In my search for someone to interview on the topic of the civil war I was introduced to Jacob Cercy a civil war reenactor who was more than willing to talk to me and answer any questions I had about the Civil War.
Jack: Thanks for coming Mr. Cercy and thank you for coming to answer my questions I really appreciate it.
Mr.Cercy: No problem Jack.
Jack: Ok, well first I'd like to ask you about life for the soldiers at camp when they were away from the fighting, what was it like?
Mr.Cercy: Well it varied for each side. I'll start with their sleeping quarters, the Union started issuing dog tents in 1862 and basically they are a piece of canvas attached to another piece of canvas to form a two man tent. Although they were extremely small and soldiers joked only a dog could fit inside hence the name “dog tent”. The confederates didn't usually get shelter tents but if they did what they received was basically a lean-to. Although later in the war the confederate camps filled up with captured Union tents and various other items.
Jack: What were some of the day to day things a soldier?
Mr.Cercy: Well they awoke to the sounds of drums at 5:00 AM then they did an assembly and roll call, then they headed to breakfast. They mostly drilled all day doing marching and fighting exercises. The infantry drilled in squads and in companies doing different formations and got used to how each formation worked. After a few hours of that they did regimental drills and then did something called a “continual drill” where the soldiers recited the steps of loading and priming their weapon as they loaded and primed their weapon over and over again. In their free time they played cards, read, played horseshoes, and the Union troops even started playing baseball.
Jack: What sort of clothes did the soldiers wear?
Mr.Cercy: Well almost all soldiers in the civil war wore wool uniforms North or South. They also had a cartridge box, a cap box, a scabbard, a bayonet, a haversack of rations, a canteen, a blanket roll, and maybe a rubber poncho if they were lucky. The thing was nothing was regulated except weapons so the amount carried changed from man to man. Although overall the Confederate soldiers carried far less than their Union counterparts.
The Union was provided with dark blue uniforms by the army so they all wore the same uniform and a floppy-crowned forage cap. The confederates had all different colored uniforms mostly dark grays and browns, their shoes were of very bad quality and a jacket made of jean cloth. Both sides were provided with itchy wool shirts and both sides threw them out in exchange for shirts sent form home.
Jack: What sort of food did the soldiers eat?
Mr.Cercy: Well diets differed if you compare the Union or the Confederacy. The Union diet consisted of mostly meat and bread and also something called hardtack which is flour biscuit which is very hard to bite into. Although to every soldier on either side coffee was a God send. The Confederate diet was made up of bacon, cornmeal, molasses, peas, tobacco, vegetables, and rice, although they usually didn't have much to eat.
Jack: Well, thank you very much Mr. Cercy.
Mr.Cercy: Well, all I can say is thank you and I'm glad you take an interest in the Civil War. It sure is an interesting event in American history.
