The Union was strongly influenced by Abraham Lincoln and his beliefs against slavery, because of this the Union army wasn’t only made up of Caucasian men, but also African Americans and women. This resulted in the Union having a lot more soldiers than the Confederacy, which was one of the Union’s advantages during the American Civil War.
The North was against slavery and because of this they gained much support from runaway slaves and free blacks alike. Although blacks were always eager to join the war effort, they were finally able to fight in 1862. Despite the fact that African Americans were able to help in the war, they were still faced with difficulties created by racial prejudice. Large numbers of African Americans were assigned to non-combat duties like a cook or laborer. African American soldiers also received less pay than the Caucasian soldiers. Black soldiers received $10 a month while white soldiers received $13 a month. Even though African American soldiers experienced many hardships, they were a huge help to the Union and can be considered an advantage against the Confederacy.
Life of a Typical Confederate Soldier
These men were usually in their early 20’s and survived with no grooming and very little food in the winter. The South had very little ammunition as compared to the north. It was challenging to get resources and manpower to the frontlines due to lack of railway. The South had weaker weapons than the union and had weaker industry having only one iron factory at the start of the war.
The confederate soldier usually ate corn bread and other corn products. Every chance they could, they would loot dead union soldiers for food, water, ammo, and guns. Most of these soldiers died by hunger, weather, dessertation, and/or disease.
They were led by Robert E. Lee to battle in Antietam, Atlanta, and other major battles. They were majorly outnumbered in the war in population by over 3-1.