Camp Life, Amusements, and the Perils of War | Crossroads of War

Camp Life, Amusements, and the Perils of War

March 8, 2012 By crossroads

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Camp Meredith near Greencastle, PA, a Union encampment early in the war (Harper's Weekly, July 6, 1861; NPS History Collection)

Foraging for food near Camp Meredith (Harper's Weekly, July 6, 1861; NPS History Collection)

Dinner at Camp Meredith (Harper's Weekly, July 6, 1861; NPS History Collection)

Target practice with "General Beauregard" at Camp Meredith (Harper's Weekly, July 6, 1861; NPS History Collection)

The "kitchen" at Camp Meredith (Harper's Weekly, July 6, 1861; NPS History Collection)

Confederate soldiers marching through Frederick in September 1862 (Historical Society of Frederick County)

Union soldiers in Frederick, probably at a Washingtons Birthday celebration on February 22, 1862 (Historical Society of Frederick County)

Another view of Union soldiers in Frederick, probably at a Washingtons Birthday celebration on February 22, 1862 (courtesy of Chris Haugh)

As Union soldiers marched through Frederick in 1862 in pursuit of the Confederate army, they received water, food, and a warm welcome from the ladies of the town (F.H. Schell, artist; Frank Leslie's Illustrated News, November 1, 1862; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

Officers of the 12th Massachusetts Regiment trying to find cover on a stormy night near Hyattstown (Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, September 14, 1861; NPS History Collection)

Men of the 12th Massachusetts Regiment pushing their baggage wagon during a storm near Hyattstown, MD (Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, September 14, 1861; NPS History Collection)

Soldiers of the 22nd New York try to start a fire in the rain while encamped in Mont Alto, PA, in 1863 (George W. Wingate, History of the Twenty-Second Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York: From its Organization to 1895 [New York: Edwin W. Dayton, 1896], 292)

Lithographs of various Union encampments were depicted on oversized envelopes issued by the L.N. Rosenthal Lithographic Company of Philadelphia, including this one of Camp Hicks of the 12th Massachusetts, near Frederick (Library Company of Philadelphia)

The 12th Massachusetts Infantry, also known as the Webster Regiment, spent the winter camped along the Frederick and Baltimore turnpike near Frederick, Maryland (Lt. Col. Benjamin F. Cook, History of the Twelfth Massachusetts Volunteers (Webster Regiment) [Boston, Mass.: Twelfth (Webster) Regiment Association, 1882], 33-35)

Another view of Camp Hicks (Library Company of Philadelphia)

"Interior of a Log Cabin of the Twelfth Massachusetts Regiment, near Frederick City." (James Forsyth, artist; The New-York Illustrated News, February 22, 1862; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

The camp of the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery at Fort Duncan on Maryland Heights c.1863 (U.S. Army Military History Institute)

Photograph of the housing of Co. B, 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery on Maryland Heights (U.S. Army Military History Institute)

Another view of the housing of Co. B, 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery on Maryland Heights (U.S. Army Military History Institute)

Camp of the 13th Massachusetts at Williamsport, Maryland (Cpl. H. Bacon, artist; The New-York Illustrated News, March 8, 1862; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

An illustration of one of the Sibley tents of the 13th Massachusetts while encamped near Williamsport; artist was Charles Roundy of Company F of the regiment (Courtesy of Brad Forbush, http://www.13thmass.org/)

Camp of the 13th Massachusetts near Williamsport; the small building behind the man in the top hat is the camp's library (U.S. Army Military History Institute)

Assistant Surgeon John Theodore Heard, Surgeon Allston Waldo Whitney, and a servant in the Williamsport camp of the 13th Massachusetts (Courtesy of Brad Forbush, http://www.13thmass.org/)

Baggage wagons for the 13th Massachusetts in the regiment's Williamsport camp (U.S. Army Military History Institute)

The quarters for some of the officers in the Williamsport camp of the 13th Massachusetts, including Surgeon Allston W. Whitney, shown on the far left (U.S. Army Military History Institute)

The cookhouse for the 13th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in Williamsport (Courtesy of Brad Forbush, http://www.13thmass.org/)

Camp hospital of the 13th Massachusetts in Williamsport (U.S. Army Military History Institute)

Williamsport camp of Company C of the 13th Massachusetts (Courtesy of Brad Forbush, http://www.13thmass.org/)

A camp of Confederate soldiers from Virginia in the woods near Leesburg, Virginia, in 1861 (Harper's Weekly, November 9, 1861; NPS History Collection)

The camp of topographers in Union General Nathaniel Banks' division, near Hyattstown, Maryland, August 1861 (D.H. Strother, artist; D.H. Strother, "Personal Recollections of the War" Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 33 [ September 1866]: 415)

Soldiers and civilians mingle in a Union camp inside the breastworks on Camp Hill above Harpers Ferry (August 1862, George W. Wingate, artist; George W. Wingate, History of the Twenty-Second Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York: From its Organization to 1895 [New York: Edwin W. Dayton, 1896], 112)

Encampment of Union cavalry scouts near Hancock, Maryland (W.W. Charles, artist; Harper's Weekly, February 1, 1862; NPS Historical Collection)

"Camp of the Seventh Regiment near Frederick, Maryland, 1863," painted by Sanford R. Gifford in 1864, and showing the 7th Regiment of the New York State Militia encamped between Frederick and Jefferson following the Battle of Gettysburg (Courtesy of the New York State Military Museum)

John Avery, Jr., a soldier with the 7th Regiment, New York State Militia, titled this sketch "Seventh Regt., N.Y. State Militia in Camp at Frederick, MD., July 1863," which resembles much the same scene as the previous painting by Sanford Gifford. Avery sent his sketch to Frank Leslie, publisher of Frank Leslie's Illustrated News, telling Leslie he could use the sketch if he so desired. (July 1863, John Avery, Jr., artist; courtesy of the Becker Collection, Boston, MA)

This image of the camp of the 7th New York State Militia near Frederick appeared in The New-York Illustrated News in August 1863 (E.B.S., artist, The New-York Illustrated News, August 1, 1863; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

Members of the 7th New York State Militia at Monocacy Junction in 1863 (U.S. Army Military History Institute)

The Frederick Barracks, also called the "Hessian" Barracks, were used to house prisoners-of-war during the Revolutionary War. At the time of this sketch in 1862, the barracks housed soldiers of the Potomac Home Brigade. (Cpl. Henry Bacon, artist; courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society)

The encampment for a Union battery on Bolivar Heights near Harpers Ferry (A. Lumley, artist; The New-York Illustrated News, November 8, 1862; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

Confederates in camp outside Hagerstown, Maryland (Theodore R. Davis, artist; Harpers Weekly, September 27, 1862; NPS History Collection)

A large tree has been converted into a Union signal station near the Potomac River (Cpl. Henry Bacon, artist; courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society)

Soldiers of the Army of the Potomac break camp in preparation for their advance on Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg in 1862 (The New-York Illustrated News, March 22. 1862; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

A sketch of the interior of winter quarters for members of the Independent Battery I of the Pennsylvania Light Artillery, Maryland Heights, December 1863; drawn by David McNeely Stauffer, one of the residents of the "Boarding House" (Courtesy of Pearce Collection, Navarro College)

An oven constructed to bake bread for one of the regiments in Union General Nathaniel Banks' army near the Potomac in 1861 (Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, September 14, 1861; NPS History Collection)

Union soldiers getting rations of hard tack after the Battle of Gettysburg (F. H. Bellew, artist; The New-York Illustrated Newspaper, August 8, 1863; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

The band of the 13th Massachusetts Infantry, photographed in Hagerstown, MD, December 11, 1861 (Courtesy of Brad Forbush, http://www.13thmass.org/)

Two members of a Zouave regiment race mules in Harpers Ferry in October 1862 (Originally appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, November 15, 1862; source for this image: Louis Shepheard Moat, ed., Frank Leslie's Illustrated History of the Civil War [NY: Mrs. Frank Leslie, 1895], 223)

A sutler's store in Harpers Ferry is well attended by soldiers looking to purchase alcohol, tobacco, and other goods (Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, November 29, 1862; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

Confederate troops "shop" in a store in Pennsylvania, exchanging bills of Confederate currency for liquor, cigars, boots, and other items (New York Illustrated Newspaper, July 18, 1863; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

While the 22nd New York Regiment was encamped at Monocacy Junction near Frederick in July 1863, a soldier of another regiment was "drummed out" for stealing from a sick comrade. "Half his head was shaved and his buttons cut off." Then he was marched through the regiment between guards. (George W. Wingate, History of the Twenty-Second Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York: From its Organization to 1895 [New York: Edwin W. Dayton, 1896], 324)

Punishment in the army could be harsh. Three Union soldiers are executed in 1863 near Leesburg, VA, for desertion. (Harper's Weekly, August 8, 1863; NPS History Collection)

A burial in the soldiers' graveyard on Bolivar Heights near Harpers Ferry (The New-York Illustrated News, November 15, 1862; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

This project has been generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, Frederick Community College, and others. See Credits page for full list.

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