Passing the Time

To fill the long hours between marches and battles, soldiers often passed the time by reading.
Soldiers who did not have their own Bible could obtain a free copy from the U.S. Christian Commission. Soldiers also read and wrote letters, newspapers and even novels. Some soldiers published camp newspapers. The articles written in the newspapers covered accounts of battles,
included poetry and messages to thenemy. Some of the camps even had debating societies.
Athletic activities were always popular and featured many a game of baseball played with a soft ball and just two bases. Other events inclued cricket, races, wrestling, leapfrog, boxing matching
and even bowling played with cannon balls and wooden pins. Board games were also quite popular, dominoes was a popular game, and checkers was a favorite among the men.