At left is a standard enlisted man's winter overcoat for the Museum's collection. It was all most Union soldiers had to protect them from the cold.
When I got in my car today to drive to the train station, the ever so informative dashboard indicator told me it was 12 degrees outside. Not that I needed that to know that it was cold, but somehow knowing the exact temperature outside made it seem all the colder. We have reached the heart of winter here in Philadelphia, and with it come some of these kinds of days. The temperature drops, the wind picks up, and a mind numbing cold sets in. It’s the kind of cold that penetrates no matter how much you bundle up, and after a few minutes out in it, you can’t think of anything else but how cold you are. Even the bright rays of the sun seem to offer no relief.
I was thinking, obviously, about cold as I went from my heated apartment to a heated train station, got on a heated train, and eventually made my way to a heated office to work. It made me think, as I sometimes do, how little we really live in the elements anymore, and how much our ancestors of the Civil War generation did. In the Civil War era, life and work went on, no matter how cold or inclement it got.
No matter whether you lived in a city, town, or on a farm, if you lived in that era, you would wake up on a morning like this to a freezing cold house. Even little chores would seem to us today to be extremely uncomfortable. Just going to the bathroom involved a trip outside to the frigid outhouse or undressing to use the chamber pot. If you had any intention to bathe, which you probably would not, even with water heated over the stove, it would be a very cold experience.
Life and work went on as usual in spite of the cold. If you were on a farm, the chores needed to be done and the animals needed tending. While there were no crops to bring in during the winter, the animals needed to be fed and watered, and stables needed to be cleaned out. Watering the animals were particularly important, as the water would freeze, subjecting them to dehydration and hypothermia. If you live and work in the towns or cities, going to work means, for the average person, going on foot. Work in mills and factories, never easy or comfortable work, was made excruciating in the bitter cold. The truth was that in the Civil War era, there was really little escape from brutal cold such as this. Coal and wood burning stoves and fireplaces were only so effective in the drafty homes and workplaces that people of the period inhabited.
It is very hard for us today to image how people of that era lived in the elements. For soldiers serving during the war, this was acutely the case. Winter for many soldiers was a period of inactivity. The cold, wet weather made winter campaigning in the Eastern Theater rare. Winter rains and sudden thaws meant mud up to the knees and swift immobilization of an army. So for men in the armies of the East winter meant long periods of boredom in log huts with canvass roofs. Hardly immune to the cold wind, these huts were all the shelter that was available.
In the Western theater, and operations in the Deep South, the war continued throughout the winter. The warmer climates there tended to divide the seasons into dry (summer) and wet (everything else). However, even the men of these armies experienced the cold unpleasantness of winter. But because they where frequently on the move, these soldiers more often experienced winter in the field. Soldiers often woke up wet, or covered in snow, or frozen to the ground, with only a blanket to protect them.
It is very hard to imagine being so exposed to the harsh elements. The Civil War generation must have been accustomed to being cold all the time. Such exposure helps explain, to a degree, their susceptibility to disease. That they were tough is no question; tougher by far than me. I’ll be thinking about that as I scurry back to my heated home to relax on my warm couch for the weekend.
Until next time, stay warm.
I was thinking, obviously, about cold as I went from my heated apartment to a heated train station, got on a heated train, and eventually made my way to a heated office to work. It made me think, as I sometimes do, how little we really live in the elements anymore, and how much our ancestors of the Civil War generation did. In the Civil War era, life and work went on, no matter how cold or inclement it got.
No matter whether you lived in a city, town, or on a farm, if you lived in that era, you would wake up on a morning like this to a freezing cold house. Even little chores would seem to us today to be extremely uncomfortable. Just going to the bathroom involved a trip outside to the frigid outhouse or undressing to use the chamber pot. If you had any intention to bathe, which you probably would not, even with water heated over the stove, it would be a very cold experience.
Life and work went on as usual in spite of the cold. If you were on a farm, the chores needed to be done and the animals needed tending. While there were no crops to bring in during the winter, the animals needed to be fed and watered, and stables needed to be cleaned out. Watering the animals were particularly important, as the water would freeze, subjecting them to dehydration and hypothermia. If you live and work in the towns or cities, going to work means, for the average person, going on foot. Work in mills and factories, never easy or comfortable work, was made excruciating in the bitter cold. The truth was that in the Civil War era, there was really little escape from brutal cold such as this. Coal and wood burning stoves and fireplaces were only so effective in the drafty homes and workplaces that people of the period inhabited.
It is very hard for us today to image how people of that era lived in the elements. For soldiers serving during the war, this was acutely the case. Winter for many soldiers was a period of inactivity. The cold, wet weather made winter campaigning in the Eastern Theater rare. Winter rains and sudden thaws meant mud up to the knees and swift immobilization of an army. So for men in the armies of the East winter meant long periods of boredom in log huts with canvass roofs. Hardly immune to the cold wind, these huts were all the shelter that was available.
In the Western theater, and operations in the Deep South, the war continued throughout the winter. The warmer climates there tended to divide the seasons into dry (summer) and wet (everything else). However, even the men of these armies experienced the cold unpleasantness of winter. But because they where frequently on the move, these soldiers more often experienced winter in the field. Soldiers often woke up wet, or covered in snow, or frozen to the ground, with only a blanket to protect them.
It is very hard to imagine being so exposed to the harsh elements. The Civil War generation must have been accustomed to being cold all the time. Such exposure helps explain, to a degree, their susceptibility to disease. That they were tough is no question; tougher by far than me. I’ll be thinking about that as I scurry back to my heated home to relax on my warm couch for the weekend.
Until next time, stay warm.
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