1 Twenty Minute Program
Grade(s): 7 - 12 +
Curriculum Area: Social Studies, American History

The Civil War was a dramatic episode in our history, but the true story does not always deal with the big battles. Soldiers spent most of their time doing boring and mundane chores; chopping wood, building fires, making camp, gathering food, and enduring poor food and sanitary conditions. All were part of the everyday soldiers life. Sickness and disease ran rampant. Disease killed four times as many men as battle because of poor medical care. A soldier had only what he could carry to survive. Much of the soldier's time was spent in either drilling or getting from one place to another.