This illustration shows Union prisoners of war playing ball in Salisbury, North Carolina. Confederate guards watch the game—and the prisoners.

Library of Congress

Soldiers on both sides played baseball whenever they could. The game helped prisoners of war fight boredom. Sometimes prisoners even played against their captors.

Perhaps the biggest Civil War game took place on December 25, 1862. Nearly 40,000 Union soldiers gathered at Hilton Head, South Carolina, to watch.

The war ended in 1865. Returning soldiers spread baseball across the United States. Some cities had two teams. One was for blacks; another for whites. Baseball was segregated, or divided by race. So was the country.

Many Civil War soldiers ate peanuts during baseball games because they were easy to grow and not expensive.