What Is The Civil War - 940 Words

What is the Civil War? The American Civil War (1861-1865) was not fought over slavery, not at first, although slavery was at the heart of things. It was fought over the right states had to govern themselves. The South wanted strong state governments. The North wanted a strong central government. Southern soldiers: Southern soldiers, also known as the Confederate Soldiers, were proud defenders of â€Å"Southern Rights† and â€Å"Southern Independence.† They met to form a new nation called the Confederate States of America. The commander was General Robert Lee. Many soldiers were farmers and when seeds needed to be planted and crops needed harvesting, it was normal for soldiers to leave to tend to their farms. Why food was significant during the†¦show more content†¦They called these groups â€Å"messes† and referred to others in the group as â€Å"messmates†. Messmates took turns watching the meals they cooked. Foods in the Civil War were cooked over an open campfire in a cast iron skillet or kettle or sometimes on a spit. If they had the time, soldiers tried to find ways of making their dull food in variations. Food during the Civil War was not high quality and did not taste good. Confederate soldiers usually didn’t receive much food at all, especially as the war went on. The diet for the Confederate soldiers was different and usually in much less quantity than their Northern soldiers. They had bacon, cornmeal, molasses, peas, rice, and tobacco. It was the tobacco that saved them. Although it was illegal to be friendly with the enemy, but it was quiet common during the Civil War for trades to be set up between Southern and Northern soldiers. The Union had excess coffee and sugar. But the Confederates had excess tobacco. They soon found they could trade tobacco for just about anything. They even traded tobacco for newspapers, to see and read how the North was preparing for the war. Rationing was quiet common during the war. A ration is the amount of food given for one soldier (or animal) for one day. The Confederate government adopted the official US Army ration at the start of the war, although by the spring of 1862 they had to lower it more.