Clarksville in Montgomery County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Life as a Garrisoned Union Soldier
Photographed By Mark Hilton, August 31, 2015
1. Life as a Garrisoned Union Soldier Marker
Inscription.
Life as a Garrisoned Union Soldier. . It has often been said of the Civil War soldier that life consisted of moments of sheer terror followed by months of sheer boredom. For the garrisoned soldier, it tended more towards boredom. For many Union garrisons occupying Clarksville, daily rituals consisted of guarding the Memphis, Clarksville and Louisville Railroad, the Hopkinsville Turnpike, and the river. Soldiers also checked citizen passes, handled supplies, and drilled. Some were dispatched around Montgomery County on anti-guerrilla patrols and were subject to attack by Confederate cavalry. The rest of the time was spent writing letters home, playing cards, repairing personal items and equipment, and cooking. , Officers often resided in homes or hotels in town. Enlisted troops on the grounds at Stewart College and at the fort lived in tents or small huts of chinked logs. Huts typically had a door at one end and a chimney at the other. A tent canvas usually served as a roof, but if the tools were available, a wooden roof might be added. Soldiers frequently added a wooden floor and a window. Latrines (toilets) consisted of trenches dug in the ground away from the living quarters. , Food supplies, often tainted, lacked variety and nutrition. Safe drinking water was not always available. Living conditions were generally unsanitary. With so many men living in close quarters, diseases and infections were easily spread. Illnesses, including measles, colds, influenza, eye infections and dysentery, put hundreds of men into hospitals and graves. The average soldier believed the bullet was his greatest danger, but disease was actually the biggest killer of the war. In the Union army, nearly three out of five deaths were from disease, while in the Confederate army, disease was responsible for two out every three deaths.
It has often been said of the Civil War
soldier that life consisted of moments of
sheer terror followed by months
of sheer boredom. For the garrisoned
soldier, it tended more towards boredom.
For many Union garrisons occupying
Clarksville, daily rituals consisted of
guarding the Memphis, Clarksville &
Louisville Railroad, the Hopkinsville
Turnpike, and the river. Soldiers also
checked citizen passes, handled supplies,
and drilled. Some were dispatched around
Montgomery County on anti-guerrilla
patrols and were subject to attack by
Confederate cavalry. The rest of the time
was spent writing letters home, playing
cards, repairing personal items and
equipment, and cooking.
Officers often resided in homes or hotels
in town. Enlisted troops on the grounds
at Stewart College and at the fort lived
in tents or small huts of chinked logs.
Huts typically had a door at one end and a
chimney at the other. A tent canvas usually
served as a roof, but if the tools were
available, a wooden roof might be added.
Soldiers frequently added a wooden
floor and a window. Latrines (toilets)
consisted of trenches dug in the ground
away from the living quarters.
Food supplies, often tainted, lacked
variety and nutrition. Safe drinking
water was not always available. Living
conditions were generally unsanitary.
With
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so many men living in close
quarters, diseases and infections were
easily spread. Illnesses, including
measles, colds, influenza, eye infections
and dysentery, put hundreds of men into
hospitals and graves. The average soldier
believed the bullet was his greatest
danger, but disease was actually the
biggest killer of the war. In the Union
army, nearly three out of five deaths were
from disease, while in the Confederate
army, disease was responsible for two out
every three deaths.
Location. 36° 32.466′ N, 87° 22.391′ W. Marker is in Clarksville, Tennessee, in Montgomery County. Marker can be reached from A Street, 0.2 miles Walker Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 120 Duncan Street, Clarksville TN 37042, United States of America. Touch for directions.
5. This marker is part of the Fort Defiance Pedestrian Trail
Photographed By Mark Hilton, August 31, 2015
6. Fort Defiance Interpretive Center entrance sign.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 11, 2021. It was originally submitted on January 3, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 323 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on January 3, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 2. submitted on May 10, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. 3. submitted on January 3, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 4. submitted on May 10, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. 5, 6. submitted on January 3, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.