The American Civil War, The war Between the States or War of Northern Aggression, as it has been referred to, was fought between the years of 1861 - 1865 and was the most devastating conflict in which the United States has yet been engaged. more Americans lost their lives in the Civil War than in WWI, WWII and in the Vietnam War combined.

The causes were various; economic and political differences were exacerbated by the agricultural 'South's' use of chattel slavery. In 1860 the Democratic Party split into two allowing the Republican Part6y, which represented only the North of which the country to gain control of the Government. the South then declared itself an independent nation. this the North would not accept and war began.

The pre 1861 United States had a regular army of 16,000 men, yet during the four years of the war over 3 million citizens were placed under arms - most were volunteers, but the North and the South had recourse to forms of conscription. before the war ended over 600,000 had died.

The Regimental Establishment The establishment for a Civil war regiment was over 1000 men, commanded by a full colonel and consisted of ten companies plus headquarters personnel. Each company, whose official strength was 101 men, was commanded by a captain. These figure, except perhaps at the onset, were rarely a reality. Sickness, leave, battle casualties and it ha to be admitted, some desertions, took their toll. A Confederate regiment usually numbered 300 men. The Confederate 'Rebel' Soldier Complete records do not survive, but it is possible that around one million men served the Confederate Army. The Civil war was the first conflict in which a large proportion of all ranks were literate. many letters and personal reminiscences have been kept which a good insight into the life of a common soldier. The average height of solider's was 5'5" - 5'9". Pay of a Confederate soldier was $11.00 per month

Uniforms and Accoutrements

The uniform most commonly worn by Confederate soldiers consisted of a shell jacket (short waist and close fitting) and high - waist trousers, made of grey wool or jean cloth (a cotton wool weave. Although well made and conforming to a basic pattern, these jackets and trousers emanated from several sources and were produced with subtle variations in shade and tailoring, with the result that, as war the war progressed, the Confederate Army took on a somewhat mottled appearance. Issue items were sometimes supplemented by civilian clothing and captured apparel. Headgear consisted of civilian style slouch hats and, occasionally, kepi's and Forage caps.

Arms

A variety of weapons were in use, but one of the most common was the muzzle loading 1853 pattern .577 caliber Enfield Rifle Musket of English manufacture. this had the maximum range of 1000 yards and was as effective in battle at up to around 200yds. it fired a solid lead conical bullet (known as a 'Minie' ball after it's inventor) with a hollow base which expanded into the weapon's rifling grooves for greater accuracy. A good soldier could fire three rounds per minute. Prior to a battle a soldier would be issued with between 40 - 60 rounds of ammunition.

Rations

Official rations included fresh or salted pork or beef, bread, peas, coffee, sugar, rice, salt, etc. However, this was difficult to maintain whilst on campaign unless captured Union rations were made available, so the Confederate soldier often had to supplement his diminishing ration issue by foraging in nearby farmers fields. whilst in camp, food parcels were sometimes received from home containing extras such as pickles, sauces, cakes, butter, preserves etc, with which to brighten up the dull army fayre.

Tentage

On active service the confederate soldier often had no tent at all, when his covering at night would be a single blanket, or a piece of carpet, and sometimes not even that! When shelter tentage was available it would have been in the form of 'Dog or Shelter' Tents. The Shelter tent was just large enough for two soldiers and since it comprised two halves, they would carry half each whilst on the march. On halting for the night the two halves were buttoned together and erected over a ridge pole and uprights of tree saplings, or a guy rope tied between two trees. If the soldier was lucky, when in semi-permenant camp, the use of an 'A' frame tent might be available. The ends of this tent resembled the letter "A", or a wedge. These were meant to accommodate four men, but often took up six or more. These tents were rarely taken on campaign, as they were too cumbersome to transport quickly. One other tent might have been in certain parts of any Confederate camp, that being the Wall tent. This tent was primarily used by the commissioned officer corps.

The Battle Flag/Colour of the Confederate Army Of Northern Virginia was square in shape and had a blue cross of St Andrew bordered in white on a field of red. Thirteen stars appeared on the cross to represent each State of the Confederacy, (although only eleven States officially seceded from the Union, two others, namely Kentucky and Missouri, had, either political moves or from popular support, taken steps towards joining the new Confederacy). This was technically recognized by the Southern Authorities - hense the additional stars. Officially and in fact, however, they remained part of the Union. the format of the flag was the same for most units. Each regiment usually had an abbreviation of it's title painted on to give individual identity, along with the names of the battles (known as honours) in which it had participated.

A battle flag was used as a guide to enable regiments to maintain their cohesion and to maneuvered in battle. It was a great regimental symbol and as such was held in high record and often defended with great gallantry. the 55th Virginian regiment Of Northern Virginia, and stoutly fought over they were! The first battle flag was lost at the Falling Waters engagement on July 14th 1863, and the second, was captured at the Wilderness, Virginia, on <ay 5th 1863. no record exists if this last colour was duplicated for the remainder of the regiment's service, or if another was created. Both these colours are stored in the Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, virginia today.

Conclusion Overview

140 years have passed since the War Between The States ended, but the passage of the years makes no less the sacrifice of those who dies, or were maimed during the war. The 55th Virginian Infantry Regiment of Volunteer Infantry re-activated within the Southern Skirmish Association, lives to ensure that the achievements, sacrifices and hardships which they endured will not have been forgotten.