First Days in the Union Army: Recruitment and Training in the Civil War

Recruitment and training practices during the American Civil War varied by year, commanding officer, and between opposing forces, but followed the same basic model. When the war began in 1861, both sides believed it would be a short conflict and won easily. Both realized they were wrong after the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) on July 21, 1861.

A few months earlier, men on both sides eagerly volunteered for service. However, by 1862, when it became clear that there was no end in sight, recruiting and training practices in the South changed when conscription was introduced, and in 1863, the North followed suit. However, during the war, both sides followed similar policies regarding the recruitment and training of troops.

Even before the Battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861, the Confederate Army was expanding through volunteers raising local companies in their hometowns, which then joined others as state regiments. How well these soldiers were trained at the time depended entirely on the commanding officer. An efficient commander produced an effective fighting force.

Both early and late in the war, new recruits spent roughly two weeks in basic training and drills.

In 1862, voluntary enlistment was abolished, and in April of that year, the Confederate government passed the Conscription Act of 1862, which required white males between the ages of 18 and 35 to enlist in the military (the age was later raised to 17 to 50). Exemptions were possible, however. Someone could be hired to go to war in their place, and those who owned 20 or more slaves were automatically exempted, as were government employees or those deemed essential in manufacturing and industry.

Both early and late in the war, new recruits spent roughly two weeks in basic training and drills. Many troops were sent into battle with minimal military discipline, so the effectiveness of the commanding officer responsible for training was critical. Early in the war, there were no standard weapons or uniforms, and many Confederate soldiers at the First Battle of Bull Run carried their weapons and either wore their own clothes or old uniforms from the United States Army.

After the fall of Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion—and the call was answered, as was Confederate President Jefferson Davis in the South. Local authorities recruited primarily (initially) from the cities and then from the outlying towns. When a recruiting officer recruited 100 people, they became a group and were sent for training, which lasted approximately two weeks.

Initial enthusiasm for the war waned in 1863, and so Congress passed the Conscription Act of 1863, creating the first national draft. As in the South, wealthy men could hire substitutes to replace them or their sons. Following the Emancipation Proclamation, a War Department order was issued in 1863 authorizing the recruitment and hiring of African American soldiers.

Like their southern counterparts, the quality of new recruits depended almost entirely on the efficiency and leadership of the commanding officer in the training camp. Soldiers were trained in marching, formation, weapons and the importance of military discipline. At first, the soldiers were armed with old weapons but later with more accurate rifles. Union troops were equipped with standard uniforms and equipment from the beginning.

Recruiting and training in the Union Army in one of the most important primary sources on the American Civil War - Soldiering: The Civil War Diary of Rice C. Bol - brought. Rice C. Bull (1842-1930) was a 19-year-old man from Hartford, New York who enlisted in the Union Army in August 1862. He became a member of the 123rd Volunteer Infantry Regiment, recruited from Salem, New York, and saw action throughout the war (especially from May 30 to Basleville). 1863) and during Sherman's March to the Sea (November 15 to December 21, 1864).

Bull sent letters home to his family and kept a diary during the war, which he used to write his memoirs in 1913. This narrative was obtained by the Rensselaer County Historical Society in Troy, New York, and was written by K. Edited by Jack Bauer and published in 1977. The American Civil War between 1862 and 1865.

The following excerpt from Bull's diary details his enrollment and training at a camp outside Washington, D.C. between August and September 1862. Text taken from The Civil War: The North, edited by Thomas Streisguth, pp. 57-64, entitled First Days in the Union Army. Ellipses indicate text that has been removed to account for space and word count.

... The war had started a year before and it was a period full of excitement and expectation... The victories were few. We had suffered so many military reverses that many feared that reunification of the country by force of arms would be impossible. Thousands of boys like me felt obliged to help the Union to serve in the army…

Many times I thought about joining the army and I thought it was my duty, but until then there was no opportunity to do so. Before this time, most of the recruitments were from big cities far from the country's regions. Now, a regiment was supposed to be formed in our own city, and it was supposed to be formed mostly of farmers and farmers' sons...

My parents were reluctant to give at first, but they realized that this was a call to duty that could not be ignored. After deep meditation and prayer, they tearfully consented to my departure. Now I know how hard it was for them to approve.

On August 13, 1862, I worked with my father in the oat field till noon and gathered the grain. That afternoon, I went to Fort Ann and signed papers committing me to the army for three years, unless discharged earlier. I became a member of Company D, 123rd Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry.

That night, I stopped at the Battle Hill Hotel in Fort Ann. The next morning, with a few others who were to be my comrades, I took a wagon to Salem, where the regiment was organized, and encamped as far as was ordered for preliminary training....

By September 1st, recruitment was completed and all companies had full numbers. A physical examination was then conducted and almost all passed and were accepted. We then received our uniforms and most of our equipment which included the old Enfield rifles. They were unsightly pieces that looked old. We carried these guns for a few weeks and before we went into service they were exchanged for Springfield rifles, a much better weapon...

On September 13, we were put in the service of the United States. Orders immediately came for us to leave by train on September 5th. The news of our sudden departure that night was known in all parts of the city and in the morning thousands of people were in Salem. I am sure that the village has never had so many visitors before or since.

Friends, neighbors and fellow soldiers were there to give the boys their goodbyes, goodbyes, good wishes and see them off on their long journey. For many, it was a final goodbye. It was not a happy day; It was a sad day

Finally, in the afternoon, we put on our backpacks and headed towards the train, a large crowd was following us. Then there was the last handshake and kiss. The train started slowly. The people who were present on this route were so emotional that they could not find a voice to cheer. They were silently waving their hands while we could see their faces full of tears…

Late in the evening [on September 7] we left Baltimore, but not now in the cars. We were up close in cattle cars and lots of hot, sweaty and hungry men. The only food we had was what many people had brought in their backpacks from Salem. It was old enough, but it was something we had to eat or we had nothing.

We were brutally dismissed, as if we were cruel dumbs, but our patriotism was high and not many complaints were heard. Everyone seemed willing to suffer in a good cause. With a lot of strategy, I managed to get into a horizontal position on the floor of the car and was tired enough to sleep comfortably until morning.

When I awoke, I found we were at Annapolis Junction... From Annapolis Junction to Washington we saw camps scattered along the railroad, men coming out to cheer us on. Near Washington, we noticed a large encampment of white tents apparently surrounding the city.

About noon, our train stopped outside the suburbs, about a mile from the depot. When we left the train, we immediately marched to the Soldiers' Home for dinner. On reaching it, dinner was not yet ready, and the whole regiment was driven off and confined in an attached yard to wait till dinner was ready. The yard was barely big enough to hold the men and was the dirtiest place I had ever been. It was almost floored and actually crawling with vermin and rats escaping in all directions.

We were in this hole about an hour before dinner was ready, and then we marched into the dining-room and sat down in rough plank chairs and rough plank tables set with tin and iron plates and cups. We were too hungry to eat almost anything, but this dinner was limited. We had bread, without butter, salt pork, very salty, and a mixture called coffee, by the taste of which no one could tell whether it was tea or coffee. It must have been a combination of both. Well, we ate because we passed out and had to, but I can tell you, it was tough food.

It was a notorious fact that I found the Soldiers' Home in Washington to be the worst institution of its kind in the entire country. As Washington was the headquarters of the army, and everything could be had in abundance, it seems that the first reception of the defenders of our country should have been at least liberal. It certainly shouldn't be distasteful. In fact, it was not liberal or even decent in this dining shed, which has become a rustling and beating for every soldier and has been given the name of "soldiers' prison".

On the morning of September 16, we were ordered to pack, pitch our tents, and be ready to go. Once before noon, we entered and started for the city. We marched by the building, walked several blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue, then turned south and passed the Washington Monument. It was unfinished and looked like a chimney whose building had been abandoned.

Soon we reached the long bridge over which thousands of our soldiers had crossed. Many of them never come back... Over the bridge we went two miles southeast and stopped near Fort Albany, one of the forts built west of the Potomac to defend Washington.

The place selected for our camp was on rough and uneven ground, well covered with bushes and small trees. Before we could set up our tents, we had to dig and level the ground. It was hard work and it was two days before our camp was satisfactorily built.

We were surrounded by thousands of new soldiers, who, as soon as they arrived at Washington, and the place was provided, were sent to Arlington Heights to be drilled, disciplined, and prepared for their work as soldiers.

General Silas Casey was in charge of this large training camp. He was an old officer, a hard disciplinarian, and he was expected to give these new regiments thorough training before they could be assigned to active service at the front in a few weeks. When this was done, the new regiments were usually placed between the older ones.

Near us was a Massachusetts regiment, well drilled by a worthy colonel, while we were at Arlington, they ordered to the front. Before they started, they were visited by President Lincoln, Secretary William H. Seward, and two Massachusetts senators, Charles Sumner and Henry Wilson. A large crowd of soldiers from the surrounding regiments gathered around the visitor's carriage and after cheering, called the president to speak.

He got up from his chair and spoke for five or ten minutes. He was very serious and tried to impress upon the soldiers the responsibility that rested on them, saying that it was only their efforts that would save the county. He looked thin and worn out and you could tell he was anxious and worried. He stayed for a while after his talk and many of us had the opportunity to shake his hand and say hello...

In this camp we were engaged in drilling... There, we had a review in which twenty regiments participated. As they were all new regiments, with full ranks and shiny new uniforms, we made a good show. But our march was hardly up to standard. Also, in a line that was about two miles away from the camp, a strike mission was being carried out...

Everyone was eager to go to the picket line as it gave us the opportunity to visit some of the farm houses located there where we could buy food. This food looked incredibly good compared to our rations…

In Arlington, pie bakers were legion, and it was fun to watch the boys line up to buy them while they baked. They were so hungry that he stood in line for hours to get a pie for 25 cents. But it was in this camp that we left the childhood of a soldier behind and came to terms with the food and other conditions that we had to face in the service.

Our training camp at Arlington lasted about two weeks. The weather was fine, we were getting along and the men were in excellent health. Every day we learned something, not only military developments. We were learning through experience how to take care of ourselves and how to better cope with the conditions we had to deal with, conditions we first thought were almost unbearable and unnecessary. We were now reconciling ourselves to discipline and realizing that we were only fit for the tasks before us.

On the morning of September 29, we pitched our tents, packed our bags and were ready to leave by noon. About three in the afternoon we started for Washington and crossed the long bridge at four o'clock. This was the last time we crossed the bridge until we crossed it to attend the Grand Review of Sherman's Army three years later. Then, less than half of them were with us on September 29. The rest had died from operations or disease, or had left the service due to wounds or illness.

After crossing the bridge, we headed to the railway station to catch a train to an unknown location. That night, because the train wasn't ready until seven the next morning, we slept on the sidewalk. We left the city in flat cars and moved slowly. There were many trains on the road and we spent most of our time on the siding. Just as night fell, we arrived in Frederick, Maryland. Before entering the city, we stopped and gathered in the meadows where we were going to spend the night...