Civil war/soldiers?

Question

i need reasons on why children shouldn't be joining the army in the americann civil warr (1861--1865)

Answer 1

Well the obvious reason is that it was dangerous. A child could lose his life. Those that helped in the medical wards were sure to have seen horrific injuries. Their childhood, their innocence would have been lost.

Answer 2

When the War first started it was believed it wouldn't last long and as a result the age for joining the Army was high. 18 or older. As the War continued and more men were killed, the age dropped. Many kids lied about their age and some companies allowed young kids to serve in non-combat positions-- Drummers, Buglers, aides to officers. In the heat of battle this may not save them from harm and many even picked up weapons from fallen comrades and fought on their own.

Answer 3

Strange question! The short answer was so that they would not be killed. Actually until fairly recently, children participated in most wars. Sometimes, with the men of the village gone to meet the enemy, they were the last line of defense of homes and families. Other jobs they performed while actually following the armies were primarily non combatant, digging defenses, hauling water, etc. But if battles were lost, they were often caught up in the crossfire. They were especially vulnerable to diseases like smallpox and influenza

Answer 4

1) More men died from disease, specifically communicable diseases started in the camps of both Union and Confederate armies. The Civil War soldier was at a disadvantage, because he lived in a period when medical treatment was not well known. Doctors were just beginning to make breakthroughs in the curing of diseases. Most soldiers who were wounded in the arm or leg, in most cases, lost it. Men died of simple wounds such as these because of infection. Doctors did not know much about bacteria, and how it can spread when the wound is not properly sterilized. The camps the Civil War soldier lived in, by today's standards, were filthy. In most cases, men drank water from the same source they used for their latrines and washed from. In several cases, dysentery occurred from this, and most of the men who contracted this illness ended up dying from it.

2) Try carrying a model 1855 rifled musket. Muskets tended to be about 57 inches in total length and weigh about 9 pounds. A musket was loaded by pouring a charge of black gunpowder down the bore and pushing a lead bullet on top of the powder with a ramrod. The hammer on the weapon was then pulled back and the weapon was then 'primed' by placing either a small amount of powder (in matchlocks and flintlocks) or a metal cap coated with fulminate of mercury ( in later percussion weapons) below the hammer. The gun could then be aimed at the target and then fired by pulling the trigger. Simply put, anyone under 5 feet high couldn't load and reload his rifle and unless you had some strength and muscle in your arms (at last age 16), the kick of your gun could either smash your arm in or the recoil cause you to kill your colleague besides you.

3) Food (in the south). By 1864, the soldiers in the army of Northern Virgina in the trenches of Petersburg were reduced to 3-4 ounces of meat per day (± a mouthful). Lee's men were literally starving to death.

During the Civil War, boys as young as 7 or 8 were recruited into the army to serve as Drummer Boys. These young men traveled with the army, and even marched into battle with them.

Answer 5

to small to carry the equipment to fight with so most younger children were drummer boys until the high ranking officers determined they were deliberately being shot as they were the persons who were rallying the troops

Answer 6

im guessing this is your homework
So you are young enough, ask yourself why you wouldn't want to go to Iraq right now. But remember that americans killed americans back then.

Answer 7

I don't get it what do you mean email me by my avatar