During the Civil War, issues flew at soldiers like bullets out of a gun. Dead bodies came to be common objects, such as logs on the road. Soldiers of the armed conflict went through many hardships. These conflicts consisted of weather, in-war risk, and health care. Progressing into the despairing Civil War, a soldier had no proficiency of his fate.

One tough subject that all Civil War soldiers faced, regardless of Confederate or Union, was deficient weather. In the weather category, one big problem was the many disastrous storms. Storms wet the dirt, creating mud, which is difficult to travel through. Also, there was a lot of lightning, challenging the lives of many soldiers. Lightning was also a problem because the men had little protection. Considering that the Civil War had a span of 4 years, the warriors were forced to battle through the cold and snow. Snow was an issue with the men because it was ordinarily a good 6 inches thick at least. There was also little warmth from the icy weather. Hail also took the lives of some soldiers, for a good hit in the head could have caused bleeding or perhaps a concussion. Wind was also a challenging problem for the fierce troopers. During the fall the wind normally blew about 20 miles per hour minimum. The wind was also hard to venture through and blew away many possessions, or tents and sleeping grounds.

Another provocation of the War was inadequate health care. One of the largest health care problems were the many, many bullet wounds. Most of the people shot were told to let it heal on its own. But bullet wounds were fatal more than half the time. Another treatment of the 1860’s used often was amputation. Here is the amputation process: Step 1: Receive the patient, a saw, and some chloroform. Step 2: Dampen a rag with the chloroform and put the rag on the patient’s face. Step 3: Cut off the limb of choice. That is the amputation process of the 1860’s. Amputation was necessary with dagger and bullet wounds. There was also no special place (such as an operation room) to perform amputation, and it was performed outside most of the time. Although it was a quite brutal process, it had to be done. A meager food supply was also a colossal complication. One trooper said,“ This hard tack tastes like it existed B.C.! ”During marches, charges, or battles, the peacekeepers would often resort to breaking into a civilian’s house to steal food. The servicemen would also resort to trading with the enemy for salt or food. Salt was (and still is) an important part of anyone’s diet, for you need it to stay alive.

Health care was a major issue of the Bloodshed, but in-war risk just might’ve taken the cake. One in-war risk was the simple question: where could you take shelter in battle? The most popular were barriers. Back during the days of the Civil War, they did not have sandbags or bricks to use as barriers. The men would often pile up dead soldiers or cattle as makeshift barriers. Many people also took shelter behind fallen trees or in ruins. Being a front linesman was also another risk. The front linesmen were the men in the front of the crowd. These men were the most likely to be killed, so black men, slaves, or kids were often made front linesmen. Charges were another mammoth risk. Many times, charges were randomly done towards the enemy, and were as dangerous as stampedes. All of these risks were extremely dangerous.

With no knowledge whatsoever of what lay ahead, our country’s soldiers went to war. They left behind their family, friends, their lives to serve America. They faced weather; they did not stop. They did not renounce after seeing the in-war risks. Soldiers did not surrender to health care. In the Civil War, each and every soldier, man, woman, child, or slave left behind everything they had ever known to serve their country as warriors.