During Battle...

During battle, it was hard for the soldiers to be scared. Everyone tried to keep their attention on staying alive and moving forward. There was so much smoke and confusion, that the men needed to concentrate on staying alive.

After the battle, exhausted soldiers would try to rest up for the next day's fighting. Stories of bravery, strange things they had seen, and friends lost would be told. Fear came before and after the fighting.

 

NonBattle Activities...

A favorite pastime of the soldiers was singing songs like "Home, Sweet Home", "The Girl I Left Behind ", and "Just Before the Battle, Mother" . Harmonicas were popular with the campfires.

Some of the games played to pass the time in camp were card games like poker, twenty-one, cribbage, keno, and "chuck-a-luck". Wooden dice were easy to carry. Games like craps and "sweet cloth" or "bird cage" were played. Sweet cloth was where players bet on the numbers to be rolled from a cup.