"Answering the Call: The Personal Equipment of a Civil" Topic

…War Soldier

"For a Soldier, equipment is a matter of survival. Even something as simple as a button can make the difference between victory and defeat if it fails to function properly at the wrong time. For this reason Soldiers have a strong tendency to become attached to equipment they like, and to modify or discard equipment they find unreliable or useless. Among the Infantry, who have to carry their equipment wherever they go, this tendency is even stronger.

Soldiers must carry everything they need for combat operations with them at all times. Individual load carrying equipment is designed to allow the Soldier to carry a basic load of ammunition, food, water, and first-aid gear. The exact make-up of this load varies from conflict to conflict. In more modern times the load has grown to include additional equipment such as gas masks, maps, compasses, and radios. Civil War Soldiers carried enough ammunition to fire about 60 shots into battle. Today Soldiers carry hundreds of rounds of ammunition…"
Main page

link

Amicalement
Armand

A nicely informative article. Having reenacted Civil War, World War I, and World War II, I have to say that the field gear of the Civil War soldier was vastly more practical than that of the other two wars.

Glad you enjoyed it my friend!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

"the field gear of the Civil War soldier was vastly more practical than that of the other two wars."

I don't know, those frame packs hurt something fierce. Between the battles was much better during the ACW. You could have fires at night and fraternization wasn't a big deal. Not the constant threat of death of WWI and II.

All Civil War era units had both company and battalion wagons in which to carry most of their gear and tents. In 1861 and 1862 most companies put their individual muster flags in the wagons to use when they set up camp. It was how a company quickly found their specific bivouac area each night.

In addition, many units did not get dog tents until 1864.

Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand

Baggage wagons for the infantry disappeared pretty early in the war. By mid 1862, the infantry pretty much had to carry everything on their backs. They could count on resupplies of food and ammunition, but nothing else while on campaign.