Hello my name is Jake Preston and I am a northern soldier for the Union army. Life is not easy being a soldier, and life is lonely

without my family. Conditions here are not easy, but I am determined to fight for the north. We have lost a lot of men, and some days are tough without our friends. Below I am going to

discuss the life of a northern soldier…

Who is the Northern Soldier? Before becoming soldiers many of the men were farmers,

and they had a difficult time obeying orders, and being

disciplined was a tough concept to understand.

Duties of the soldier: As a soldier we had many duties such

as: making sure metal fittings were polished, horses were

groomed and watered, fields were cleared for parades and

drills, and guard duty.

Guard duty- Long hours were spent (rain or shine) (day and

night) This was exhausting, but watching the area for a

possible enemy on the attack was necessary to protect our

base.

Attire (Clothing): *** Our attire was very important and

necessary for the Union soldiers to look as a team. Below

you will find the clothing that the Union soldiers wore.

1)Wool uniform with a wool coat and an inside pocket with

four brass buttons on the front 2) Forage Caps- A wool,

rounded flat top hat. It had their corps badge sewn on which

was of a small flannel cloth that was red, white, or blue. Also

on the cap was a brass number that showed what group or

regiment the soldier belonged to. 3) Army shoes or bootees-

Blackened leather with heavy leather soles. Tall leather

boots were worn by some soldiers, but they were hard to

come by, and were expensive also.

As a Northern soldier our uniforms were made of a better

quality, than the Southern soldiers. Our uniforms were

better because our mills in the north could manufacture wool

cloth. The Northern soldiers blouse and trousers were blue in

color. During the 2nd year of the war the Union soldiers all

wore the same uniforms and carried the same equipment.

Equipment: *** We had to carry so much heavy equipment,

but it was necessary for our safety and for our survival

1)canteen- It was made better than the Confederate

canteens. It is made with tin and pewter, and covered with

wool and cotton to keep the water cool. 2) knapsack – It

was made of heavy canvas that was painted black to keep

water out. It was called a “soldier’s “trunk” and was filled

with socks, paper, stamps, envelopes, ink and pen,

toothbrush. 3)The northern soldier carried more items,

because they had more items than the Southern soldiers. 4)

Infantryman wore a belt set with a cartridge box, sling, and

cap box. On the belt there was a large brass buckle with the

U.S. on front. The box held 40 cartridges, a paper tube filled

with a minie ball and black powder. The cartridge box was

the safest way to carry the explosive cartridges. 5) Soldiers

were given from 60-80 rounds of ammunition while they

were on campaign. 6) Cap box- small leather pouch worn on

the front of the belt. It was used to store the percussion caps

which needed to be handled with care and were highly

explosive. 7) Soldiers would also carry a boiler for their

coffee, knife, fork, spoon, and a small frying pan.

Most northern soldiers believed strongly in the Federal

government.

Most northern states required a man to be 18 years old or

older, but some teenagers lied about their age and got into

the ranks anyway.

About our lives?

Months spent away from home and loved ones and it was very

difficult

Life was not easy because: We have spent long hours on drills,

at times we had poor food or shelter, and days were spent

marching during hot climates or heavy rainstorms.

Sometimes the soldiers and I were bored at campsites, but

often faced such fear on the battlefield.

Soldier’s Home- Our home consisted of a rectangular piece of

canvas buttoned to form a two man tent (sometimes known as

a dog tent)

Daily routine : 1) Reveille (trumpet) was sounded to begin the

day at 5 A.M. followed by an assembly for morning roll call and

breakfast call. It was so hard to wake up that early!2)The

soldiers did marching and fighting drills (for about an hour) 3)

next was the regimental level drills and parades- where the

soldiers learned procedures such as the “Manual of Arms”

which is learning to load the rifle musket

Free time -*** When we had free time it was great and we

spent our time doing many activities to keep our minds busy

and to relax. 1) We wrote letters home to loved ones (only

way to communicate with their family and let them know how

they were doing) 2) We were so excited when we received

mail at our camps! 3) Spent time at the sutler’s store (which

had high prices) where items such as: pocketknives, toiletries,

and canned fruit could be bought. The store was nice, but it

was overpriced and many soldiers would not buy anything

there unless completely necessary Other activities were: 4)

Card games 5) reading 6) pitching horseshoes 7) Team sports

(baseball)

A private’s salary was $13 per month (some owed money to

the sutler; and that is where most of their pay went)

Soldiers often kept pets with them such as: dogs, cats,

squirrels, and raccoons.

Food: Was meant to last for 3 days(while traveling) and

consisted of meat and bread. Others foods were rice, beans,

peas, and potatoes. Baked beans were a northern favorite and

coffee the soldiers also enjoyed.

Soldiers loved to sing, and some popular songs for the

Northern soldiers were: “The Battle Cry of Freedom”, “Battle

Hymn of the Republic”, and “Tenting on the Old Campground”.

Sickness and disease were common during the battles.

Sanitation in the camps was poor.

Interesting facts

2.9 million men served on the Union army

630,000 soldiers died (360,000 died in action or from

disease)

Their uniforms were chosen by the orders from the War

Department; after the 1861 Battle of Bull Run. Many soldiers

had trouble figuring out who was on what side, because

during that battle many Union soldiers fought in gray

uniforms given to them by their home states; while many of

the southerners wore blue.

The materials that the soldier carried weighed between 45

and 50 pounds.

Nicknamed “Yankee” or “Yanks” by the Southern

soldiers(Confederate)

Battles

***Battles were a huge part of a soldier’s life and they were

not easy, and we often lost men. Below you will find some of

the major battles that were fought, and a list of the ones that

the North won.

Battle of Antietam (September 1862)- This battle

was the bloodiest of the war and 2,108 of our soldiers

were killed and 9,549 were wounded. Confederate forces

under General Lee were caught by General McClennan

near Maryland. Lincoln had the opportunity to announce

his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/

tl1862.html

Battle of Vicksburg (May 18- July 4, 1863)- Major

General Ulysses S. Grant and tricked a Confederate

army. This was one of the most brilliant military

campaigns of the war. The Confederate army was split

in half, and the Union had received a victory. Grant’s

success boosted his reputation and he became General-

in- Chief of the Union armies.

http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/ms/ms011.html

The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863)- This was

one of the battles where we lost the most men. For both

armies 51,000 soldiers were killed. This was a turning

point for many of the organizations of state volunteers

for both armies. The 2 nd New Hampshire Infantry were

destroyed at Gettsyburg, and they were never able to

recover from this. General Robert E. Lee (from the

Confederate) was against Major George G. Meade’s Army

of the Potomac (from the Union) . The Union won the

battle.

The Cemetary after the Battle

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/

tl1863.html

http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/pa/

pa002.html

Petersburg the Breakthrough (April 2, 1865)- Lee

ordered the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond.

Grant had achieved one of the major military objectives

of the war: the capture of Petersburg, which led to the

fall of Richmond, the Capitol of Confederacy.

The Fall of Richmond, Refugees

http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va/

va089.html

Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)- General

Robert E. Lee was determined to make one last attempt

to escape the Union and reach his supplies at Lynchburg.

At dawn, the Confederates advanced, but with the arrival

of the Union it stopped the Confederates in their tracks.

Lee’s army was surrounded on three sides. Lee

surrendered to Grant on April 9th. This was the final

engagement of the war in Virginia.

http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va/

va097.html

Resources

http://www.americancivilwar.com/kids_zone/union_soldier_civil_war.html

http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/soldierlife/cwarmy.htm

http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/soldierlife/seafaces1.htm

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/tl1862.html

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/tl1863.html

http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/ms/ms011.html

http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va/va097.html

http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va/va089.html