No name is more closely associated with the common soldier of the Union and Confederate armies than that of the late Bell I. Wiley. James I. Robertson, Jr., a one-time doctoral student of Wiley's and a well-known Civil War scholar in his own right, has said, 'Bell Wiley was the greatest spokesman for the 19th-century common man.'

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Wiley, born in Halls, Tennessee, in 1906, received his education at Asbury College, the University of Kentucky, and Yale University, and spent many years as a history professor at various schools, including the University of Mississippi, Louisiana State University, and Emory University in Atlanta. Desiring to transcend the traditional perspective of Civil War studies that examined the conflict from the generals' viewpoint, Wiley sought out and read more than 30,000 letters and diaries of common soldiers to create his two groundbreaking works: The Life of Johnny Reb: the Common Soldier of the Confederacy, published in 1943, and The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union, published in 1952. It is a testament to Wiley's comprehensive treatment of his subject that the two volumes are still available in editions reissued by Louisiana State University Press.

This article originally appeared in the July 1964 special issue of Civil War Times Illustrated, which was titled The Campaign for Atlanta.

Most of the soldiers in the long campaign for Atlanta were from the Mississippi River basin. Those who followed Major General William Tecumseh Sherman were largely from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Michi-gan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, though some came from states as far removed as Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Every state in the Confederacy was represented in the forces of General Joseph E. Johnston and Lieutenant General John B. Hood, but a majority of the Southerners came from Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. Both sides had units recruited from Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee.

Perhaps as many as one-fifth of Sherman's soldiers were of foreign birth — chiefly Germans, Irishmen, and Scandinavians. Foreigners probably comprised no more than one-twentieth of Johnston's forces, and they were largely from Ireland, Germany, and France. The overwhelming majority of men in both armies were farmers, ranging in age from 18 to 30. The Federals had fewer illiterates than the Confederates but the letters of both Yanks and Rebs reveal serious deficiencies in spelling and grammar. A Reb wrote his wife from near Marietta in May: 'I hant got nary letter from you yet but asa got one from nan…. I thank you for your prares and hope they may bee herd.' About the same time and place a Yank wrote his homefolk: 'Leanord Locksin is kild…he was kild Instantley he was a good Souldier…he was a Corperall…he was rold up in his blanckett & buaried in a respectable manner.'

The Yanks and Rebs who fought through the hills of North Georgia in the spring and summer of 1864 were very much alike — considerably more so than their counterparts in the East — in background, culture, thought patterns, and character.

The life which Yanks and Rebs had to lead during these critical months in North Georgia was a severe test of both their character and stamina. Basic to their well-being and happiness was food. At first both armies fared reasonably well, owing to the success of the opposing commanders in accumulating large quantities of provisions before initiating the campaign. A Reb wrote appreciatively of the changes wrought by Joseph E. Johnston early in 1864: 'He ordered tobacco and whiskey to be issued twice a week. He ordered sugar and coffee and flour to be issued instead of meal. He ordered cured bacon and ham to be issued instead of blue beef.' But on the Confederate side such abundance and variety were short-lived once the army got on the move. On May 26 an Alabama private wrote from near New Hope Church: 'Our rations have been very short for two weeks, and consisted only of hard corn dodgers and bacon.' Three weeks later another Reb, encamped near Marietta, wrote his wife: 'I am nearly perished for vegetables, nothing to eat but broiled meat and bread.' Some soldiers were able occasionally to obtain fruits and vegetables by 'foraging,' and others received boxes of food from home. But for most Rebs both the quantity and quality of food declined during the early summer. On July 9 a Mississippian wrote his mother: 'The men are substituting almost everything green for vegetables, such as poke [pokeweed], Lamsquarter [lamb's quarters, or pigweed], Irish potato tops and even briar leaves and apricot and pea vines.'

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