Baseball during the Civil War
The Impact
Preview
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Main Idea/Focus
Leisure Activities
Building Morale during the Civil War
The First Baseball diamond
Baseball at the start of the war
Newspaper Clipping
Timeline of Baseball
Differences in Baseball and Soldiers then and now
The overall effects of the war
Main Idea/Focus
• During the late 1800’s, cities grew and
changes, while education, leisure time
activities, and the arts reflected those
changing times.
• What developments affected leisure?
Leisure Activities
• More time to play and watch sports due to
higher incomes and more free time.
• Baseball became popular during the Civil War
• Baseball was a way of bringing people
together during a time of crisis. It was an
emotional escape
• Here is a picture of what it may have looked
like:
Picture of Baseball during Civil War
Building Morale During Civil War
• Union and Confederate Officers endorsed
baseball as a much needed positive activity
and for physical conditioning.
• Teamwork on the baseball diamond meant
better teamwork on the battlefield.
• Many letters home were more pleasant to
read about the baseball games instead of the
hardship of battle.
The First Baseball Diamond
• Union General Abner Doubleday was the
“father of the modern game.”
• City of Cooperstown, NY dedicated Doubleday
Field in 1920 as the official birthplace of
organized baseball.
• Cooperstown eventually became the home to
the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Baseball at the start of the war
• In 1861, there was an amateur team made up of members of
the 71st New York Regiment. They defeated the Washington
Nationals baseball club by a score of 41-13.
• They played a re-match in 1862 and the Nationals won 28-13.
However, the New York’s best athletes had been killed at Bull
Run only weeks after their first game.
• The biggest attending sporting events of the nineteenth
century occurred on Christmas in 1862. the 165th New York
Volunteer Regiment play at Hilton Head, South Carolina with
more than 40,000 troops looking on.
Newspaper Clipping
A newspaper
illustration of the
Maine's baseball
team identified
several
crewmembers,
including an
African
American,
Fireman William
Lambert. (NARA,
Records of the
Bureau of Naval
Personnel, RG
24
Timeline of events for baseball during the Civil
War
• Date
Participants
Notables
1862
Trainees from 13th Massachusetts
and 51st Pennysylvania
Games were played
evenings on the drilling
field in many training
camps prior to deployment
1862
165th NY Infantry vs NY Regiment
1862
The Irish Brigade vs themselves
The most famous of all Civil
War games witnessed by
40,000 troops.
Confederate troops
watched Union games
played during their march
to Richmond.
Timeline continued…
• Date
1862
Participants
57th NY vs 69th NY
Notables
Incoming Confederate
cannon fire ended this
game abruptly.
1862
2nd Brigade, 2nd Division Army of
the Potomac vs selected members
the Honey Run Club team
1863
24th Alabama vs themselves
Members of both the
brigade and 1859
champions practiced
regularly throughout
the War.
Rebels, played daily
Timeline continued…
• Date
1863
1863
Participants
Notables
26th Pennsylvania vs 22nd
Massachusetts vs 13th
New York and 62nd NY
Volunteers
13th MA and 1st Rhode
Island Light Artillery
vs misc Army
All four regiments met
for games but disputed
the differences between
the MA and NY rules.
Both teams recorded
so many victories, many
felt they were capable
of beating any professional team of the
late 1800’s.
Timeline continued…
• Date
1863
Participants
Notables
Union soldiers encamped
During this game, the camp
in Alexandria, Texas
was attacked resulting in
the loss of the center
fielder and the ball.
Billed as another big game
newspapers openly
criticized the 77th after a
no-show.
Following Robert E Lee’s
surrender of the
Appomattox, soldiers
played to pass the time.
Despite pleasant accounts of
baseball early on, many
players died due to overcrowded
conditions.
1864
2nd New Jersey Volunteers
vs 77th NY Volunteers
1865
Union and Confederate
soldiers played
1866
POW’s detained at the
Confederate Prison Camp
in Salisbury, NC
Differences from Civil War baseball from today
• Baseball played during the war was very different
than the game we know today.
• Some rules included: The Striker (batter) gets to
choose where he wants his pitch.
• The pitcher must throw underhand – no leading off
the bag.
• No base stealing
• No foul lines
• All balls were fair
Soldiers then and now
• You have learned about what the soldiers did
for entertainment during the Civil War. They
played baseball when they could.
• Soldier’s now have different methods of
technology to keep them entertained. IPOD’s,
laptops, PSP’s and so on.
• Soldier’s now can keep in better contact with
their loved ones through all the
communication devices available.
The effects from the Civil War
• The American death toll reached close to 700,000.
• This exceeds the nation’s loss in all its other wars from the
Revolution through Vietnam.
• The Civil War was devastating on our country when our own
men in the United States are fighting each other.
• President Lincoln suffered many losses during the war. He
aged what seem to be 30 years in those few years.
• Baseball brought a lot of joy to fighting soldiers and others at
home. It was nice to read about a leisurely activity instead of
the gruesome effects of the battlefield.
• Today, baseball still brings joy to homes. That is why it is
America’s pasttime.