Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

[molake]

Im a trying to find a book and cannot remember the title or the author. Its been many years but i remember a book similiar to Hardtack and Coffee but from a confederate viewpoint. It had similiar illustrations and talked of life on the march and in camp. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks

Michael B. Dunn

[Dignann]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

Michael,

Might it be Carlton McCarthy's Detailed Minutiae of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia 1861-1865. A paperback reprint was put out by the University of Nebraska Press (Bison Books) in 1993 and is easy to find. This edition includes a nice introduction discussing the book's long-standing popularity and its place in Confederate literature.

Eric

[molake]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

thats the one! Thank you much.

Michael B. Dunn

[Parault]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

I wasn't aware of any book relative to Hardtack & Coffee. I just ordered it from Amazon.

Thank You Eric

[Parault]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

Eric

The book that you suggested DETAILED MINUTIAE OF SOLDIER LIFE. Came in today. I wasn't aware that the book was part of Time Life books. I will open the book tonight once things quiet down.

Thank You Micheal and Eric for making this book known.

O....I failed to mention that I recieved the hardcover edition,which by the way,was in excellent condition.

[DougCooper]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

Its probably worth mentioning here that McCarthy was only a participant for the late stages of the war and takes much of his material from others. Additionally, it is probably safe to say his work had much to do with the myth of the always ragged rebel. So take some of what he says with a grain of salt...a big grain.

IMO, Hardtack and Coffee is still the best universal source for the day to day life of the soldier.

[Parault]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

I read the introduction. Much to my dismay,I read that he didn't join the Richmond Howitzers until Cold Harbor. I wasn't aware that he wrote this book from a late war perspective.
I haven't had the chance to read but a few pages. He is mentioning at this point,about the might of the U.S. Goverment during the war. I have only browsed through the pages at this time,notwithstanding I think, it will be an interesting read.

[molake]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

I just finished reading Gone For A Soldier, by Alfred Bellard. Excellent read about a soldier in the 5th New Jersey who served until the Chancellerssville Campaign, where he is wounded. Also lavishly illustrated!

Michael Dunn

[JimCarrol]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

What about the "Billy Yank" And "Johnny Reb" books? I forget who wrote them.

[Dignann]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

While it is true that McCarthy did not join a front line command until 1864, the importance of his work should not be dismissed. Only the last portion of the text is really autobiographical, but as Doug mentioned others doubtless contributed to the whole.

A Detailed Minutiae of Soldier Life was serialized in The Southern Historical Society Papers, a publication that more than an any other acted as a vehicle for the "Lost Cause" movement. In the SHSP, McCarthy's writings were tested among the thousands of veterans who experience more of the war than he, prior to being compiled in a single volume.

McCarthy's book is a tribute to the Confederate soldier and his trials during the war, but is also very reflective of the times in which it was written.

Eric

[MoFed]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

"What about the "Billy Yank" And "Johnny Reb" books? I forget who wrote them."

Bell Irwin Wiley. See also his "Southern Negros: 1861-65."

Charles D. Hoskins

[Marc29thGA]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

Bell Irvin Wiley wrote both "The Life of Johnny Reb" and "The Life of Billy Yank." “Johnny Reb” may have what you are looking for, it was a good read and one I want to read again one day.

Y.O.S.

[Marc29thGA]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

Woah - way too many mutiple posts - sorry, computer issues.

[DougCooper]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

While it is true that McCarthy did not join a front line command until 1864, the importance of his work should not be dismissed. Only the last portion of the text is really autobiographical, but as Doug mentioned others doubtless contributed to the whole.

A Detailed Minutiae of Soldier Life was serialized in The Southern Historical Society Papers, a publication that more than an any other acted as a vehicle for the "Lost Cause" movement. In the SHSP, McCarthy's writings were tested among the thousands of veterans who experience more of the war than he, prior to being compiled in a single volume.

McCarthy's book is a tribute to the Confederate soldier and his trials during the war, but is also very reflective of the times in which it was written.

Eric

Eric makes a great point here - it is not so much the what as the how and why that is the importance of McCarthy's book. My only concern is that it be used as a window into the mind and experiences of the Southern soldier, rather than a treatise on how he was dressed and what he carried. His personal late war perspective is doubtless accurate - he wrote the articles less than 10 years after the war and completed the book in 1882. The State Board of Education in Virginia adopted the book as text and it remained in use in the Virginia Educational system for 20 years. Wish it still had been when I was a student in the Old Dominion and lugging around the big pale green Virginia History book.

[Marc29thGA]

Re: Hard Tack And Coffee Confederate Equivalent

Woah - way too many mutiple posts - sorry, computer issues.