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(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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Young northern and southern men flocked to join the army at the outbreak of the Civil War (1861-1865). Each state organized and signed on its own companies of volunteers. One of the first things soldiers from both sides usually did after volunteering was sit for a photograph to give to friends and loved ones. The cheerful faces and playful poses of these youthful members of the 44th Massachusetts Volunteers do not show the serious and tragic nature of the war itself. Following the bloody fights of 1862, the problem of greatly reduced army ranks caused the United States and Confederate governments to draft soldiers.

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