Life in the Civil War

The war had many casualties, which caused each side to impose conscription, which is a draft that forced men to serve in the army. This causewd many riots, the worst of which in New York City. There were many more changes to come in wartime with economies on both sides and the roles played by African Americans and women.

180,000 African Americans fought for the Union which made up 10 percent of the northern army. They still suffered from discrimination. They served in separate regiments commanded by white officers and earned the lowest pay for most of the war.

The soldiers in the war on both the Union and the Confederacy had flithy surroundings, limited diet, and bad health care. Besides fighting or marching, most of the soldiers lived in heaps of rubbish and open latrines. Body lice, dysentery, and diarrhea were a result of all of this. The conditions in army camps, however, were far worse than the conditions in army camps. They overcrowded and unsanitary. The South's lack of food and tents also contributed to the appalling conditions. Northern prisons were only slightly better. They provided more space and adequate amounts of food. Although thousands of Confederate were put in places with little to no heat, so they contracted pneumonia and died.

Women didn't fight in the war, but they did contribute to the war effort. 3,000 women in the north served as nurses, while many thousands of women in the south volunteered as well. Both sides benefited because many women contributed to the war effort. Women's help was desperately needed as a series of battles in the Mississippi Valley and in the East soon sent casualties to hospitals in the North and South.