Civil War Punishments

In his 1887 book about the life of soldiers during the Civil War, Hardtack and Coffee, Union army veteran John D. Billings devoted a chapter to the many ways in which he and his comrades were punished for a variety of infractions, big and small. “I shall not, because I cannot, name all the offences of soldiering to which punishments were affixed, as no two commanding officers had just the same violations of military discipline to deal with,” he wrote. “[B]ut I shall endeavor … to include all those which appeal to a common experience.” Below, accompanied by illustrations from the book made by fellow Union veteran Charles W. Reed, are descriptions of the most common punishments in Billings’ own words.

 

 

 

Civil War soldier carrying a log as punishment

“The methods of punishment were as diverse as the dispositions of the officers who sat in judgment on the cases of the offenders,” wrote Billings. Here, a Union soldier, transgression unknown, is shown “carrying a log.”

 

A Civil War soldier bucked and gagged as punishment

“[T]here was a class of officers who felt that every violation of camp rules should be visited with the infliction of bodily pain in some form. As a consequence, the sentences imposed by these military judges all looked towards that end. Some would buck and gag their victims,” a punishment depicted above.

 

A Civil War soldier wears a sign that says 'Thief' as punishment

“Some had their full offence written out on a board with chalk, and, with this board strapped to their backs, were marched up and down through camp the entire day, without rest or refreshment.”

 

A Civil War soldier is forced to march with a knapsack loaded with rocks as a punishment.

“[S]ome underwent the knapsack drill, that is, they walked a beat with a guardsman two hours on and two or four hours off, wearing a knapsack filled with bricks or stones.”

 

A Civil War soldier is forced to stand atop a raised platform as a punishment

“One regiment that I know of had a platform erected, between twenty-five and thirty feet high, on which the offender was isolated from the camp, and left to broil in the sun or soak in the rain while a guard paced his beat below, to keep away any who might like to communicate with him.”

 

A Civil War soldier is strapped to a wagon wheel as a punishment.

“In the artillery, the favorite punishment was to lash the guilty party to the spare wheel—the extra wheel carried on the rear portion of every caisson in a battery.”

 

Two Civil War soldiers are forced to sit atop a wooden 'horse' as a punishment

“[O]thers were lashed to a tall wooden horse which stood perhaps eight or nine feet high….”

 

A Civil War soldier is forced to stand inside a sweat box as a punishment.

“[S]ome were put into what was known as the sweat-box. This was a box eighteen inches square, and of the full height of a man, into which the culprit was placed to stand until released.”

 

A Civil War soldier stands upon a wooden barrel as a punishment.

“[A] favorite punishment with some was to knock out both heads of a barrel, then make the victim stand on the ends of the staves….”

 

A Civil War soldier wears a barrel overcoat as a punishment.

“[S]ome would compel them to wear an inverted barrel for several hours, by having a hole cut in the bottom, through which the head passed, making a kind of wooden overcoat.…”

 

A Civil War soldier walks with a log tied behind his head as a punishment.

“[S]ome culprits were compelled to stand a long time with their arms, extending horizontally at the side, lashed to a heavy stick of wood that ran across their backs….”

 

A Civil War soldier is tied up by his thumbs as a punishment.

“Some were tied up by the thumbs, with arms extended full length, and compelled to stand in that position for hours.…”

 

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