Food in the Trenches

[Moose]

All,

I am trying to compile primary source references to food being issued to troops during the Petersburg Siege. Yes, I know it was a long siege, but all references are welcome, both Confederate and Federal.

I have exhausted all of my personal resources, so that is why I am asking. It doesn't matter what state the unit is from, or where they were stationed along the line, I am looking for specific references to food the troops were being issued. Thats it.

All I ask, is that if you are going to post a reference please use proper MLA format, that way we can all use these as real references. Also, if there is a date associated with your reference, please note the date.

Thanks,

[bAcK88]

Re: Food in the Trenches

The new Hess book about the siege covers rations to both armies. I don't have my copy near me at present, but I believe its in the chapter on Trench life.

Hess, Earl J. "In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications and Confederate Defeat." The University of North Carolina Press (June 22, 2009).

[GreencoatCross]

Re: Food in the Trenches

I found a couple in three separate books I have here, all written by members of the 1st or 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters. Both regiments served continually during the siege of Petersburg and were also involved in several night-time raids on Confederate outposts or forts. Some of the foodstuffs mentioned in their letters or diaries are regular issue or specially procured by the commissary department. Others are foraged from civilians, traded for, purchased from sutlers, and in one case a forged order was used to basically steal from the commissary! I have several more transcribed letters and diaries, as well as some other memoirs, but I have to locate them...others are on loan to friends!

From "Soldiers In Green: Civil War Diaries of James Mero Matthews 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters;"

"Mon. July 11.....Drew pickled onions in the P.M. issued to the Army by the Sanitary.

Mon. Aug. 8....Had hard bread pudding for dinner.

Thurs. Aug. 11....Apple duff for dinner.

Thurs. Sept. 8....We are satisfying the inner man now with sweet potatoes only $0.15 per lb.

Thurs. Oct. 20....Argyle lost his beans last night - 127th appropriated them for their special use.

Mon. Oct. 24...Left a good pot of beans at old camp, but the boys as they returned from picket soon devoured them.

Fri. Nov. 25...Some turkey, cakes, etc. were issued to the men today as a Thanksgiving memento - it having been received one day late for a Thanksgiving dinner. A small dinner however when divided among the men."

From "Memoirs of a Swiss Officer in the American Civil War" by Capt. Rudolph Aschmann, Co. A 1st U.S.S.S.;

"Under the kitchen floor a man found some 20 pounds of best smoked ham which, of course, was immediately consumed by those standing close by." This apparently happened on the last day the 1st U.S.S.S. spent marching into Petersburg and was practically right behind the lines.

"...the Sanitary Commission sent several wagons filled with fruit, nourishing food...." This happened immediately after the Sharpshooters arrived at Petersburg, around June 16th to 18th. At the time they were halted and camped near the II Corps hospital which may account for fruit being on hand so readily.

"When we arrived in the new camp there already was such a severe lack of water that each regiment had to dig its own well. Good water was usually found only at a depth of 20 feet." Thought this may be of interest. The digging of wells, noted as having been lined with pork barrels and hardtack boxes, is a common theme in nearly every U.S.S.S. related text I have. Three separate diaries mention that some men had a knack for finding underground water by "divining" with sticks!

Finally, from "Letters From a Sharpshooter: The Civil War Letters of William B. Greene, Co. G Berdan's Sharpshooters (2nd Regt.);"

"Aug. 9th, 1864....I have just eaten my supper, which consisted of something I have not had since I left home. Tea, toast, soft bread & butter, boiled cabbage & pork, fried beef stake. Coffee with a little condensed cow in it. I can assure you that I made a supper of it & am now enjoying the pleasures of a Havana Cegar....I borrowed two dollars off of one of the N.H. boys in the 1st Regt. a while ago & I spent the last tonight for 1/2 lb. of butter, which is 75 cents a pound.

Aug. 21st, 1864....Anson Littlefield was pretty tight & F. Fullonton was so drunk that he could not speak nor see. Elias seemed glad to see me & gave me a can of milk & a lb. of sugar...I received your letter last night with stamps, tea, thread & money. The money came just in time as I felt pretty well worn out when I got here & could not eat hard bread & I took some of the money & bought me some cakes & cheese, which tasted good.

Aug. 24th/'64....I have just been to the commissary with a forged order of Capt. Smith's & got a peck of potatoes & 8 lbs onions & had a good supper of fried onions & potatoes. The potatoes are 40 cts a peck & the onions 6 cts a lb.

Sept. 1st, 1864...The principle articles of merchandise are Hard bread, coffee & sugar on our side & tobacco on the Johnny's side.

Sept. 6th, 1864....Last night I got three pounds of sweet potatoes & Fletch got some butter & I tell you we had a supper fit for a civilian. We have onions once in a while which we fry & make them quite eatable & when we can we buy flour & make flap jacks, which are as good as any I eat at home.

Sept. 12th, 1864....so we had to remain there in the pits all day in a hot sun without a mouthfull to eat, making 24 hours we went without food. Just as soon as it was dark, on the night of the 10th, I struck for camp & if I did not eat hard tack with good relish, I never did."

I hope you and others will find these useful! I'll check some other sources and post them if you are interested.

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Food in the Trenches

Bill & Brian,

Excellent Resources!!! Since I also have Hess's new book...I took the liberty of typing out the food stuff tonight:

Food, Water, and Sanitation

Union officers usually did no allow their men to build fires in the narrow trenches. This led Yankees to find a convenient ravine as close to the rear as possible and carry food and coffee into the works at dawn. A Fifth Corps regiment fortified its cookhouse with a horseshoe-shaped parapet linked to the main line with a covered way.10

The quality of rations and their preparation often were inadequate. The medical inspector of Fifth Corps saw men frying their food in greasy skillets, broiling it on sticks over fires, or boiling it in tin cups. The end result, in his opinion, was that they wasted part of their rations and wound up with miserable fare. The lack of fresh vegetables hurt John Haley the most. “We live mostly on promises of potatoes and ‘desecrated’ vegetables,” he complained on July 17. “But each of us gets so little of these that it is only an aggravation.” Haley saw many men who were sick because of inadequate diets and admitted that hundreds, himself included, “amble around on legs as raw as a piece of meat.” The United States Sanitary Commission garnered much praise for shipping tons of vegetables to Grant’s men in July. The shipments included pickled cucumbers, pickled onions, and dried apples, as well as fresh onions and lemons. Commission agents estimated that it would take 1,500 barrels of fresh potatoes to offer just one meal to every Federal along the Petersburg line, but they were able to send only 54 barrels.11

The story was much the same on the Confederate side. A Georgian reported that his comrades received just enough food “to keep sole and Boddy together.” Southerners learned to find substitutes for vegetables among various weeds and grasses. G.H. Dorman of Florida hated the sight of “old-time yard [parsley]” cooking over a fire; it reminded him of a “pot of earth worms boiled up.” He preferred lamb’s quarter, pepper grass, and poke leaves. Virginian J.T. Binford added watermelon vines to the list, “and a good many sorts of things that I never thought a cow would eat.” Richmond bureaucrats recognized the hardships of trench duty by adding coffee and sugar to the normal issue of bread and meat.12

It was also difficult to find a cup of good drinking water along the trench lines. Lewis Bissell of the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery informed his father that the water was white with various minerals. Left to settle in a cup overnight they formed up to half an inch of mud on the bottom. But Bissell mixed the relatively clear part with plenty of coffee and sugar and found it tasted “very good.” The Yankees began to sink wells as much as thirty feet deep because the surface water tended to be filthy. The ground was “alive with vermin,” and “maggots washed down from the hillsides abound in the runs and springs,” recalled Howard Aston in the Ninth Corps. Federal commissaries issued whiskey to those who labored on the fortifications. It amounted to half a gill per day in the Ninth Corps, but the men had to drink it in the presence of a commissioned officer.13

Let's keep this stuff coming...I'm sure there's LOTs more Petersburg references Joe!!

Paul B.

[Moose]

Re: Food in the Trenches

Bill,
I've been told by a few people to check that book out. Looks like I should.

Brian,
Thanks for those references. That's some good information.

Paul,
Your working with me on this project. You don't count.

Cheers,

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Food in the Trenches

Joe,

WWCH do?? I wonder what unread sources are sitting in the VHS waiting to be read after 150 years...sigh

Paul B.

[Scotty017]

Re: Food in the Trenches

Here are some references from William Ray's excellent diary. He was in the 7th Wisconsin. I think this is the correct MLA format.

Ray, William. Four Years with the Iron Brigade: The Civil War Journals of William Ray, Co. F. Seventh Wisconsin Infantry. Eds. Lance Herdegen and Sherry Murphy. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2002.

I'll try to use his spelling.

July 4, 1864 (p. 287)
We got some pickled cucumbers & onions this evening. They are verry nice. So much for the Sanitary Commission & we got 4 cans of preserved turkey, beef & tomatoes & once before get Sourkraut &c. We live well now. Verry.

July 7, 1864 (p. 288)
We drew rations this morning. Got onions & kraut &c. We got good rations now. Brinkman went over & got some butter & tobacco.

July 10, 1864 (p. 289)
This being ration day, I & the Boys here drew the rations & took ours out & sent theirs up to them. We drew two heads of cabbage & about 2 quarts of curry & about half bushel of onions turnips & beets togather. We are getting pretty well fed now.

July 13, 1864 (p. 289)
We lay in camp as usual. Cook & eat. We have some vegetables to cook, Turnips, cabbage, beets, onion. Just about a mouthful of each. But we are thankful for small favors. Take all together it will make a good meal.

July 18, 1864 (p. 292)
We live well now. We drew potatoes & cabbage &c, things in the Vegatable line. So that we have two or three meals out of a drawing if we boil them. But most of the Boys fry evrything. Fry. Fry. But I & my tentmate (a Dutchman) boil a good deal. Our icehouse has ceased to supply us, it being all gone.

September, 2, 1864 (p. 316)
So we retraced our steps for camp... to find our turnips, beets & soap &c which we drew yesterday, gone. ...We have lots of whiskey & Quinine furnished us just as much as the Boys will drink.

September 16, 1864 (p. 320)
We get plenty of rations, plenty of beef & good beef too.

September 21, 1864 (pp. 321-322)
...Perry got the flour for me today, got about 3 pounds for 20 cents. It will make several messes of pancakes & gravy a number of times. I got it for the latter mostly. It is verry kind in Cap to accommodate me so much. Privates are not allowed to buy. But in this way they don't know but it is to be used by the officer. If privates were allowed to by promiscuity they would buy it all from the officers & the Quartermaster could'nt furnish so much.

October 6, 1864 (p. 326)
I indulged a little today by the way of buying half package of flour. This flour is put up in 6 lbs packages & cost $1.00 & all we have to do is to mix it up with water & bake it. ...It is a great invention. The boys call it patent flour.

October 17, 1864 (p. 328)
The Sanitary Commision issued onions today. We got about 1 pound apiece. Good treat.

November 7, 1864 (p. 336)
We are having good living now since we got our mess kettle. We have soup half the time. We have flour. I bought a ball & we drew potatoes, so with Beef, Pork, Potatoes & flour we have some good messes.

November 17, 1864 (p. 337)
We can buy anything we want at the Commissary so we can live better, for we can get vegetable. George went & bought 25 cts worth of onions & we have some fine soups &c.

December 21, 1864 (p. 345)
We are short on for rations caused by us eating so hearty while working hard on our shanties & we have to buy some. There has been an order issued to the effect that no more whiskey shall be issued except on an order from Corps Headquarters.

January 4, 1865 (p. 352)
...we were out of bread & we got the Lieut to buy us a quarters worth (viz 4 loafs). The order allowing us to buy at the Brigade Commissaries has been rescinded so we have to get the officers to buy.

January 27, 1865 (p. 355)
There is rations of Whiskey issued now evry day. It has a good potion of quinine in it.

He also mentions some foraging they did. They foraged corn on August 24. On December 9 they got some corn and lots of beef. At that occasion he also mentioned that the foragers brought back, "liquors of one kind & another, viz. Peach Brandy & apple brandy & applejack &c." He also mentions things he got from home which include butter, dried beef, and cake dough.

There are many comments about drawing rations without describing of what they consisted. Also, he mentions eating hardtack several times but never the actual issuance.

There might have been some I missed. When I started looking for the food references, I was surprised how many there were.

[btfire]

Re: Food in the Trenches

From the Diary of Samuel C. Lowry, Lieutenant, 17th SCVI

“July 16th. Nothing unusual. Sharpshooting still going on. One man of Company D killed by sharpshooters, Wm Ritchey. No one else hurt. Rumors are rife, but nothing reliable. See no prospects of relief, rations very scarce, and men all anxious for a change.”
“July 18th…Living on corn bread and bacon, with cow peas occasionally. Will not be apt to get anything better this summer…”
Samuel C. Lowry, 1861-64, Galphin Family Papers Accession Number 14394, University of South Carolina

From the letters of A.F. Fewell, Private, 17th SCVI

11 Oct, 1864
“I have had to stop writing several times in writing these lines to perform some little duty required of me. It is now 12 Oclock and the Lt. has just bot a qt. Of Irish potatoes and they are to cook for our dinner. I don't feel hungry and shall not cook them yet awhile. One thing makes all we eat sweet, is that we always wait until we get hungry enough to make anything taste good.”

Robert H. Mackintosh, Jr, 1976, “Dear Martha”: The Confederate War Letters of a South Carolina Soldier, Columbia: R.L. Bryan Company

[Hardtack Herring]

Re: Food in the Trenches

I was told by a park ranger at Petersburg many cans were found in the federal trenches. He said it seemed the Yankee soldiers were spending there money on canned food from the sutlers.

[Co D-1st FL]

Re: Food in the Trenches

All,


All I ask, is that if you are going to post a reference please use proper MLA format, that way we can all use these as real references. Also, if there is a date associated with your reference, please note the date.

Thanks,

I hate to show my ignorance but what is the "proper MLA format"?

[Benedict]

Re: Food in the Trenches

I hate to show my ignorance but what is the "proper MLA format"?

A way to quote sources. Cf. this website here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

Though it is (at least to my knowledge) more commonly used when one is writing about fiction. One style often used for history is the "Chicago" style (please correct me if I am wrong).

[Co D-1st FL]

Re: Food in the Trenches

Thank you.

[FortyRounder]

Re: Food in the Trenches

A way to quote sources. Cf. this website here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

Though it is (at least to my knowledge) more commonly used when one is writing about fiction. One style often used for history is the "Chicago" style (please correct me if I am wrong).

You are correct. MLA is used for literature and literature studies. Historians and history students use the Chicago style. (Though I think most of us on this forum are just happy to see someone actually using citations, and wouldn't quibble on the method employed!)

[Moose]

Re: Food in the Trenches

All,

Thanks so far for the references. Keep'em comming. I must admit, my personal library is not as big as I wish it was, which is why I am asking for the references.

As far a citation style, it doesn't matter. The more acedemic of historians will use Chicago when writting, this is true. I said MLA simply for the fact that I find it easier to look up a reference in MLA stlye then Chicago style when I do not have a publication in front of me. Choose what style you will. Documentation is good.

Cheers,