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8 2 The American Civil WarAllen C. Redwood's engraving shows a ragged
Confederate soldier eating an ear of corn during the
1862 Maryland campaign. A civilian who visited the
battlefield at Antietam spoke bluntly about the physical
effects of such a diet:'We traced the position in which a
rebel brigade had stood or bivouaced in line of battle for
half a mile by the thickly strewn belt of green corn husks
and cobs, and also, sit venia loquendi, by a ribbon of
dysenteric stools just behind.' (Author's collection)
about 4 feet into the ground and raising it
6 logs high, then using our shelter tent for
roofing, made quite comfortable quarters.'
Drill took up a vast amount of time and
provoked wrathful complaints. In their free
moments, the men wrote letters, read
(newspapers and the Bible were favourite
texts), played cards, indulged in various
forms of gambling, and sometimes sought
the company of prostitutes (venereal disease
was a major problem in both armies). Pious
men attended services conducted by
chaplains and met in small prayer groups.
Those less religiously inclined revelled in
their freedom from old restraints. Shocked
by the number of transgressions he detected
among his comrades, one Virginian
inelegantly described 'some of the ornerest
[orneriest: most stubborn] men here that I
ever saw and the most swearing and card
playing and fitin [fighting] and drunkenness
that I ever saw at any place.' A Federal put it
more succinctly: 'In our camps wickedness
prevails to an almost unlimited extent.'
Soldiers in both armies loved to sing. Each
side had its patriotic songs, including 'Dixie'
and 'The Bonnie Blue Flag' among
Confederate favourites and 'The Battle Hymn
of the Republic' and 'Yankee Doodle' as
northern standards. Sentimental tunes
exerted a powerful attraction for lonely men