CS use of cut up common tents as flies

[High-Private]

Hi,

I was reading over the camp guidleines for the McDowell event and they mention the use of flies. Mainly, they mentioned that CS tropps took the ends off od the common tents to make flies out of them. How common was this practice? I would imagine that the ends of the tents would have to be damaged in order to do this, as I am sure the QM would get upset with the troops just cutting up issued items like that. Would it really lighten up the weight of the shelter that much?

Thank you,

Kevin Coyle, Lowly Private
4th Texas, company B

[Silas]

"The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage."

In Priest's book about the Wilderness, he noted a similar practice as CS troops prepared their advance into that campaign. Those tents were not going to get used during active campaign season, but the men needed some form of canvas for their minimal shelters and for other purposes. I looked for the reference he used, but did not locate it.

I suspect there is similar reasoning during this early part of what would become the Valley Campaign. A quote from correspondence by Maj. Gen. Ewell to Brig. Gen. Branch on May 15, 1862 - a week after McDowell - has a similar tone :

You cannot bring tents ; [bring] tent-flies without poles, or tents cut down to that size, and only as few as are indispensable. No mess-chests, trunks, &c. It is better to leave these things where you are than throw them away after starting. We can get along without anything but food and ammunition.

Vol. 12 (Pt. III) p. 891-92.

Correspondence between these two a day earlier had a similar tone :

We transport here (two days rations carried by the men) only necessary cooking utensils in bags (not chests), axes, picks, spades, and tent-flies, and the lawful amount of officers baggage and subsistence stores (80 to 100 pounds), horseshoes, & c. The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage. Your command might be advised that if overloaded with articles not indispensably necessary their progress in the march will be impossible, and only those troops whose light condition makes practicable will be carried on.

Vol. 12 (Pt. III) p. 890.

If you look at general orders and correspondence going into McDowell, you may find similar language about tents or shredding them. For information about general tentage practices during the war, here's a link to one of my old articles : http://44tennessee.tripod.com/tents.html

[High-Private]

Re: CS use of cut up common tents as flies

Hi,

Thank you for the information. It has given me something to ponder as a winter project.


Kevin Coyle
4th Texas Company B

[markj]

Re: CS use of cut up common tents as flies

Found this in the 23rd TN BN order book at the National Archives. It might be potentially interesting to you:

NARA RG 109, Ch. VIII, Vol. 340 "Miscellaneous Orders Received and Issued, Newman's Battalion of Tennessee Volunteers. 1862-1864.

General Order 78, 13 April 1863, HQ AoT (Braxton Bragg)

This order assigns "1 Tent to each Regiment for Medical Department, 1 " " " Regimental Hd Quarters, 2 " " " Brigade Hd Quarters, 2 " " " Division Hd Quarters 6 " Flies for every 100 men."

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[DougCooper]

Re: CS use of cut up common tents as flies

This general order is seen in many references in regimental histories and such and is very valuable. The 34th MS book cites it, etc. Its amazing how many men you can actually get under a full size fly when properly rigged (ask Silas). I would guess that the original intent was "one fly per company (100 men)" but by 1863 that would be a smaller number per company obviously and I can't imagine them taking flies away as the number of men in a regiment shrank due to death, wounds and disability.