The troops had to deal with both boredom and extremely unpleasant experiences in areas where disease spread rapidly. As well as often turning to alcohol to relieve the boredom and to numb the harsh realities of war, many adopted a healthier way of passing the time by writing letters. Writing to their wives or girlfriends, friends and family was a way of relieving the boredom they all experienced in camp and also a way of expressing and understanding the war. This communication was an outlet for releasing the wide-ranging emotions they were feeling, including frustration and harshness of the war, and missing their loved ones at home(28). .
Soldiering was a degrading and dehumanizing experience for the Union troops. "Alienation from people outside the army and feeling the loss of support (because civilians were tiring of the war) lowered the morale of African Americans"(37). Black soldiers had previously thought they were fighting on behalf of their communities, but they were no longer getting recognition for this, therefore they began to question their reasons for fighting and felt anger at the loss of their support.
These factors pushed soldiers into forming their own supportive groups within the armies, where they found a new "sense of community and status", a sense that had been lost by remaining in the army (40). Soldiers fighting developed a strong sense of comradeship. Partly it was a way of compensating for the loss of relationships with those back at home, but also a way to cope because soldiers all shared the same experiences. It was also difficult for Union troops to cope with being disciplined by relatively inexperienced officers. .
African-American soldiers were in the minority in the Union army. "The uniforms supplied to "Billy Yank" were diverse, however by 1863 they had become standardized, which since led Union soldiers to be nicknamed "The Man in Blue". This gave them a sense of unity and pride in their appearance" (History).
