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War Games
Email: Michael
Aubrecht Website:
Pinstripe
Press
Reference Sources: From
Pastime to Passion, Baseball in Blue and
Gray, Civil War Digest, Fort Ward
Museum
ALTHOUGH EARLY
FORMS of baseball
had already become High Society's pastime
years before the first shots of the Civil
War erupted at Fort Sumter, it was the
mass participation of everyday soldiers
that helped spread the game's popularity
across the nation.
During the War Between the
States, countless baseball games,
originally known as "townball", were
organized in Army Camps and prisons on
both sides of the Mason Dixon Line. Very
little documentation exists on these games
and most information has been derived from
letters written by both officers and
enlisted men to their families on the home
front. For the hundreds of pictures taken
during the Civil War by photography
pioneer Matthew Brady, there is only one
photo in the National Archives that
clearly captured a baseball game underway
in the background. Several newspaper
artists also depicted primitive ballgames
and other forms of recreation devised to
help boost troop morale and maintain
physical fitness. Regardless of the lack
of "media coverage", military historians
have proved that baseball was a common
ground in a country divided, and helped
both Union and Confederate soldiers
temporarily escape the horror of
war.
The following table
represents a few of the games that had
been recorded for historical significance
either by participants or observers. (For
simplicity, all forms of the game
including "townball" and "roundball" will
be referred to as baseball.)
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DATE
|
CAUSE
|
PARTICIPANTS
|
NOTABLES
|
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1862
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Union
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Trainees
from 13th Massachusetts and 51st
Pennsylvania vs.
themselves
|
Games
were played evenings on the
drilling field in many training
camps prior to
deployment.
|
|
1862
|
Union
|
165th
New York Infantry (Second
Duryea’s Zouaves) vs. NY Regiment
All-Star nine
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Perhaps
one of the most famous of all
Civil War games, this one was
witnessed by 40,000
troops.
|
|
1862
|
Union
|
The
“Irish Brigade” vs.
themselves
|
Confederate
sentries stationed across the
Cickahominy River watched Union
games played during General
McClellan’s march to
Richmond.
|
|
1862
|
Union
|
57th
New York vs. 69th New
York
|
Incoming
Confederate cannon fire ended
this game
abruptly.
|
|
1862
|
Union
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2nd
Brigade, 2nd Division, Army of
the Potomac vs. selected members
of the “Honey Run Club”
team
|
Members
of both the brigade and the 1859
champions practiced regularly
throughout the
war.
|
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1863
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Confederate
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24th
Alabama vs.
themselves
|
Rebels,
played daily while stationed in
wait of the advancing Federal
Army led by General William
Tecumseh
Sherman.
|
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1863
|
Union
|
26th
Pennsylvania vs. 22nd
Massachusetts vs. 13th New York
and 62nd NY
Volunteers
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All
four regiments met for games, but
disputed the differences between
the MA and NY
rules.
|
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1863
|
Union
|
13th
Massachusetts and 1st Rhode
Island Light Artillery vs. misc.
Army
|
Both
teams had recorded so many
victories; many felt that they
were capable of beating any
professional team of the late
1800’s.
|
|
1863
|
Union
|
1st
New Jersey Artillery, Battery B
vs. themselves
|
First
printed drawing published of a
baseball game played before the
Battle of
Chancellorsville.
|
|
1863
|
Union
|
Union
soldiers encamped in Alexandria,
Texas
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During
this game, the camp was attacked,
resulting in the loss of the
center fielder and the
ball.
|
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1864
|
Union
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2nd
New Jersey Volunteers vs. 77th
New York Volunteers All-Star
nine
|
Billed
as another big game, newspapers
openly criticized the 77th after
a no-show.
|
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1864
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Union
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1st
New Jersey Artillery vs. 10th
Massachusetts
Infantry
|
New
York Clipper newspaper covered
the game at Brandy Station. NJ
lost 13 to 15.
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1864
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Confederate
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11th
Mississippi POWs at Union Prison
Camp in Sandusky, OH (Confederate
Club vs. Southerners)
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One
game recorded ended with the
Confederates winning 19-11.
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1865
|
Both
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Union
and Confederate soldiers from
both the Army of the Potomac and
the Army of Northern
Virginia
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Following
General Robert E. Lee’s surrender
at Appomattox Courthouse,
soldiers from both sides played
to pass the time.
|
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1866
|
Union
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POWs
detained at the Confederate
Prison Camp in Salisbury,
NC
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Despite
pleasant accounts of baseball
early on, many players later died
due to overcrowded
conditions.
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Baseball played during the
war was very different than the game we
know today. Some rules included: The
Striker (batter) gets to choose where he
wants the pitch. The Pitcher must throw
underhand. No leading off the bag. No base
stealing. No foul lines. All balls are
fair. Complete Rules of
"Townball"
A report published in 1908
by the Spalding Commission (appointed to
research the origin of baseball) credited
Union General Abner Doubleday as being the
"father of the modern game". It stated:
"Baseball was invented in 1839 at
Cooperstown, NY by Abner
Doubleday-afterward General Doubleday, a
hero of the battle of Gettysburg-and the
foundation of this invention was an
American children's game call one old
cat."
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