Campaigning

Campaigns brought new challenges every spring. During each campaign, huge numbers of men and large quantities of equipment shifted and maneuvered across the landscape. Most North Carolina soldiers carried a haversack, an oilskin cloth, a blanket, a rifle, a bayonet, a cartridge box and cartridges, percussion caps, a drinking cup, and a canteen. Troops carried from twenty-five to forty pounds of equipment on average and marched twelve to fifteen miles a day. [See http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Bunker/1163/equip.html for descriptions and photos of Confederate military equipment.]

Canteen used by Second Lieutenant Edward Wooten of Pitt County. His sister Ida Eugenia Wooten painted this canteen with Confederate flags as a gift to her brother in 1891. In a letter thanking her for the canteen, he tells his sister, "...Many mouths have sipped from the contents of this dear old canteen, whose lips are now still & whose parched & dry mouths will never again crave the cool & refreshing draughts that it so often contained dipped from a thousand springs & wells from which we quenched our thirst. This letter if preserved by you may at some distant day be read by a generation yet unborn & so the story now told of 1863 be new to those who may live in 1963 it may be....God bless you dear Ida for the old reminiscence of 28 years ago."
 
 

Mud and flooding after heavy rains made maneuvers even more difficult. Soldiers had to combat not only the Union but also the heat of summer, poor and irregular rations of food, and lack of proper footwear and clothing. Sleep usually had to be grabbed wherever and whenever possible, often on the ground without cover, and physical exhaustion was inevitable.

Unsanitary conditions, lack of medicines, and living in close quarters led to further misery among soldiers, both in camp and during campaigns. Contaminated food and water, as well as inadequate nutrition, took its toll. Many men had never been exposed to the communicable diseases that now spread quickly through camps and overcrowded hospitals. Typhoid, measles, smallpox, dysentery, tuberculosis, pneumonia, malaria, and scurvy were all common ailments. [See http://www.aretesurf.com/cwmedicine/indexJ.htmlfor details on medical issues during the Civil War.]

Camp Near Winchester Va. Octr 11th, 1862.
Govr. Z. B. Vance,

    I lay before you for your consideration the destitute condition of our Regt. with the hope that you, who have experienced some of the severe trials of a soldiers life, may hasten up the requisite relief—

     We have present Six hundred & nineteen men rank & file in the 48th Regt. N.C. Troops—There are of that number Fifty one who are completely & absolutely Barefooted—& one hundred & ninety four who are nearly as bad off, as Barefooted, & who will be altogether so, in less than one month. There are but Two hundred & ninety seven Blankets in the Regt. among the 619 men, which is less than one Blanket to evry two men.

    In truth there is one Compy (I) having 66 men & only Eleven Blankets in the whole company—The pants are generally ragged & out at the seats—& there are less than three cooking utensils to each Company—This sir is the condition of our Regt. upon the eve of winter here among the mountains of Va. cut off from all supplies from home & worn down & thinned with incessant marchings, fighting & diseases—can any one wonder that our Regt. numbering over 1250 rank & file has more than half its no. absent from camp, & not much over one third 449 of them fit for duty? The country is filled with Stragglers, deserters, & sick men & the hospitals are crowded from these exposures. A spirit of disaffection is rapidly engendering among the soldiers which threatens to show itsef in general Straggling & desertion, if it does not lead to open mutiny.

    Add to this that our surgeons have no medicines & don’t even pretend to prescribe for the sick in camp, having no medicines & you have an outline of the sufferings & prospective trials & difficulties under which we labor.…

    Want we most pressingly need just now is our full supply of Blankets, of Shoes & of pants & socks. We need very much all our other clothing too. But we are in the greatest need of these indispensable articles & Must have them, & have them Now. Otherwise how can the Government blame the soldier for failing to render service, when it fails to fulfil its stipullated & paid for contracts? A contract broken on one side is broken on all sides & void.…

    The soldiers of the 48th N.C. & from all the State will patriotically suffer & bear their hardships & privations as long as those from any other State, or as far as human endurance can tolerate such privations, But it would not be wise to experiment to far in such times & under such circumstances as now surround us upon the extent of their endurance. With Lincolns proclamation promising freedom to the slaves, What might the suffering, exhausted, ragged, barefooted, & dying Non slaveholders of the South, who are neglected by their government & whose suffering families at home are exposed to so many evils, begin to conclude? Would it not be dangerous to tempt them with too great trials?

    Dear Sir…I feel the very earnest & solemn responsibility of my position as commander of this Regt. at this critical period & under these trying circumstances & wish to do all I can…to remove the evils by seeking a speedy supply of Blankets, Shoes & clothing. & therefore beg your earnest attention to the premises & your zealous & I hope efficient aid to supply our necessities.…
                                                Your Excellencys most obt Servt.
                                                S. H. Walkup Lt. Col. [Commanding]
                                                48th Regt. NC Troops

(Governors Papers, State Archives, Raleigh.)

Torn shell jacket of William R. Cox of Edgecombe County, 
colonel of the Second Regiment North Carolina State Troops 

Assignment 2: A Confederate Soldier’s Life in the Classroom

Option 1:
Using the information and Web site resources provided here, create a lesson plan to make the daily routine of a Confederate soldier come alive for your students. Be creative: have the students write a diary entry or letter home as a “soldier,” listen to Confederate music, practice a drill outside, etc. The lesson plan can span one or more class periods.

Option 2: (If you are seeking technology credits for this course, choose this option.)

Find three Web sites (not included in this session) about Civil War soldiers’ experiences. Briefly describe each site and answer the following questions: 

• What did you learn from visiting the Web sites? What questions did your visits provoke? 
• How applicable is the information to what you teach? How could it better suit your needs? 
• How can you use these Web sites in your classroom? 
• Would you recommend them to other educators? Why or why not? 

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