Who was the Common Soldier of the Civil War? About 2.75 million soldiers fought in the Civil war 2 million for the North and 750.000 for the South The Average soldier according to historian Bell I. Wiley the average Yank or Reb was :white native-born, farmer, protestant, single, between 18 and 29, 5' 8'' tall, weighed about 143 pounds with the average just under 25. The majority of the soldiers North and South were farmers. Union roster contained reference to more than 300 different Careers. In the Union Army 80 percent of the men were in the infantry 14 percent in the cavalry and 6 percent in artillery. In the Confederate Army, 75 percent of the men served in the infantry, 20 percent in the cavalry, and 5 percent in artillery. Of every 1,000 Federals, 112 were wounded; 150 of every 1,000 Confederates were hit. A Yankee stood a 1 in 8 chance of dying due to Illness and a 1 in 18 chance if dying in battle. A Rebel faced a 1 in 5 chance of succumbing to disease and a 1 in 8 chance of dying in combat. 360,000 died--110,000 in battle and 225,000 of disease. The South lost 258,000--94,000 in battle and 164,000 to disease. Roughly 211,000 Union soldiers were captured and imprisoned in the South; 30,000 of them died there. 214,000 Confederates were imprisoned in the North, and 26,000 of them died. Men on both sides were insired to fight by partriotism, state pride, the chance for adventure, and wages Nearly one quarter of the Union were immigrants 200.000 Germans; 150,000 Irish: 45,000 English; 15,000 Canadians; and lesser number of French, Norwegians, Italians, Mexicans and Poles. Exact figures for the South are sketchy, but ten of thousand of Irish, German, British, French, Candians, Dutch and Austrians entered Confederate ranks By War's end African-American soldiers made up 10 persent of the Union Army. Approximately 179,000 Black Soldiers wore Blue and 37,000 lost their lives, Breakfast as stated in a Union Lieutenant Dodge's journal in 1862 was hard creckers, boiled beef(2days inthe haversack) and bologna sausage. Offically the daily ration consisted of 22 ounces of bread and either 12 ounces of pork or a pound of salted beef. Confederates were supposed to be suppled (but seldom were) with 12 ounces of bacon or 20 ounces of Beef(usallu salted) along with 18 ounces of flour or 20 ounces of corn meal or hard bread. Vegetables such as beans and peas oten proved to come by, especially for the Rebs. Usally Yankees banked on hardback and coffee, while their counterparts tried to get by on corn bread and coffee. Both sides got what they could from sutlers or foraging, Coffee and Tobacco were common cravings. Soldiers on each side initally earned $11 per monthIn june 1864, the Confederacy raised each soldier's pay to $18 per month, a worth less and less as the Confederate dollar dropped in value. The same month the Union upgraded its soldiers' monthly wage to $16. The Black Soldier were paid initially $10 per month--minus the $3 clothing allowance that white troops received. After June 1864, black soldiers who had been free men before the war were paid the same as whites, but recently freed slaves who joined the army's rank did not get the raise. Soldiers had to deal with much boredom, to fill the hours Yanks and rebels wrote letters. That is if they had paper and stamps, In spite of warnings of Officers, bouts of drinking and especially gambling brought out the worse in men. They played checkes, chess and baseball, whittled and carved and even some times put on a play. Whenever armies remained settle in camp, sanitary conditions worsened, until later in the war, latrines were often built upwind. Accumulation over time created an unpleasent and unhealthy environment. Eventually, refuse from cooking and slaughtered animals began to cover the ground, anad the local water souces often became fouled. Disease spread rapidly. Union Army lost 250,152 to disease, Confederate lost 164,000. Both armies claimed to be fighting with God's blessing, and religion played a big part in the lives of many soldiers. Most of the men were Christian, 7,000 jews fought for the Union and 3,000 for the South. 600 Jewish soldiers died in the war. You can find the full techs of the above in Civil War Times December 2003 by Eric Ethier Ann