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-inChief 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 2nd 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.h
tml
 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.h
tml
 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.h
tml
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