Common soldiers 81The flag of the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry, a regiment in
the Army of the Potomac's Iron Brigade. As part of
the most renowned brigade in the North's largest army,
the 2nd Wisconsin forged a record of splendid service.
Nearly 20 percent of the men who served in its
ranks were killed or died of wounds - the highest rate
among all Union regiments. (Osprey Publishing)to fight. More than one of these factors
probably influenced most of the men.
The new soldiers marched off to war under
banners charged with meaning. Often sewn
by women in their community and presented
at a public ceremony, the regimental flag
later served as a reminder of the tie between
men in the ranks and those at home. Flags
also stood as the most obvious symbols of
allegiance to a cause, evoking images of
nation and state as well as community.
Because loss of a flag in battle brought
disgrace to a unit, many soldiers went to
extreme lengths to protect their colors. In the
fight in Miller's cornfield at the Battle of
Antietam, for example, a veteran of the Texas
Brigade recorded: 'As one flag-bearer [in the
1st Texas Infantry] would fall, another would
seize the flag, until nine men had fallen
beneath the colors.'
Once in the service, volunteers
confronted a strange new world. Few had
previously traveled far from home. Most had
an ingrained, democratic aversion to
hierarchy and bridled at military discipline
(especially when the officers giving orders
had frequently been acquaintances in their
local communities). In June 1862, one
exasperated soldier vowed that 'When this
war is over I will whip the man that says
"fall in" to me.' Early in the conflict, enlisted
men often elected the lieutenants and
captains in their company and sometimes
even their regimental colonels, lieutenant-
colonels and majors. A Mississippian matter-
of-factly described such an election in June
1861: 'Held an election for field officers.
The flag of the 1st Texas Infantry, a regiment in
the Army of Northern Virginia's famed Texas Brigade.
The 1st Texas fought with distinction at Seven Pines,
Gaines's Mill, Second Manassas, and, most famously,
Antietam, where more than 80 percent of its men
fell in fighting at the cornfield. (Osprey Publishing)
W. S. Featherston was elected [colonel] on
the first ballot against Rodgers. Lyles was
elected on the second ballot for Major,
against Foote & Kay. The election for
Lieut.-Col. failed because no one of the
candidates got a majority. There has [sic]
been two ballots.' Popularity often trumped
military skill among these candidates, which
prompted virtually all professional soldiers to
declare the elections pernicious.
Soldiers spent most of their days in camp.
Tents provided shelter during the warmer
months; huts in winter quarters. During the
winter of 1862-63, a Union soldier described
a typical hut: 'Three of us have, by digging