Living in the Civil war and Living 150 years since then.

Eleanor pulled the water bucket higher on her shoulders, the spring air teasing her hair in different directions. Her small town in Kansas was bustling with activity. The United States was just entering the Civil War. About a month prior, the South, or the states that seceded from the Union to make the Confederate States of America, had attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Many men were choosing to volunteer for the war.

She lifted the bucket up further and kept walking. The door creaked open and Eleanor set down the bucket, started the fire, and was about to begin warming the water for dishwashing when Ma entered the room. Worry creased Ma’s brow, and Ma slumped down in a chair near the fire.

“What’s wrong, Ma?” Eleanor asked, rushing over to her mother.

“It’s Pa,” Ma said sullenly. “He’s gonna be in da war.”

A century and a half later…

Brianna let the warm water cascade down her fingertips. She slowly grabbed a glass cup, and started to wash the dishes. Warm water and soap ran over the plates, and little bubbles rose into the air above the kitchen sink. She glanced out the window at the city. Lights flickered in some windows. Brianna lived just outside Kansas City. She loved the bright city night lights, and the loud honk of car horns deep in rush hour traffic. She shut the tap off, dried her hands, and went upstairs to start working on HW.

Eleanor was feeling dread as she poured the warm water over the dishes. Pa was talking to John, Pa’s friend, and Ma was preparing supper. I can’t believe he’s in the war now. Eleanor thought. Fighting against the south side might be hard. Eleanor didn’t know exactly why Pa had chosen to go into the war, but she knew that he had gotten tipsy a week ago and made a bet with John about volunteering for the war. He had been thinking about volunteering for a while.

Eleanor’s brothers were out hunting, but she hoped they wouldn’t volunteer too. Now with her Pa soon to be gone, work would be harder. Her older sister, Mary, was at the bakery, working to make extra money for the family. Her younger siblings that couldn’t go hunting were probably sorting through the farm harvest of the day, preparing it for the market. She finished the dishes, drying her hands on her dress, and set out to call her siblings in for supper.

Brianna jumped up out of bed, her alarm clock beeping loudly. She still hadn’t gotten used to the noise, because it reminded her of the old war drills her father used to show her. Brianna’s dad had died a year ago in war. They had received a letter stating his date of death, along with other formalities. That’s why Brianna’s homework, researching the Civil War, was very close to her heart. It did sound hard, living back then. They had to heat water over a stove, and possibly bring water in from a well. Many men thought that being in a war would be better than working on a farm, and they thought that the war would only last for four or five months. They were wrong. The Civil War lasted for four years. The Civil War was boring, with a lot of sitting around. The soldiers didn’t have good food, because it had to be boiled for three hours, a claim stated by regulations. And death constantly hunted any day to day thought, hanging over soldiers like a black rain cloud, growing stronger and more prominent as all weather does before a raging storm.

A week had passed since Pa had left. Eleanor usually could sleep in till six, but that luxury was gone. Being the second oldest daughter, she and Ma were working very hard. They had to tend to the farm and cook and clean, doing chores all day. Luckily, Grandma could help out with watching the kids. Mary was earning a fair amount of money in the bakery to help pay off the debt for the plow. Eleanor’s back hurt and she was very tired, but work had to be done. The war wasn’t improving very much. The Confederate States, the states that wanted slavery to happen, were fighting back. Eleanor’s family, despite living near the Confederate States, didn’t agree with the south. They believed that slavery should be abolished forever because everyone was equal. Pa had sent a letter when he got to the war camp. He talked about how the work was hard, lacking good meals, and how his new wool uniform was itchy and uncomfortable in the spring heat.

Eleanor was working on a pair of wool socks for Pa in any spare time she had, which was usually in the evenings after supper.

Brianna finished her school project a week later. She made a poster about the project and eventually got her Masters in History. She went on to write a book about the Civil War after college.

Eleanor started a charity to soldiers in the Civil War. She and many others donated socks to the many men fighting for freedom of slaves. She stayed with her Ma and Pa, even after the Civil War ended in 1865, and went on to start a family of her own.

Sources:

http://www.volvoab.com/image/civil-war-easy-drawings-wallpapers/artwork-civil-war-drawings

http://thomaslegion.net/americancivilwar/

http://olsonfarlow.photoshelter.com/image/I00001qIWimEXGqY

Ratliff, Thomas M., David Antram, and David Salariya. You Wouldn't Want to Be a Civil War Soldier!: A War You'd Rather Not Fight. New York: Franklin Watts, 2015. Print.