June 23, 1863 was a day of rest for the entire Federal army, which was well received amongst the men. The men were exhausted, dehydrated, and physically worn down. Over the course of two-and-a-half weeks, the majority of Hooker’s army had marched around 400 miles, with some elements marching as high as 440 miles.
Blisters were the most common ailment for soldiers at this point, but some soldiers exhibited extreme cases of physical injury. For some, the skin on their feet simply peeled away, exposing the raw and extremely sensitive tissue. The feet and ankles would swell to twice their original size. Soldiers who started the day with a decent sized shoe would be cutting the leather away about 12-15 hours later because they could not remove their feet. Exhausted legs would give out on the march, and men would stumble and fall in the middle of a congested road.
Officers and NCO’s attempted to maintain order in the ranks. This was largely ignored, and eventually became so prevalent throughout the entire army that it was hardly enforced. The ranks disintegrated, and the men on the march loosely resembled a giant mob. Tired soldiers who felt they couldn’t continue trudged their way to the side of the road, laid down, and fell asleep. Home also called the soldiers’ names, especially for those who lived or had families in Maryland or Pennsylvania. What started as a trip to a tree line to “visit the sink”, might turn into a soldier running as far as his legs would carry him. As the conditions of the march deteriorated, the desertion rate climbed. Some regiments were losing as many as 20-30 men per day.
The stifling dust was torturous for the soldiers. A fine powder would hang in the air, accumulating on anything it came in contact with. The obvious surfaces would be the jackets, shirts, and trousers. This constricted the garments, taking away the ability for the fabric to “breathe”. Dust would irritate the eyes, fill the nostrils and ears, and cake in dry mouths. A constant cough developed for many soldiers, due to inhaling the floating grime. Unfortunately, for some, the air was as deadly as a battlefield. Irritated tissue in the throat and lungs would swell, constricting airways and turning a task as easy as breathing into a conscious effort to stay alive. The threat of suffocation was very real during the march north. To combat the dust, soldiers would frequently tie damp handkerchiefs around their nose and mouth to help filter the dust out of the air they were breathing.
The lack of clean water took its toll on the soldiers digestive system. Thousands of soldiers marching by a spring or creek would create a traffic jam. For the impatient soldier, a muddy puddle looked just as refreshing as a clear, bubbly spring. Dysentery sliced its way through a soldier, dehydrating the individual even further. For the soldier who was already dehydrated, dysentery was almost a death sentence. The ability to retain fluids was lost, due to vomiting and diarrhea. The body would grow weak, the mind delusional, and within a few days, death would follow.
Blistered feet, tired limbs, desertion, and dust inhalation are all manageable. One element that is beyond an individuals control is the heat and humidity. During the march, temperatures frequently soared to around 100 degrees, with the humidity around the same number. Body temperatures would rise, and the mind of the soldier would scream “Cool me down”. As a result, jackets were tossed to the side of the roads, along with knapsacks, blankets, haversacks, and even muskets. Some could tolerate the heat better than others, and they took advantage of it. For those able to combat the heat, the roads north turned into a massive bounty of personal effects. Money, playing cards, dice, pictures, food, hygiene materials, tobacco, writing paper, and other personal items were immediately available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Soldiers would frequently fall out to the side of the road to rifle through equipment, hoping to find items to keep, sell or trade.
Those who couldn’t deal with the heat ended up with heat stroke or heat exhaustion. Men would pass out mid-march, or hold conversations with friends who had died earlier in the war. Soldiers would babble in a language that never existed, convinced that what they were saying was comprehensible. In the worst cases, the body would overheat and shut down. Brain damage would soon ensue, and perhaps even death.
These conditions were not limited to the Union army. Lee’s army was experiencing the same hardships faced by Hooker’s army. The only advantage the Army of Northern Virginia had was that it knew its objective. The Army of The Potomac was playing a guessing game, and often found themselves marching in circles or retracing their steps from a few days before. The Confederates knew about how long and how far they would be going, giving the soldier a better mindset on what to expect. The Federals could only tag along, and hope their men could withstand the physical and mental limits that were being contested on a daily basis.
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