Feeding the Confederate Garrison at Fort Clinch

   In 1861, as various Southern states left the Union, they seized and assumed control of various forts in Southern ports. As in the case of Fort Sumter, it took a battle for the facility to switch hands. A handful of forts were never captured, like Fortress Monroe in Virginia and Fort Pickens in Pensacola. However, many other forts only had a caretaker, usually an ordinance sergeant, and a few workmen. This is true with Fort Caswell, Fort Macon, and Fort Clinch.

   Fort Clinch was not even close to being completed at the start of the war. Sitting on Amelia Island on Cumberland Sound, the fort was begun in 1847, and the construction was slow Only two walls were completed, and no cannons were mounted. On January 7, 1861, Fort Clinch was seized by state troops. Over the next couple of months, various Confederate organizations rotated in and out of the area until the fort and island were abandoned on March 3, 1862. Among the Confederates stationed on the island during this period of time were the 3^rd Florida Infantry, 4^th Florida Infantry, Marion Light Artillery, 24^th Mississippi Infantry, and the Marion Dragoons.[1]

Feeding this new influx of men on a remote island was a challenge. In December 1862, they numbered over 4,500. At the same time, there were a couple of advantages. Foodstuffs could be brought up the St. Mary’s River, could come up the Amelia River, or, they could come from the interior via the Florida Railroad.  Records from the Florida Railroad mention freight such as “Substance Store” in reports filed in January 1862. The garrison commander contracted with C. L. Holbrook to provide pork, dry goods, and vegetables from Fernandina and St. Marys, Georgia. It is unclear just who Holbrook was. M. Wood and Company were contracted to supply beef rations. Wood lived in Callahan, Florida. Callahan was roughly 25 miles from Fort Clinch. However, it would have been easier to deliver the supplies elsewhere and have the quartermasters on the Island take charge. “M. Wood” is probably Michi Wood, a wealthy Prussian immigrant, 43 years old and a merchant, who listed his place of residence as Fernandina.[2]

   One of the soldiers stationed on the island, T.M. Broome, wrote home that “The rations which we receive each day are of the best quality available to us; we have beef three times a week with pork and fish, oysters, clams and crab, along with rice, onions and yams. The corn are right fine; our bread ration comes from the many bakers of the town, with our own mess providing biscuits and sweet bread. Wild game is abundant… the weather allows for us to fish when not posted to duty… the citizens are always offering biscuits, sweet bread and cookies. My friends and neighbors are always visiting the men of the volunteers with treats and goodies.”[3]

   Finding more information on this subject is a challenge. None of the regiments listed above appear to have regimental histories. The Washington Ives letters have been published (4^th Florida), but begin in June 1862. There is a history of the 1^st Florida Special Battalion and 10^th Infantry Regiment, by Don Hillhouse, but copies are scarce. The 1^st Florida Special Battalion was stationed on the island and at Fort Clinch. There is no history of the 24^th Mississippi Infantry, either. Ofeldt’s new history of Fernandina and Fort Clinch does not go into much detail on the subject, unfortunately .

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[1] Ofeldt, Fort Clinch, Fernandina and the Civil War, 51.

[2] 1860 US Census, Nassau County, Florida; Confederate Citizens File, Business, M346, RG109, NARA; Ofeldt, Fort Clinch, Fernandina and the Civil War, 37.

[3] Ofeldt, Fort Clinch, Fernandina and the Civil War, 37.

Confederate Soldiers, Christmas, and Eggnog.

   Eggnog. That beverage associated with Christmas cheer. You either love it, or you hate it. While it is unrealistic to say that it met with universal acclaim throughout the Old South, eggnog was enjoyed by many and seen as a required treat during the holidays. When the sons of the South joined the army, they brought the tradition of eggnog with them.

   So, what is eggnog? The basis is eggs, some type of whiskey (bourbon, brandy, rum), sugar, and milk or cream. One recipe from King George County, Virginia, goes like this: “beat 12 eggs separately, add to the yokes 1 heaping tablespoon full of sugar to every egg, beating all the time.” When very light stir rapidly in 1 pint of brandy and 1 pint of whiskey… Now stir in half of the well beaten whites, then 3 pints of rich cream or 1 pint of milk and 2 of cream, then stir in lightly the remaining whites. A little nutmeg grated is an improvement. Be careful never to add liquor after cream.”[1]

   That first winter of the war found the Southern forces mostly well provisioned, but not as much as they wanted. A member of the 7^th Louisiana Infantry, writing from Camp Carondelet in Virginia, told his mother that Christmas had been dull: “the poor private had to content himself with one drink [of eggnog] around which was given in the morning.” A soldier in the 17^th Mississippi Infantry, also in Virginia, recalled having eggnog, but no ladies to enjoy it with. “Several boys a little tight in camp & some have been sent to the guardhouse.” Various generals often sent out regulations against alcohol in camp. Yet according to a member of the 4^th South Carolina, there were still ways to acquire “the worst kind of ‘rot skull’” at a price. Stationed at Fort Gaines, a soldier in the 21^st Alabama wrote of having two glasses of eggnog before breakfast on December 25. Others undoubtedly followed through the rest of the day. Eggnog first thing in the morning was mentioned by more than one soldier. A member of the 7^th Tennessee Infantry wrote that their captain gifted eggnog on Christmas morning. “One-half of the boys very tight by nine o’clock. Another member of the same regiment wrote that they had so many drunk men, a wagon was employed to haul them around.[2]  

   Christmas 1862 was a different affair. The Army of Tennessee was poised to fight the battle of Murfreesboro, while the Army of Northern Virginia had just fought the battle of Fredericksburg, and watched the Federals, expecting them to pick up the contest soon. But even with tensions high, there was still time for gaiety. A ball was hosted by the 1^st and 2^nd Louisiana in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in the town hall, attended by many officers. The officers of the 20^th Tennessee gave their men a barrel of whiskey, while in the 154^th Tennessee, “Eggnog was fashionable and Captains, Lieutenants, and Privates was drunk and very troublesome.” Supplies were much harder to come by in Virginia around Fredericksburg. A member of the 5^th Alabama wrote of their sutler arriving, and the mess being able to purchase sugar cakes, ginger bread, candy sugar, Confederate coffee, pepper, and butter. “He was to bring us the materials for an Egg Nog—but he sorely disappointed us in that—about the first Christmas ever spent without nog…” The complaint went even further with a member of the 12^th Virginia: “Christmas [was] the poorest ever spent, no egg nog, no turkey, no mince pie, nothing to eat or drink but our rations. We all talk of home today and wish to be there.” Soldiers stationed away from Fredericksburg were a little better off. Writing from camp near Dumfries, Virginia, a Texas soldier told his wife that “Every mess had its egg-nog or a first-class substitute for it, the first thing in the morning, and something better than common for dinner.”[3]

   Both principal armies were well encamped during Christmas 1863. It had been a hard year, with the death of Stonewall Jackson and Confederate losses at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga. The Army of Tennessee was north of Atlanta, and the Army of Northern Virginia was in and around Orange Court House. Mentions of eggnog seem to be sparse in the army in Georgia, although there were undoubtedly a few soldiers and officers who were able to enjoy their Christmas concoction. In Virginia, an officer in the 5^th Alabama wrote that he was invited by his colonel “to drink eggnog with him & had a very pleasant time indeed.” Yet a member of JEB Stuart’s staff was disappointed. He had promised his friends a bowl of eggnog, “but the spirits did not arrive-- And consequently I passed a quiet and a sober day in my tent.” The same was almost true for an officer in the 1^st Louisiana, on picket duty near Raccoon Ford on the Rappahannock River. He had concluded that they would be eggnogless for the evening, and had retired to bed, when they heard “horses hoofs on the crisp snow.” They found a camp servant they had sent to Lynchburg with a demijohn. They beat the eggs, stirred in the sugar, and added the whiskey (no mention of milk or cream). “[W] had one of the most delicious noggs that ever mortal man quaffed. Taking a couple of glasses apiece, we retired to bed—to forget the hardships of a soldier’s life, and dream of a joyful reunion with the dear absent ones far away in the Southland.”[4]

   The last winter of the war, 1864, found the wrecked Army of Tennessee in northern Alabama and the Army of Northern Virginia in the trenches around Petersburg and Richmond. A soldier in the 24^th Texas Cavalry, Granburry’s Texas brigade, recalled buying whiskey locally to celebrate the holidays, but made no mention of eggs, cream, or sugar. “[A] wee drop makes an old soldier forget his troubles and hardships for the present” he scribbled in his diary. There was still some eggnog to be had. An officer in the 49^th North Carolina, thanks to the people from back home, had eggnog. A member of Poague’s battalion recalled a fine Christmas dinner that included eggnog. A friend had a friend that operated a blockade runner and “obtained many good things.”[5]

   Christmas was hard on the soldiers in the field, as well as on the families back home. So many of those hearthsides would lose loved ones throughout those four years. While many were undeniably happy to be home for Christmas in 1865, many reflected back on all that had been lost. Slowly, the eggnog, which had accompanied so many Southern Christmas celebrations, eventually faded from the menu.  

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[1] Smith, Famous old Receipts used a hundred years and more in the kitchens of the North and South, 184.

[2] Rawlings, We Were Marching of Christmas Day, 40, 43, 46.

[3] Rawlings, We Were Marching of Christmas Day, 62, 70, 71; Polley, A Soldier’s Letters to Charming Nellie, 21.

[4] Hubbs, Voices from Company D, 207;  Trout, With Pen & Saber, 218; Rawlings, We Were Marching of Christmas Day, 109.

[5] Rawlings, We Were Marching of Christmas Day, 124; McCaslin, Diary of Captain Henry A. Chambers, 168; Poague, Gunner with Stonewall, 109.

How Long did Hampton’s Beef Steak Raid Feed the Troops?

   In September 1864, Confederate cavalry commander Wade Hampton made a raid on a Federal herd of beef. It was a daring raid behind Union lines that helped fill a few empty Confederate bellies. One question might be: how long did the captured beef last?

   Pork was the preferable army ration. It was easier to process just about anyplace and transport, and, it would keep for longer periods. Yet once the salt began to become scarce, Confederate commissaries began to use more beef. Plus, beef could move with an army and be slaughtered near the troops. Both Confederates and Federals drove herds of cattle with their armies, both in the east and west.

   In September, a Confederate scout reported that 3,000 loosely guarded cattle were penned at Coggins Point, Virginia. When Hampton learned this, he gained permission from Robert E. Lee to attack. General Hampton assembled a force of 3,000 troopers, and set off on the morning of September 14, riding around the flank of the Union army. The following day, Hampton captured the cattle, along with hundreds of Federal prisoners, and began to drive back toward the Federal lines. There were some attempts to catch Hampton, but he returned to the Confederate lines with almost 2,500 cattle.

   The captured beef was soon being issued to the men in the trenches. “We draw very good rations now. We get some good Yankee beef and some bacon and good flour,”  wrote a member of the 45^th Georgia on September 24.[1] “Rations of beef issued,” highlighted a member of the 7^th South Carolina Cavalry the next day.[2] On October 14, a member of the 18^th North Carolina told the folks back home that “I have just eaten a harty brakefast beaf staek, soda bread, pure coffee well sweetened- honey &c. You may guess how my health is."[3] By October 23, a member of the 13^th South Carolina would write that “We have eaten nearly all the beef Hampton captured recently in rear of Grant’s army.”[4] The South Carolina soldier went on to write that they were starting to get some beef from North Carolina. It might also be added that there were some provisions coming from the Shenandoah Valley, captured by Jubal Early’s men. Regardless, it might be safe to assume that the cattle captured by Wade Hampton were closed to be being exhausted by the end of October.

   The almost 2,500 beef captured lasted only a month, feeding the men in the Petersburg entrenchments. One unanswered question: did the Federals have other stock pens of cattle in this same time period? 3,000 head of cattle does not seem to have been adequate for such a large force. (Of course, the Federals were able to receive regulation rations of salt pork at this time.) Just one more little piece of the war.

  

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[1] McCrea, Red Dirt and Isinglass, 514.

[2] Hinson and Waring,  “The Diary of William G. Hinson during the War of Secession,” The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 75, No.  2, 111.

[3] Hancock, Four Brothers in Gray, 283.

[4]  Welch, A Confederate Surgeon’s Letters to his Wife, 110-111.

Hardtack v. flour v. corn meal

   A friend recently asked the question: “did Southern troops ever live off of Hardtack like Federal soldiers?” That’s a great question! And the simple answer is: sometimes.  (PS: this article is based on my research for my upcoming book, Feeding the Army of Northern Virginia.)

   Hardtack is made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. This mixture is rolled out and cut into pieces that are baked until, well, hard. They have been around for a long time and are also known as sea biscuits, or ship’s biscuits, or many other names. A standard issued of hardtack for Federal soldiers, for a day, was one pound, or about ten pieces. Hardtack is not a term frequently used in letters and diaries written during the war by Confederate soldiers in the East. It does appear more frequently in post-war writings. And, when the term hardtack is used, it usually denotes captured foodstuffs. For example, a member of the 13^th Virginia Infantry, writing after the war, noted that at Second Manassas, he drew from his haversack “a piece of fat pickled pork and some hardtack—the rations I had selected from the varied assortment at Manassas.”[1] While at Frederick, Maryland, in September 1862, one member of the 15^th Georgia complained that all of their hardtack was marked “’Cincinnati.’ It is a common remark that Banks is Jackson’s Quartermaster and Commissary.”[2]     

   More often, Confederates referred to their hardtack as crackers. A member of the 5^th Alabama Infantry, writing from a camp near Fairfax Court House on July 16, 1861, noted that he was stationed as a guard at the commissary tent, presumably just for his regiment. He reported that he was guarding twenty-five barrels of crackers. A few days later, this same soldier reported that there was no flour locally, and they had to make use of crackers instead, and that “they are hard almost as a rock.”[3] Many soldiers found their crackers almost inedible. A member of the 44^th North Carolina complained in October 1862 that the “Crackers you cannot brake them hardly with your hands. Yesterday Mr. Sykes had some Crackers beatting them up with a... hammer and said to me it is hard bread to have to take a hammer to brake it."[4]

    Soldiers were likely to be issued flour than hardtack. Earlier in the war, the Confederate government had purchased a bakery in Richmond to bake loaves of bread to be shipped to the men in the field. This really did not work, as the “light bread” as the soldiers called it, went moldy before it could arrive in the camps. Instead, the commissary department switched to grinding flour and shipping it to the front ranks. Ideally, flour would be issued to troops in camp, while crackers would be issued to men on the march. Most of the crackers which the men mention eating while on campaign seem to have been captured by the Federals. Instead, the men had to make do with flour, and usually no cooking utensils. From Manassas in July 1861, a member of the 10^th Alabama complained that they had to bake their dough on planks and boards.[5] At Beverly Ford on August 22, a member of the 12^th Georgia wrote of baking their dough on flat boards and stones before the fire.[6] On the way to Gettysburg in June 1862, a member of the 26^th North Carolina wrote home that they were drawing flour. They stopped at 4:00 pm and commenced cooking.[7]  

   That’s not to say that the flour also did not come from the Federals. There are mentions of barrels of flour captured at Ball’s Bluff, during the Rominey Campaign, Seven Pines, Manassas Junction, and Williamsport, and taken from civilians during the Gettysburg campaign and Early’s Washington campaign in 1864.

   Not everyone was in favor of the flour. A member of the 53^rd Georgia wrote from near Hagerstown on July 13 that he had eaten so much flour bread that he preferred corn bread.[8] Corn meal was a third option. A member of the 1^st Maryland wrote from Fairfax Court House in early August that they were able to make first-rate cornbread.[9] Yet even this wore on some. South Carolinian Barry Benson wrote after the war that they were issued so much corn meal in the winter of 1863 that “our teeth staid on edge; even freshly cooked, the bread would taste sour.”[10] While cornbread might seem like a Southern staple, the corn meal ground during the war, epically, late in the war, was full of husk and kernels. “Often the corn meal issued to us… [was] so bad that hardtack… was hailed with delight,” wrote a member of the 17^th Virginia in 1864.[11] From camp near Orange Court House in March 1864, one Tar Heel told the people at home that they were drawing “tolerable good rations,” including corn meal. However, he wished he could draw flour. “We are tired of meal."[12]

   As the war grinned on, there was never enough, whether it be crackers, wheat flour, or corn meal. Most of it really depended on the environment. (But that’s another post.)  A soldier simply had to draw “his waist belt a little tighter… and waited with bated breath the order to clear our works and charge the enemy.” If the charge was successful, then the “enemey’s camps furnished the rations we failed to get in the morning…”[13]

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[1] Swank, Raw Pork and Hartack, 34.

[2] Ivy W. Duggan Diary, UGA, 95-96.

[3] Hubbs, Voices from Company D, 18, 25-26.

[4] Wright, The Confederate Letters of Benjamin H. Freeman, 14.

[5] Rourke, "I saw the Elephant, 15

[6] Ivy W. Duggan Diary, UGA, 87-88. 

[7] Smith and Price, “Your Affectionate Husband Until Death" Company Front, 55.

[8] Ronald, ed. The Stilwell Letters, 188.

[9] McKim, A Soldier’s Recollections, 46.

[10] Benson, Berry Benson's Civil War Book, 55.

[11] Toalson, No Soap, No Pay, 94-95

[12] Hancock, Four Brothers in Gray, 253.

[13] Herbert, “The Seventeenth Virginia Infantry,” SHSP, 12:294.

Bad Barrels

   Thomas Ballard was born ca.1825 in Virginia. He was proprietor of the Ballard House hotel in Richmond prior to the war, and at the age of 36 or 37, could have stayed at home. Instead, Ballard volunteered and was mustered in as a private on May 23, 1861, in the 4^th Virginia Cavalry. Two months later, he was promoted to assistant commissary of subsistence and assigned to Ashland, Virginia, then on November 25, assigned to Monterey, Virginia. Ballard then transferred to various commands over the course of the war. He was with Elzey and Trimble in 1862, and with Ed. Johnson in 1863. He was promoted to major and assigned to John B. Gordon in June 1864, and then to R. H. Anderson in October 1864. At some point, he was on the staff of John C. Breckinridge. (Krick, Staff Officers in Gray, 66)

   Ballard’s compiled service record from the National Archives is actually quite lengthy. Most of it is made up of requisitions for forage for horses, or stationery, but there are a couple of interesting pieces. One of these is an account for lost or damaged commissary stores in 1862. Ballard’s notes are a good example of the trials and tribulations of commissary officers.

I. On or about the 9^th of August 1862, during the night to supply the troops on the battlefield at “Cedar Run” one wagon loaded with two barrels of flour, packed in old second hand and very badly exposed barrels, upset, the barrels busted and the flour was strewn in the mud, losing about [9 lbs.]

II. On the same march by sifting through badly coopered barrels [8 lbs]

III. On or about the 15^th of August 1862, while issuing rations on the Rappahannock, near Jefferson, our [train] was shelled by the enemy. The army falling back at the same time nececated [necessitated] the abandonment of [5 lbs]

IV. On or about the 29^th of August 1862, on the march from Gaines Cross Roads, crossing the Rappahannock then swollen from recent rains, part of the time under shelling of the enemy near Subley Mills, the road in wretched condition, lost by the bursting of barrels, upsetting of one wagon and by getting wet in the river [10 lbs]

V. September 5 to 13^th 1862. On the march from Leesburg, crossing the Potomac via Frederick City [and] Boonesboro, and recrossing the Potomac at Williamsport, lost from getting wet in the river from bad coopering [20 lbs]

VI. On or about the 18^th of September 1862 by order of Genl Jackson a days rations was taken across the Potomac and deposited about two miles from Sharpsburg. Some of the troops being in line it could not all be issued before night, the wagon having been previously ordered to the Va side of the river. The army fell back during the night. We were compelled to abandon fourteen barrels. 14.

[Total lost in about six weeks: 61 pounds.]

I. During the month of October 1862, while encamped at [and] near Bunker Hill, the command was supplied with Flour by purchasing wheat [and] having it ground at various mills – new barrels could not be had and the flour was packed in old barrels. In some cases were used three or four times. The roads to some of the mills were very rough [and] much of the flour was necessarily wasted in transporting it in open barrels, over these roads… [18 bls.]

II. On the march from Berryville to Bunker Hill Winchester, thence across the Blue Ridge at Milams Gap, and down to the battlefield at Fredericksburg  the train was loaded with flour packed in very old [and] badly coopered barrels—lost by breaking of bands [and] sifting [10 lbs]

III. From about the 18^th December 1862 to the 28^th April 1863 the Division was encamped at Moss Neck from eight to ten miles from the Railroad Depot at Guiney’s Station and our supplies were transported this distance over roads almost impassible. Such was the condition of the roads that four or five barrels of flour were a load for a four horse wagon. A part of the winter the roads were utterly impassible with wagons and our supplies were transported by means of pack horses. This rendered necessary the packing of flour into sacks causing much loss. The flour issued to Maj Ballard during all the winter was in bad condition, barrels often bursting open in the roads from bad cooperage, in some instances with the top of almost every barrel. His loss from these causes during the winter was certainly not less tham twenty-eight barrels.

IV. On or about the 1^st day of December 1862 at Orange CH one wagon was abandoned in consequence of the deaths of three horses of the team. Lost [thereby] four barrels.

Total sixty nine barrels.

   While Ballard’s accounting might seem tedious, there is actually a lot to unpack here. It seems that the Confederacy not only suffered from a lack of wagons (check out my blog post here and here), they suffered from inadequate supply of barrels. They were second hand, or had been used several times. They were badly constructed, and at time burst open. The barrels leaked, or “sifted” the flour out.  Commissary trains could be shelled by the enemy. The roads were so bad during the winter of encampment of 1862-63 that pack horses and bags replaced wagons and barrels.

   Ballard survived the war. He returned to the hotel business and died in 1902 in Salem, Virginia.

Confederate Coffee

   I think we can all agree that coffee played a crucial role in the lives of Confederate soldiers. And, as it has become apparent to me recently, in reading articles and watching podcasts, some scholars really don’t grasp the usage of coffee in the Army of Northern Virginia. We hear the stories about how the Confederates in Virginia had to make do with no coffee and relied on plenty of coffee substitutes, like chicory, acorns, sweet potatoes, etc. But my research into Confederate foodstuffs while working on Feeding the Army of Northern Virginia over the past two years has led to some different conclusions. (The following is based upon 200 sets of letters and diaries, with a few reminiscences added in.)

   Coffee was a staple of life in the Old South. It was imported from Central and South America. In the early days of the war, it was issued to Confederate soldiers in Virginia. It was mentioned in letters home from Portsmouth and Ashland in May 1861. It was also issued green. “You would see much to amuse you especially about cooktime. Just imagine Charly Palmore standing over a hot fire parching coffee in a pan stirring with a big camp knife,” chronicled a soldier in the 3^rd Virginia Cavalry in June 1862, from Ashland.[1] Coffee continued to be issued through August. However, many soldiers speculated that this “treat” might be coming to an end. From Vienna, Virginia, a soldier in the 2^nd South Carolina Infantry wrote on August 3 that "We soldiers still get coffee for night and morning, but I do not doubt but that this luxury will soon be denied us. I say luxury. Coffee is the luxury in a soldier's life. A cup of hot coffee can be better appreciated in camp than anywhere else...”[2] By September 1, an Alabama soldier stationed near Fairfax Court House reported that they were out of coffee and sugar, yet reported on September 10 that they had coffee, but no sugar.[3] A member of the 4^th Georgia reported in October that they were drawing whiskey in leu of coffee.[4] This continued through October, although some soldiers who did not drink would sell their whiskey rations to soldiers who did, leaving a few tipsy men in the ranks.  On November 28 came the first mention of rye coffee. A Virginia soldier stationed near Huntersville, wrote home that "We are living well at present on venison, beef, corn and wheat bread, rye coffee & sweetened with maple sugar.”[5] Considering the soldier was stationed in present-day West Virginia, it could simply have been a problem of getting coffee that great distance.

   Coffee was being issued in early 1862. A Tarheel Heel soldier reported small issues of coffee and sugar at camp near Union Mills on January 18, and an Alabama soldier stationed at Louisa Court House wrote of a weekly coffee ration, without sugar.[6] Coffee then disappears from the letters. A member of the 3^rd South Carolina wrote at the end of April, while stationed on the Peninsula, that they never saw coffee being issued.[7] This holds true through May and the spring campaigns. There are sporadic mentions of coffee through October. Some soldiers reported having coffee, but it is unclear if they were being issued, or captured. (This is another topic for a future post.) Coffee was available for purchase. A Tar Heel officer, near Winchester in mid-November 1862, wrote that coffee was selling for $3.00 a pound.[8]

   By early 1863, coffee seemed to be in short supply. A member of the 45^th Georgia wrote of wheat coffee in January, while a Virginia officer made mention of “rye coffee well sugared.”[9] In March, a South Carolinian mentioned living on nothing but coffee and bread: “We buy the coffee from sutlers in one pound papers already ground for one dollar. It is Confederate coffee made of I dont know what. It is a rather poor substitute , but we make out very well with it.”[10] There are other mentions of “coffee” in various letters through the spring of 1863, but it is unclear if it was real coffee, or Confederate coffee. One Georgia soldier did make note in April 1863, while stationed near Hamilton Crossing, that “pure Rio coffee” was selling for $6.00 per pound.”[11] There are more mentions of rye coffee following the battle of Gettysburg. Charles Blackford, serving on James Longstreet’s staff, mentions rye coffee in letters dated July 16 from Bunker Hill, and July 30 from Culpeper.[12] This seems to carry true through the end of 1864. Capt. R. E. Park, 12^th Alabama, makes mentions of a sutler selling Confederate coffee for $1.00 per pound. The coffee was made of rye.[13]

   The coffee shortage changed in early January 1864 (maybe even late December). Thomas Lupton, 39^th Battalion Virginia Cavalry, wrote that that were drawing coffee “real coffee, none of your confederate compounds with rice, potatoes and lard..."[14] Coffee was coming through the blockade, mostly through the port of Wilmington. While the Commissary General wanted this coffee reserved for sick and wounded men in the hospitals, coffee was making its way to the men in winter camps. A member of the 7^th Virginia Cavalry wrote on February 6 that they were being issued “a little real coffee and sugar.”[15] A member of the 44^th Georgia wrote on February 17: “We get genuine coffee occasionally.”[16] An officer in the 44^th North Carolina wrote of “genuine coffee” on February 19, and a member of the 48^th North Carolina mentioned “good old Rio coffee” on February 20.[17] This issue of real coffee continues through march and April, 1864.[18]

   Coffee rations (real coffee), seem to continue at a regular pace into mid-1864. A soldier in the 53^rd Georgia wrote from Petersburg on July 4 that he was drawing coffee and sugar. “We draw plenty of coffee. I am getting so I can't drink more than three or four cups of coffee for breakfast."[19] From the trenches, the same month, a member of the 27^th North Carolina thanked his family back home for not sending any coffee: “I am now and have been for the last 3 or 4 weeks having as much as I can use.”[20] This continued into early August, but by mid-August, there started to be mentions in the letter that they were not drawing any coffee and sugar.[21] Yet in October, a member of the 45^th Georgia wrote from Petersburg that they were getting “some coffee.”[22] Also from Petersburg on October 14, a member of the 18^th North Carolina wrote of receiving “pure coffee well sweetened.”[23] Likewise, a member of the 54^th North Carolina wrote in December that they were getting “pure coffee.”[24]

   There are sporadic mentions of coffee into 1865. Of course, by this time, a lot of soldiers were gone, either dead, deserted, or prisoners. Sources are limited. A soldier in the 5^th Alabama wrote of being issued sugar and coffee on February 26, and on March 2, and April 1. He does not indicate if it is real coffee, or Confederate coffee.[25]

   This is a topic that really seems to be misunderstood, and really needs some deeper scholarship. Was the issue of coffee the same for soldiers in the Army of Tennessee? Was it ever an issue for soldiers on garrison duty in Wilmington, or Mobile? How about the issue of coffee in hospitals? And then there is the issue of swapping Southern tobacco for yankee coffee in the many informal truces that occurred during the war. Did Southern tobacco rise in “price” during the trading when the North went through its tobacco crunch? Was coffee, or caffeine withdrawal, an impediment during battle? It seems that many times it is easier to fall back on the oft-repeated anecdotes that all Confederates were cut off from imported coffee for the duration of the war. That is simply not true. It is also interesting to note that Confederate soldiers, in the 200 or so letter and diary sets that I am using to write Feeding the Army of Northern Virginia, never mention making coffee from chicory, burnt corn, peas, or sweet potatoes. I’m not going to say that it did not happen, but the members of my test group are not writing about it. Maybe it occurred primarily in the civilian population, and not in the Army of Northern Virginia. Once again, this topic, on the Confederate side, needs much more research. 

   

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[1] Corson, My Dear Jennie, 2, 10; Wiggins, My Dearest Friend, 3-4.

[2] Wyckoff, The Civil War Letters of Alexander McNeill, 77-78.

[3] Hubbs, Voices from Company D, 42, 46.

[4] Allen and Bohannon, "Campaigning with 'Old Stonewall',"  28.

[5] Driver, 1st Battalion Virginia Infantry, 6-7.

[6] Monroe, “The Road to Gettysburg,” NCHR, 489; Carter, Welcome the Hour of Conflict, 130.

[7] Everson, Far, Far from Home, 117-118.

[8] Taylor, The Cry is War, War, War, 128.

[9]  McCrea, Red Dirt and Isinglass, 392; Welsh "A House Divided," 410.

[10] Wyckoff, The Civil War Letters of Alexander McNeill, 249.

[11] Allen and Bohannon, "Campaigning with 'Old Stonewall', 228.

[12] Blackford, Letters from Lee's Army, 198.

[13] Park, “Diary of Capt. R. E. Park,” SHSH 26:23.

[14] Driver, 1st Battalion Virginia Infantry, 62.

[15] Williams, Rebel Brothers, 187.

[16]  Burnett, “Letters of a Confederate Surgeon, McGarity,” 2:187.

[17] Wright, The Confederate Letters of Benjamin H. Freeman, 34; Dear Aunt, February 21, 1864, "Taking Care of Madison W. Richardson," 42.

[18] Hancok, Four Brothers in Gray, 253; McCrea, Red Dirt and Isinglass, 469; Hubbs, Voices from Company D, 232; Mellon, "A Florida Soldier," 270; Wright, The Confederate Letters of Benjamin H. Freeman, 35.

[19] Ronald, ed. The Stilwell Letters, 272

[20] Wagstaff, “Letters of Thomas Jackson Strayhorn,” NCHR, 323.

[21] Blackford, Letters from Lee's Army, 272; Wiggins, My Dearest Friend, 147.

[22] McCrea, Red Dirt and Isinglass, 518.

[23] Hancock, Four Brothers in Gray, 283.

[24] Henry, Pen in Hand, 136.

[25] Hubbs, Voices from Company D, 357, 365.