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Civil War Clothes, Food, and Music Music has always been an important part of American society and it was no different during the Civil War. When volunteer regiments were recruited, a regimental band was usually included as a part of that organization. The bands were needed to play for parades, formations, dress parades and evening concerts. In the Union army, each artillery or infantry regiment could have one 24-member band and the cavalry was limited to a 16 member band. There were fewer Confederate bands because musicians were not quite as plentiful in the South and good instruments were expensive and very difficult to obtain. Civil War Music During the Civil war the Confederates and the Union had bands. The sides had regimental bands. The bands played at parades,formations, dress parties, and evening concerts. Both sides dismissed the bands within the first year of the war. Some songs tell of battles fought during the Civil War. Music was an important part in the Civil War. It was a major source of entertainment. Music also was a way to express feelings that words alone can’t express. The men from both sides would sometimes sing and cheer together even though they were at war with each other. Both armies had their favorite songs. They sang them to keep up the spirits of the soldiers. There are many songs from the Civil War that are still sung today. One of the songs is When Johnny Comes Marching Home. The songs were popular in the nineteenth century. People today go around and perform Civil War songs. The cowboys in the old west had fought in the Civil War and it is only natural that they carried the songs with them. Music – Some of the common instruments used in the Civil War are the union drum, and the union fifer. The union drum was used to call soldiers back into formation and for other events. Drums got the soldiers awake in the morning and at night it meant “lights out”. The drum usually was decorated and it had an eagle on its side with stars and stripes flowing around it. The Confederate drums were not as fancy. – The drummers were sometimes accompanied by a fifer. A fife is a high-pitched instrument similar to a piccolo. Not all musicians were allowed to go into battle. The fife is played by blowing into one end and covering certain holes with your fingers. Each company in an infantry regiment had a musician who was usually a drummer. They were relied upon to play drum beats to call the soldiers into formation and for other events. Drums got the soldiers up in the morning, signaled them to report for morning roll call, sick call, and guard duty. Drummers also played at night to signal lights out.The most important use of drums was on the battlefield where they were used to communicate orders from the commanding officers and signal troop movement. Drummers were often accompanied by a fifer. Civil War music for the Confederates The Confederates thought that the music kept up the morale of the soldiers. They didn’t have a lot of instruments because good instruments are hard to find and were expensive. Some of the bands were good and some where just horrible. Some soldiers thought that some bands sounded like “a braying pack of mules.” General Lee said “that without music, there would have been no army.” Music was a large part in the army and at home. At the battle of Fredericksburg the two armies had a battle of the bands. After the Pickett’s March the Confederate bands played songs to try and cheer up the Confederate army. The Confederates liked patriotic and romantic songs. The Confederates favorite songs were The Bonnie Blue Flag, Lorena, Maryland, My Maryland, and a southern version of The Battle Cry of Freedom. Civil War music for the Union. Some of the Union Generals had their bands play as the army struggled to close ranks. Some soldiers thought that music was worth a thousand men. The soldiers liked patriotic and sentimental songs.The Union’s favorite songs were The Battle Cry of Freedom, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, John Brown's Body, Just Before the Battle Mother, Dixie's Land, Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground, The Vacant Chair, and Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! Food • The Union Army had a much easier time supplying food to their soldiers in the beginning of the war than the Confederates did. The Union already had a commissary system when the war broke out, while the Confederates struggled for years trying to get food to their soldiers. Even though neither army had a lot of food, rarely did anyone starve. Prisoners of war on both sides were the worst off. Food • The Commissary Department was responsible for getting food to the union and the confederate armies. The north had an easier time finding food than the south did. The soldiers in that time had no real knowledge for nutrition and health so they ate whatever was offered. Since it was so hard to keep food fresh and it was difficult to store the food, the food was not fancy or satisfying. Food from the Civil War Most people believe that soldiers in the Civil War went hungry. But, they seldom did. It’s true that he didn’t always have fresh vegetables, fresh eggs, roast beef, baked potatoes, and soft bread, and he didn’t always have enough food to satisfy his hunger, but he did not starve. The North and the South basically had a farm economy, so until late in the war plenty of food was grown—although there was often no one to harvest it and no way to transport it after it was harvested. The South was in far worse straits than the North, though. They had many struggles to obtain food, because they didn’t have a method established at the beginning of the war, like the North did. Rations Rations are the daily amount of food that is given to the soldiers. An average soldier’s daily rations usually included: Hardbread, beef, beans, and coffee. The most common type of Hardbread for the North and the South was called “Hardtack,” nicknamed “shipbiscuit” and “pilot bread.” It was made of only flour and water, and usually hard as a rock, depending on how old it was. To make it edible, it was usually broken up and soaked in coffee or soup. Beans were the next basic food, and they were dried, white navy beans. Generally they were soaked overnight if possible, or cooked overnight if possible. Fifteen pounds of peas or beans were issued with every hundred rations to troops. That is a lot of beans! Generally, by the time the troops received the beef, it had been salted. But, unfortunately, it was not always possible to have fresh beef along, so salt beef or salt pork was used. How many men became ill or died or died from eating bad beef will never be known, but it is an established fact that there were a lot more deaths from illness than from enemy action. Coffee and Other Rations There is not a record of exactly what type of coffee was issued to the Northern troops. No reference can give the exact clue, other than the fact that the North bought the very best coffee it could buy. The South bought anything it could buy. Coffee was really more important to the average soldier than anything else he could beg for, borrow, or steal. It got him up in the morning and put him to bed at night. Some of the Southern substitutes for coffee included corn, chicory, acorns, wheat, cotton seed, peanuts, and beans. Along with hardbread, beef, beans, and coffee, the average soldier also received candles and soap. Civil War Clothing Dresses: A Day Dress would be worn in the mornings or afternoons, for informal occasions such as breakfast, or household chores. They generally have a closed or close fitting sleeve. They can be fitted, gathered, pleated or fan front. The skirts are generally a little less full, but can be worn over multiple petticoats or a hoop. They are usually made of cotton or wool, for easy care. Junior Officers Frock Shirts: Boy’s shirts had a narrow collar or band collar. Shoulders seams were cut very wide. Sleeves were fuller, cuffs were smaller and shirts had no breast pocket. All shirts had long sleeves. Shirts were made of cotton, wool, linen or homespun fabric. Fabrics were plain in white or somber colors or calico. Those shirts were usually a dollar. he would wear a vest or jacket if he was going out in public. Civil War clothes Vests were simple items usually made of wool, linen or cotton in plain or muted stripe fabric. Elaborate, expensive vests might sport lovely brocaded, paisley or patterned fabrics. Jacket: A wealthy lad would have stylish coats in many styles. Pants: were made of sturdy fabrics woven of wool, homespun, linsey-woolsey, linen, or cotton. Pants were styled much like adult men's pants, with no back pockets, front slash pockets, button fly or buttons for braces. There also were no belt loops. Suspenders were used to hold up the pants. Young girls, until they were teens, wore dresses that were one piece affairs. Dresses fastened up the back with buttons or hook and eyes. Girls wore aprons in several styles, the most common type would have a one-piece bib that covered the bodice front to back. Cotton and wool stockings were worn with boots that laced up the front and had flat heels. The petticoats and drawers would sometimes peek below the hem of the skirt, and might be trimmed. 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