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.