Abigail Kaden
Document Analysis Paper #1: NARA Civil War Photograph Collection
	In this assignment, we were instructed to choose an image that stood out to us from among the many contained within the National Archive of Civil War photographs. After much debate, I have chosen photograph #4, which shows a group of soldiers standing outside one of the army’s winter quarters. This particular hut was named the "Pine Cottage," and I felt immediately drawn to the picture because of the way in which it appears to candidly capture the camaraderie between the group of men, who likely spent large portions of their everyday life with each other in places like the one imaged. Since photographs back then took around 5 -25 seconds to capture, I find it interesting to contemplate how much thought each of the men in the picture must have put into their poses and personal expressions, which now provide us with a small glimpse into their individual personalities and collective rapport with one another. When thinking about this, I found it nearly impossible to avoid projecting qualities of my friends onto the men pictured which of course gave me a deeper sense of connection with the men and brought a smile to my face. 
	As stated above, I believe that this photo nicely depicts the camaraderie between a group of soldiers within a Civil War camp. To justify my inference, I will start by describing the photo, which appears to capture a group of soldiers lounging on and around a wooden hut within a village of tents at a military camp. Based on the form of the structures, which are comprised of simple wooden, and cloth designs, and the uniforms worn by the exclusively male group, which show a strong resemblance to those worn by union soldiers, we may reasonably conclude that this is in fact a fortified living area for soldiers fighting in the Civil War. Based on the level of work that must have gone into building the hut that the men are pictured in front of, which is comprised of wooden slats, a shingled roof, and has windows and a door, it seems reasonable to conclude that this fort has existed for more than a few months, and may have already been in place for years prior to the photo. Maintaining a fort for such a long period of time would necessitate a constant vigilance to ensure the daily living requirements of the soldiers housed within, and the men pictured seem to be light-heartedly reenacting many of those mundane tasks, such as sweeping away debris to maintain footpaths (furthest right), chopping wood for cooking and heating (2nd from right), preparing food (standing in the doorway), maintaining personal hygiene (2 men standing furthest left), and maintaining mental sanity via social conversation (3 men sitting) and jovial high jinks (man on roof).  The picture seems to convey that even during times of war, people are people and have the same needs regardless of environment. Furthermore, the general attitude of the men seems to show the camaraderie within the group. For example, the man standing with some food in the doorway appears to be enjoying the amiable conversation of the three seated men, while the man standing on the left jokingly dusts of his friend’s shoulders, and another man appears primed to drop something from the roof onto the unprepared group beneath him. Also, the two men at the right of the photo simply appear to be enjoying one another’s company while holding an axe and a broom respectively. These seem to be the type of actions typically expected from a group of close friends, which the tight quarters and lack female companionship, depicted by the rows of tents and distinct absence of women within the picture, undoubtedly created for these men.
	In trying to better understand the lifestyle of the soldiers that lived in these camps, I found “Chapter 15: Weapons of War” in a book called, The Everything Civil War Book: Everything You Need to Know About the War That Divided the Nation by Donald Vaughan, to be useful. He describes camp life as being the host of many problems, but states it was better than marching or being part of combat. Soldiers called these camps home for up to three years, participating in as many as five, two hour drill sets each day on weaponry or maneuvers.  Vaughan states that, “Most soldiers found these drills extremely boring and tedious; they wanted to fight, not practice, though they realized the drills could mean the difference between life and death when fighting did occur.”  (Vaughan 2000, 214-216) When soldiers weren’t participating in drills, they were taking their turn at guard duty, cleaning and maintaining their equipment, gathering wood for heating their huts and cooking, digging latrines, and helped forage for food when needed. Being in an environment such as this one that had such “tight-knit groups”, not only created a brotherly bond between the men but also was the cause of bigger issues in the camps, such as illness and disease. Vaughan states under his Chapter, Camp Life, “A contagious disease such as measles or chickenpox could decimate a camp within days. Indeed most soldiers had more to fear from illness than enemy bullets.” (Vaughan 2000, 214-216) Yet from everything these soldiers were faced with, they could still laugh, smile, and joke, as you can see reflected on the faces of the soldiers in this photograph.    
	As I previously stated, even though the soldiers found their training a bit mundane, they knew that it would help them on the battle field when the time came. Oliver Winchester had just introduced the repeating rifle, which played a major role in the military, and was one of the weapons that they spent time working with during their drills each day. Between the cannons and artillery that were being used on the open battlefields, the soldiers quickly adapted to seeking cover as a means of survival. As Alan Brinkley states in The Unfinished Nation, that, “Gradually, the deadliness of the new weapons encouraged armies on both sides to spend a great deal of time building elaborate fortifications and trenches to protect themselves from enemy fire.” (Brinkley 2010, 355) In addition to the safety concerns, the advancement of weaponry also meant that soldiers would need more time in camps learning how to proficiently use the new arms. While I am sure that most soldiers found the drilling tedious and boring, I believe that the confidence instilled in them during these periods of time was likely essential to building the confidence shown on the faces of the men in the photo described above. A man has less time to worry about failure, if he feels he is ready. The men in this photograph are a fine example of what hard work and a positive attitude can do, even while in the midst of one of the bloodiest wars in our time.