The following article is the second part of a series that will examine the hardships faced by the southern soldier during the Civil War.

The hardships faced by the Civil War soldier and the families that remained at home far surpass most ordeals we face today. The hunger, the remorse, the deprivation known by both soldier and civilian are often beyond our 21^st century understanding. Shortages of clothing, food and information plagued those on the front lines and those at home.  Both continued to push ahead as if all were normal even though the situation was far from that.

And what of those men and the difficulties they endured? Much of the time spent by the average Confederate soldier was focused on foraging for food. As supplies were scarce and slow in arriving, armies took what they could from the region in which they were engaged. Based on their lack of proper diet and constant exposure to the elements, many soldiers succumbed to disease rather than dying directly from wounds suffered on the battlefield.

Food was always a concern for the soldier during the four long years of the Civil War. And for the most part, Union soldiers usually fared better than their Confederate counterparts when it came time to chow. While the menu for the Union troops was rather impressive relative to the situation and time period, logistical hiccups often resulted in the slow arrival of food or the spoilage of items upon arrival. The usual ration consisted of one pound of hard tack, three quarters of a pound of salted pork or one and a quarter pound of fresh meat (unlikely), complete with an allotment of coffee, sugar and salt. The Confederate’s fare was much less substantial often consisting of what could be sent from home, supplies from the quartermaster and supplemented through foraging. And foraging meant taking whatever they could find from the surrounding countryside.

Sanitation was also one of the primary concerns surrounding camp life in both Union and Confederate circles. In an era when very little effort had been put into the effective removal of human waste from growing populations, the soldier in the field found himself constantly at risk of falling victim to one disease or another. As a matter of fact, it was amoebic and bacterial dysentery that killed more soldiers than lead.

At home, the loss of a loved one or the lack of information exacerbated the deprivation felt by families who often did not have enough to eat or funds to buy those items they could not make or grow at home. And indeed no matter how hard women in the South worked, neither the operation of farms and plantations nor the other classes of employment available were sufficient to provide a livelihood for all the women who were dispossessed of male support during the war. Consequently, there were thousands of women who experienced utter destitution for which public and private agencies were created to alleviate the suffering. Municipalities often established markets where supplies were given away or sold at cost. In addition, state and county governments created appropriations for those in need. In Alabama the relief measures were mostly confined to the predominantly white counties in the northern portions of the state, since the southern counties were largely free from the ravages of the Union assault.