The Silent Voices of the Civil War

Essay by annryan2015 October 2014

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Ann Miller

AP English

Civil War Essay

5/1/14

The Silent Voices of the Civil War

Today in our society, children don't have to worry about their life span or what their outcome will be. Imagine yourself, a child living through the Civil War. You were separated from your friends, family, and loved ones. You didn't have a choice whether you worked or were forced to be a soldier. All you knew was that you were going to live or die. The Civil War was not only a struggle for adults, but also for children. Often times they were put on the back burner and taken advantage of. They had to overcome many struggles in order to survive during the war.

The early 1860s were a time or heart ache and struggle. The Civil War brought distress to families, civilians, but also to the children. The Civil War was one of the most tragic wars in American history.

More Americans died then in all other wars combined. Brother fought against brother and the nation was torn apart. You hear stories about the soldiers and civilians, but what about the children? How were they effected? What role did they take in the war? The children played a role both on the home front and in battle. Children were an active, enthusiastic, and critical part of Civil War society. They comprised a much bigger portion of the US population in 1860 than in the 21st century, with persons under age 19 making up nearly half of the population. When the war broke out in 1861, children said goodbye to their fathers, brothers, and uncles, or they joined the military themselves. As many as 20% of the soldiers were under 18 years old. That was the minimum recruiting age for the Union army,