Civil War, U.S. - Unforgettable Sights

Civil War soldiers, from both North and South, endured more than deadly battles. Following the fall of Ft. Sumter, camp life produced its own measure of difficulties as these links to American records reveal. (Exact locations, where provided by the Archives, are also identified here.)

• During the war, soldiers lived in tents while civilians in the South often lived in damaged buildings.
  
  
• Officers' quarters were usually more spacious than those of their men.
  
  
• The men could always identify the company's kitchen or the cooks' tents.
  
  
• Commissary headquarters at Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia provided cooks with supplies.
  
  
• Without their wives around to help, soldiers had to wash and dry their own clothes.
  
  
• Camp sites, like the one guarding a trestle bridge at Whiteside, Virginia, were sometimes picturesque.


• Soldiers, who took a break from fighting, relaxed at their camp.


• During bad weather, efforts were made to build winter quarters with "corduroy" roads.
  
  
• Many soldiers, however, had to live in tents during the winter months.
  
  
• Officer winter quarters were usually better than those of their men.
  
  
• When the army moved on, camps were often abandoned.
  
  
• Sometimes wounded soldiers remained behind in deserted camps.