They also had resources to molasses, dried peas, and peanuts. Neither side received meat often, and if they did, it was either too tough or rotten to eat. If these soldiers were not constantly traveling, they would have been much more nourished. Thirdly, inadequate clothing was another hardship soldiers endured. For the Union soldiers, they were dressed in blue, while the Confederate soldiers were dressed in gray. At the beginning of the Civil War, soldiers on either side were not as distinguishable due to the fact that men wore the clothes they brought from home. However, when cloth became scarce in the South, the Confederates would repurpose captured Union soldier’s uniforms to wear instead; the Confederates would then boil the uniforms and the color resulted in a light tan color, and the Confederates were then known as “butternuts.” However, they just had that one uniform to wear, and they could not have them washed regularly, if they could wash them at all since they were constantly on the move. One soldier recalls, “Our under-clothes