Originally Posted by
Rick
I am a great reader of history and have studied the Civil War quite a bit. One of my relatives served with the North (Company C, 15th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry). The amount of gear they required, either on their person or through supply trains, was quite large. Ask any of the reenactors on here what they carried on their person and you'll find it was a lot. Interestingly, the one thing they did not carry, on either side, was a form of identification. Some sewed their name into their clothes for fear of being buried as an unknown. Still, many men met that fate. I've seen numbers as high as 600,000 unknown.
Here's an interesting fact for you. There was a farm in Mannassas, VA that belonged to Wilmer McLean. Both armies were converging on his farm at the First Battle of Bull Run, which was the opening battle of the civil war (Manassas for you southerners). In order to save his family he moved them. That battle took place on and around his former farm. Three and a half years later Lee would surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House. The very home Wimer purchased when he left Manassas. His wife would claim the war started in her front yard and ended in her front parlor, which it did. Crazy huh?