Freebies ...Civil War Soldiers

Two young Confederate soldiers. They barely look like they can shave to me. Oh I am so glad my boys missed this war.

Father's and sons, brothers and brothers, cousins, all fighting in the same war. Sometimes on opposite sides. Many families lost all their menfolk. Some towns all their young men. A world of sadness.

Union brothers

After almost two years of war, African Americans were allowed to officially fight. Many of these were free blacks from the North. All were proud. At the end of the war they were given equal pay and fought along with the Union soldiers as one.

Here are a small sampling of soldiers from both sides. There is a fantastic exhibit at the National Archives of the faces of the Civil War. Here are some of those faces. They all look so proud. I am always amazed at how many died. The appalling stories of their battles, their endurance and sense of right.