The Daily Lives of Confederate Soldiers vs. Union Soldiers During the Civil War

The Daily Lives of Confederate Soldiers vs. Union Soldiers During the Civil War

Larry Holzwarth - April 27, 2019

The Daily Lives of Confederate Soldiers vs. Union Soldiers During the Civil War
The overwhelming majority of Civil War soldiers on both sides of the conflict served in the infantry. Wikimedia

33. A soldier from either side was most likely to serve in the infantry

In the Army of the Confederate States of America about 75% of the soldiers were infantrymen. About 5% served in the artillery and 20% in the cavalry. As the war ground down in 1864, much of the cavalry became unhorsed on the Confederate side, as animals died and could not be replaced. While the cavalry units retained that designation, many of them were indistinguishable from the infantry, forced to march on their feet rather than ride. In the Union army about 80% of the men served in the infantry and about 16% in the cavalry, though the Union army grew to be more than twice as large as that of their enemy and thus contained a larger cavalry contingent than the Confederates.

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