Family history tells that some of the local boys from our area trudged home from Gettysburg wearing no shoes. Considering that Gettysburg is a few states away from us, could that possibly be true? I cannot imagine this kind of hardship. What else did they endure?
Well I believe some of the soldiers were also injured and bleeding while having to walk miles on barefoot. Walking on barefeet isnt as bad as suffering from hunger or pain though. Blacks who were part of the Union army weren't even given sufficient uniforms to wear in the first place.
I remember watching a movie about black union army during the civil war. They had uniforms and shoes (at least in the movie lol). When they lost the battle and were all slaughtered due to being put into an impossible frontal charge against a well fortified position, the ending scene was about Confederation soldiers were dumping the barefoot bodies into the trench, with piles of shoes nearby. That at least meant the southern soldiers didn't have enough shoes and they were getting shoes from dead union soldiers. Walking through several state without shoes might sound rough, but you have to keep in mind that many farmers in the old days really did not have shoes anywhere they go. It might still be true in some third world countries.
