Sailors

• Captains supervised merchant schooners with the help of a first mate, three or four seamen and a cabin boy. The cabin boy was often a man, but his name reflected his low status on the ship. The cabin boy cooked and cleaned up after the other seamen who labored raising masts, hoisting anchors and loading and unloading goods. Sailors often had to make or mend their own clothes. Keeping watch proved especially difficult for the tired shipmates. In cold weather, the docked ship still required repairs including tarring and painting the ship, or pumping out water taken in by the schooner..
  
  

Soldiers

• The Civil War claimed soldiers on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. The life of a soldier proved difficult and duties were abundant. In addition to fighting in battle, men far from home woke early to march miles on foot, carrying their own baggage. They endured hours of military drills. Cavalry men exercised with swords on their horses, and men assigned to artillery practiced with their cannons. Additional duties included gathering wood, keeping a fire, polishing metal, caring for horses, clearing fields, collecting water and at times, foraging for food.
  
  

Blacksmiths

• A blacksmith repaired anything made of metal. With iron, copper or brass, he fashioned axes, knives, hinges, nails and numerous other tools. They commonly constructed and repaired guns. A blacksmith working in this era made his own charcoal to heat his forge by slowly burning timber covered in dirt. Men in this trade were esteemed and those who served in the military sometimes received an exemption from drills and guard duty.
  
  

Cowboys

• Although the cowboy has been romanticized, this was a labor intensive and often dangerous trade. Cowboys wore any clothing they could muster up. This occupation required specific skills including the ability to ride and handle a horse, and rope and drive animals. These men also required certain knowledge in caring for the animals they drove including veterinary skills. Men working far from the places they called home built hasty shelters for protection on overnight journeys.