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Awesome Summer of 1864 CS account of life in the trenches

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  • Awesome Summer of 1864 CS account of life in the trenches

    Fellows,

    Found this on the mississipiconfederates.wordpress.com blog earlier today. A real gem, I strongly recommend the entire post.

    This is a post war account (1884) from a soldier who served in the 48th Miss. Here is an excerpt on uniforms, shows, and what a home made shirt sold for in Petersburg in 1864:

    The ingenuity of many of the soldiers was wonderful in providing personal comforts. Two usually bunked together, one man’s rations furnished the morning meal; the other the evening one. Blacking was made out of fine charcoal dust, set with sorgum syrup. It answered well enough; but drew myriads of flies. Shoes were patched and soled with the flap of cartridge boxes taken from some field of victory. The shoes furnished by the C.S. Government were utterly worthless. In many instances the leather would be green; and shoes of this make in wet weather showed a disposition to reverse _____ for the sole would certainly get on top; and the heel be opposite the ankle. The English shoes had a thin leather sole; and the filling was of paper; they answered well enough in camp and for cavalry; but for marches they were worthless. Our clothes were of every grade, copperas-hued pants would be patched behind with a large heart-shape patch of ‘Yankee blue,’ and contrasting oddly. No full uniform was to be seen amongst the soldiers of the line. A store shirt was a luxury, and one I owned was frequently borrowed by the gallants of the regiment when they called on the fair citizens of Petersburg. It was of course cotton with a pink plaitee or ruffled bosom. That was a shirt in those times. A blue half cotton shirt sent from home was sold in Petersburg for thirty-five dollars. Our uniforms, or what was intended for such, were of every description of material and cut. We used flannel nearly altogether, as it saved washing.


    In September 2011, I posted a reminiscence written by Frank H. Foote, who served in the “Claiborne Volunteers,” Company F, 48th Mississippi Infantry. If you have not read that previous …


    B.
    Bryant Roberts
    Palmetto Guards/WIG/LR

    Interested in the Palmetto Guards?
    palmettoguards@gmail.com

  • #2
    Re: Awesome Summer of 1864 CS account of life in the trenches

    I love the description of the shoes, and the fact they were trying to blacken them.
    Robert Johnson

    "Them fellers out thar you ar goin up against, ain't none of the blue-bellied, white-livered Yanks and sassidge-eatin'forrin' hirelin's you have in Virginny that run atthe snap of a cap - they're Western fellers, an' they'll mighty quick give you a bellyful o' fightin."



    In memory of: William Garry Co.H 5th USCC KIA 10/2/64 Saltville VA.

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    • #3
      Re: Awesome Summer of 1864 CS account of life in the trenches

      In the full article, I loved the part about the Confederate soldiers collecting shell fragments and selling them to scrap dealers. Now, that's something I'd never read before!
      Bill Rodman, King of Prussia, PA

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      • #4
        Re: Awesome Summer of 1864 CS account of life in the trenches

        Bill, while Katie and I were doing research for Bermuda Hundred she stumbled across an account of civilians in the area collecting un-exploded shells and trading them to the Army in exchange for food.
        Tyler Underwood
        Moderator
        Pawleys Island #409 AFM
        Governor Guards, WIG

        Click here for the AC rules.

        The search function located in the upper right corner of the screen is your friend.

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        • #5
          Re: Awesome Summer of 1864 CS account of life in the trenches

          I have read an account of AOT troops collecting spent rounds after doing target practice. Waste not want not!
          Robert Johnson

          "Them fellers out thar you ar goin up against, ain't none of the blue-bellied, white-livered Yanks and sassidge-eatin'forrin' hirelin's you have in Virginny that run atthe snap of a cap - they're Western fellers, an' they'll mighty quick give you a bellyful o' fightin."



          In memory of: William Garry Co.H 5th USCC KIA 10/2/64 Saltville VA.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Awesome Summer of 1864 CS account of life in the trenches

            In the OR's there's a very interesting report from the Confederate Ordnance Department on the booty collected from the Chancellorsville battlefield. If memory serves, they retrieved 12,000 pounds of lead.
            Bill Rodman, King of Prussia, PA

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            • #7
              Re: Awesome Summer of 1864 CS account of life in the trenches

              In The Petersburg Campaign, The Battle of the Crater, “The Horrid Pit,” by Michael A. Cavanaugh and William Marvel, it is written that by July, 1864, “Southerners had long since become accustomed to short rations and insufficient clothing, but now an even more basic part of a soldier’s equipment was growing scarce: the pig iron and lead needed for his ammunition. Now that the battle lines were static (the siege of Petersburg was now under way) and the men were growing bored with the tedium of the siege, the Confederate authorities were able to relieve both the shortage of metals and the ennui by ordering a daily scavenger hunt. Soldiers ranged behind their lines, picking up all the ordnance the Yankees had thrown at them. An unofficial competition among the Confederates of Bushrod Johnson’s division, opposite the IX Corps, appears to have been won by Private J. A. Reamy of the 34th Virginia, who collected 1567 bullets and four artillery projectiles in a single day. Archibald Gracie’s brigade accumulated almost four hundred pounds of lead and a thousand shot and shells in one day. All of this went up to Richmond to be recast or rearmed, after which it was shipped back to Petersburg and unceremoniously redelivered to the Army of the Potomac.”

              Tom Williams
              4th Virginia Infantry, Co. I
              Indianapolis
              Tom Williams

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