Soldiers in Gray
Outnumbered and poorly supplied, the soldiers of the Confederate army nevertheless succeeded in
sustaining war with the Union through four grueling years. In the words of General Robert E. Lee:
“Their courage in battle entitles them to rank with the soldiers of any army and of any time.”
CLASH OF ARMIES 1862by Confederate fears that slaves would
revolt or escape if unsupervised—
caused great resentment. The
ability of the wealthy to pay
substitutes to perform their
military service for them was
seen as unfair and resulted
in draft evasion; it was
eventually abandoned. Yet
the Confederates fielded a
more egalitarian army than that
of the North, with conscription
applied more consistently across
society, and the mercenary motives
that drew so many of the poor into the
Union Army ranks were less common.Army life
The concentration of thousands of
newly recruited farm boys in military
camps led to outbreaks of disease,
initially spread by poor sanitary
practices. Disease was just one of the
disagreeable aspects of army life.
The profanity,
drunkenness,
gambling, and
general immorality
were a shock to
those who came
from orderly
homes. Many men who had signed up
to defend an ill-defined freedom
resented finding themselves subjected to
the rigors of a military discipline that
denied them liberty of speech and
action. But over time, most adapted
successfully to the rhythms of military
life. A man’s regiment became his home,
within which he would bond with a
buddy and the men he lived and fought
alongside. This male bonding was the
cement that held the army together and
sustained each individual soldier in
hardship and combat. Drill and training,
capped by the experience of battle itself,
completed the transformation of a
civilian into a soldier.Lack of necessities
Shortages of almost everything were a
Confederate soldier’s lot. He could
expect a weapon and ammunition, plus
a water canteen and tin cup, but most
other items, from food to blankets and
boots, were in short supply. Although
officially clad in gray, Confederate troops
often had to make do with homespun
uniforms dyed with solutions of walnut
shells and copper. Men marched
barefoot, drawing a perverse pride fromBEFORE
their evident raggedness. Soldiers dug
rifle pits with tin cups for lack of shovels.
Much of a soldier’s time was devoted to
scavenging for the basics of sustenance
and kit. Overcoats, blankets, and boots
were plundered from captured Union
stores or stolen from the Union dead
and prisoners of war. ForagingAt the start of the Civil War, only a few
men on the Confederate side had military
training. Recruits were volunteers, often
led by amateur military enthusiasts.
FORMING AN ARMY
At first the Confederacy based its army on state
militias, preexisting volunteer companies,
and a rush of one-year volunteers at the
outbreak of war ❮❮ 58–59. The army’s
dependence on one-year enlistment from
spring 1861 held the prospect of a crisis when
the volunteers’ term of service expired. In
December 1861, the Confederate Congress
offered inducements to tempt men into
reenlisting. They were offered a 60-day
furlough (or break), a cash bounty, and the right
to join a new regiment and to elect new officers.
INTRODUCTION OF CONSCRIPTION
Generals, however, feared that these
measures would disrupt the war
effort. On April 16, 1862, the
Confederacy decided to introduce
conscription, known as the
“draf t .” White males aged
18–35 were subject to
compulsory military service
and one-year service men had to
stay for three years. In September,
the upper age limit was raised to
45. Initially, planters with 20 or more
slaves were exempt. In addition, the
wealthy could pay someone to fight on their
behalf. Many men volunteered rather than
be conscripted: of around 200,000 enrolments
in 1862, the majority were volunteers.
T
he majority of Confederate
troops—more than 60 percent of
the total—were farmers and farm
laborers, a proportion that broadly
reflected the social makeup of the
Southern states. Some were just
boys—normally serving as buglers or
drummers—but most were between
18 and 29 years of age. In contrast to
the Union forces, the Confederates
were ethnically homogeneous, their
ranks including relatively few recent
immigrants and no African Americans.
The Confederate soldier was as
committed to his cause as was the
Northerner—perhaps more so. He saw
the war as a defense of his home and
home state, his freedom, and his way
of life. And while only a third of
Confederate soldiers owned slaves or
came from slave-owning families,
almost all believed that the preservation
of slavery was essential to their status
and security. Southerners tended to
believe the myth
that they were
natural fighters
compared to the
decadent urban
Yankees from
the North, and
cultivated a self-conscious sense of
personal honor that impelled them into
combat. This self-image also sustained
their commitment to the war.
As the Confederate soldiers’ initial
enthusiasm waned, many came to feel
that they were poor men fighting a rich
man’s war. The exemption from the
draft (military service) for planters who
owned 20 or more slaves—motivatedPortrait of a Confederate
A Confederate soldier poses for a photograph before
leaving for the war. The average soldier was in his
mid-20s, came from a rural background, and had
probably not been away from home before.
Confederate officer’s kepi
The gray woolen kepi was standard headgear for the
Confederate soldier, although it offered little protection
against the elements. The broad-brimmed slouch hat
was also in common use among troops.Sewing kit
Soldiers carried a mending kit known as a “housewife,”
which included needles, thread, and buttons. Men who
were used to being looked after by womenfolk had to
learn essential skills, such as sewing and cooking, when
they entered the army.FURLOUGH An enlisted man’s leave was
called a furlough. A soldier on leave left
his weapons in camp and carried papers
describing his appearance and giving his
unit and his departure and return dates.