{"id":1312,"date":"2024-12-02T17:06:07","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T22:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cvbt.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=1312"},"modified":"2025-04-10T10:36:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T14:36:40","slug":"woprking-blog-copy-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cvbt.org\/woprking-blog-copy-6\/","title":{"rendered":"“I Think It Will Make A Fine Dish”: Soldiers and Food on Central Virginia’s Battlefields – Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“I Think It Will Make A Fine Dish”: Soldiers and Food on Central Virginia’s Battlefields – Part II<\/h1>\n<\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n
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A camp cooking scene by Charles Wellington Reed.  (Library of Congress)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As discussed in Part I, Civil War soldiers had the unique ability to find sustenance even when their governments failed to provision them properly. Whether those deficiencies developed due to a lack of raw materials, manufacturing breakdowns, or distribution issues, soldiers often supplemented particularly bleak periods by foraging and requesting food items from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The food-related situations that soldiers experienced and mentioned during the Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville Campaigns carried on through 1863 and into 1864 for the most part. The Mine Run Campaign, and the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House all include soldiers\u2019 accounts discussing food and cooking, but interestingly, the Mine Run Campaign seems to have the largest number of food references out of the three. That may be because of a couple of factors. First, the Mine Run Campaign resulted in less fighting than the other two battles, which in turn offered more extended periods during the campaign for soldiers to write letters and record their thoughts in their dairies. Additionally, the soldiers on both sides returned to their winter camps following the Mine Run campaign to share their recent adventures with friends and family back home. Conversely, the first two battles of the Overland Campaign offered little time for such activities. Between the fighting and maneuvering in early and mid-May 1864, soldiers did not have as much time or energy to leave large amounts of immediate documentation as they did in late November and early December 1863.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mine Run Campaign<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Thanksgiving in Camp”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although this Harper’s Weekly woodcut print from a Winslow Homer sketch depicts a Union camp during the 1862 Thanksgiving season, each Thanksgiving of the war had a unique way of making soldiers on both sides think about the differences between food at home and their army rations. (Harpers Weekly, November 29, 1862)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just before the Mine Run Campaign, William McKenzie Thompson of the 15th New Jersey wrote to his local newspaper with some sarcasm about their delay in supply due to railroad disruptions. \u201cArmy pies (hard tack) are not usually in very great demand in camp of late, particularly as they are so full of worms. Even if we are accustomed to privations and hardships, we can scarcely relish Uncle Samuel\u2019s mode of giving us a combination of meat and bread, especially worms. Sometimes we are fortunate to get good hard tack\u2014and any one who ever saw them knows they are hard enough even at the best\u2014but of late we more frequently are unfortunate in getting poor ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong>The campaign\u2019s timing coincided with the traditional observance of Thanksgiving time. Naturally, army movements at this time of year made some soldiers, including Lt. Cornelius Moore of the 57th New York, think about better fed times at home. Lt. Moore noted of his special meal: \u201cMy \u2018Thanksgiving Dinner\u2019 consisted of \u2018hard tack,\u2019 fat pork, cold, and water, ditto, –was partaken of on the river\u2019s bank. I seldom, if ever, relished one more,\u201d he wrote to his sister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Similarly, the 14th Connecticut Infantry\u2019s Capt. Samuel W. Fiske, who regularly wrote to the Springfield, Massachusetts Republican<\/em> newspaper under the pseudonym Dunn Browne, sent an article titled \u201cThe Soldier\u2019s Thanksgiving\u201d on November 25, 1863, on the eve of the Mine Run Campaign. In the essay, Fiske noted that he sent a requisition to the brigade commissary for his officers\u2019 mess for a turkey, three chickens, 11 mince pies, 200 oysters, two bushels of winter apples, one pumpkin, eight dozen eggs, one gallon of milk, ten pounds of hardtack, and four pounds of pork. He explained that his list was returned with all items \u201ccrossed out except the last two\u2014the pork and crackers!\u201d He closed that he hoped \u201csome of you will have considerably forestalled me and set forth your festive table with a big chunk of fat pork and a plate of hard bread to sympathize with a soldier\u2019s Thanksgiving dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Foraging activities supplemented army rations but often came with risks. By Winslow Homer  (Library of Congress) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While still in their camps, some soldiers mentioned eating well. For example, the day before heading out on the Mine Run Campaign, Pvt. George Perkins, Sixth New York Independent Battery, wrote in his diary that he \u201cOccupied most of the afternoon in boiling some pork and cabbage.\u201d However, it did not take long for supplies to begin to run low and soldiers began to forage. Perkins supplemented his rations on November 29 when his battery was allowed to go away from the lines to forage for their horses and themselves. In doing so, \u201cWe came across a drove of small pigs and charged them,\u201d Perkins explained. Finally catching one they took the fresh pork to camp. According to Perkins, comrades came back with \u201cchickens, pigs, potatoes, cabbages, onions, all sorts of other stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Lt. Robert S. Robinson, 93rd New York Infantry, noted in his diary on November 29, 1863, that \u201cWe received instructions this evening from Gen. Meade that the rations and forage must be used sparingly, and not wasted, for we may have to live on half rations before the Campaign is over. The boys find a good deal to eat in the shape of poultry, sheep and hogs, as the army had never been through here before, and as long as they find something to steal, I don\u2019t believe they will live on half rations. Marauding is strictly forbidden, but all the orders will not stop the men from regaling themselves on fresh meat & poultry when they can find it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The 8th Ohio Infantry\u2019s, Sgt. Thomas Galwey remembered that where his regiment was positioned at Mine Run there was \u201ca farm house and numerous outhouses, pigsties, chicken coops, etc. These last are soon emptied. A confusion of sounds reaches the ear. There is the gabble of frightened poultry, running to save their necks, and the squeal of pigs as they felt the cold steel of a soldier\u2019s bayonet. The men are hallowing to one another as they try to find their companions in the now thickening darkness of night. But as soon as the coffee is boiled, the fresh pork and the fowl consumed, quiet grows apace, and all who are not on guard are soon asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The 17th Maine\u2019s Pvt. John Haley found himself on picket duty on the night of November 29 where he \u201cfound a rare thing: a farmhouse full of eatables.\u201d Believing there was more there than the inhabitants required, the men \u201cproceeded to lay out such things as we had need of\u2014and we had need of everything. Most of the night was spent in bringing in poultry, mutton, pigs, fruit, and flour.\u201d Preoccupied with their gathering they did not take time for cooking, and when morning came, Haley noted they \u201chad to put as much as we could in our haversacks, leaving the rest for whoever saw fit to care for it.\u201d Three days later, after mentioning on November 30 about being on half rations and on December 1 about suffering \u201ca miserable apology for a breakfast,\u201d Haley and his comrades finally received rations of fresh beef. However, Haley used a biblical reference to note that \u201cthe measure of our needs is so great that it was another case of dividing the five loaves and two fishes among the multitude.\u201d Although not satisfied, they \u201cgnawed bones like dogs,\u201d and \u201cstripped fat from the entrails with . . . a relish.\u201d Haley explained that their \u201cgreediness is partially the result of the extraordinary cold, and partly due to the fact that our rations have dwindled to next to nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“An Innocent Victim” – Illustration by William Ludlow Sheppard From Detailed Minutiae of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865 by Carlton McCarthy, published in 1899.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elisha Hunt Rhodes, 2nd Rhode Island Infantry, noted in his diary on December 1, 1863, that the regiment\u2019s mess servant found a turkey. \u201cThis they roasted, and with sweet potatoes and new bread and butter they appeared to us at about 2 P.M.,\u201d Rhodes jotted. Joined by an officer of the 10th Massachusetts, they were ready to feast and have the chaplain give thanks, when \u201cbang went a gun, and a shell from the enemy howled over our heads.\u201d Bundling up the meal in a rubber blanket, they \u201cmoved under a knoll where we enjoyed a feast,\u201d Rhodes wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Pvt. David Holt of the 16th Mississippi Infantry remembered a soldier\u2019s humorous quest to capture a rooster at house between the opposing lines at Mine Run. After hearing the rooster crow, the soldier, laying his gun on the ground, ran through the skirmish line to the house. \u201cHe caught up with the rooster on our side of the house and the chase commenced,\u201d Holt recalled. \u201cWe opened up a brisk fire on the Yanks to protect him all we could and when the chase went to the Union side of the house they \u201cpopped away at him.\u201d Falling down several times, the soldier finally \u201ccaught the bird against the door jam[b]. The rooster squalled, the man whooped, we hollered and the Yanks huzzahed.\u201d Apparently, all could commiserate with a hungry soldier’s quest for a meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Along with confiscating foodstuffs, soldiers also appropriated the most readily available fuel sources for cooking. Whether that was cutting down trees, pulling buildings apart, or scavenging fence rails, wood, much like livestock and crops, often disappeared when armies were around. Sketch by Alfred Waud. (Library of Congress)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On November 30, 1863, William Ray of the 7th Wisconsin Infantry, wrote in his diary, \u201cWe drew Beef this evening and a little later we drew 5 days rations of sugar, coffee, meat and hardtack & salt. Some or most of the boys was out of rations. Some had not bread for 4 or 5 meals back. I, having more than I would eat gave some 25 crackers to them. I have a good large haversack and took care of & drew all I get. While some of those hungry chaps was playing Poker instead of drawing their full rations.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extreme cold experienced during the Mine Run Campaign made things particularly difficult for the soldiers. The 121st New York Infantry\u2019s surgeon, Daniel Holt, noted that the cold was bad enough on its own, but \u201cthe still greater suffering of not being permitted to light a fire at which you might warm your freezing feet and hands,\u201d was miserable. Not having fires also meant not being able \u201cto boil our coffee\u2014a beverage the most highly prized of anything which a soldier can enjoy. . . .\u201d Holt viewed the \u201cno fires\u201d order as ridiculous. According to him, the Confederates knew they were there \u201cand every rebel knew as well or better than we, that the object of the move was to offer battle on the day succeeding.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 When Gen. Meade decided not to attack the Confederate fortifications at Mine Run, his soldiers were relieved to hear the news. However, depleted food supplies caused grumbling while awaiting orders to withdraw. On the way back to their Culpeper County winter camps, New York artillerist George Perkins wrote, \u201cRations getting short. Nothing but a little flour and some boiled beef furnished just on meal and which was all we had this day.\u201d Corp. Thomas Mann, 18th Massachusetts Infantry, wrote about December 1: \u201cour rations had now given out and I had been 26 hours without a morsel of bread.\u201d Mann added, \u201cFrom Thursday [December 1] noon I eat nothing until 12 o\u2019clock at night when our rations came up so that all I could get to eat for over 40 hours was 1\/4th lb raw pork and 2 \u00bd hardtack. Likewise, Massachusetts soldier Corp. Joseph Hodgkins concurred with Perkins and Mann, writing in his diary about the slim rations at the end of the campaign. On December 2, Hodgkins wrote \u201cHad but a little over four hardtack since yesterday.\u201d Massachusetts artillery bugler Charles Wellington Reed, wrote to his mother soon after the campaign and in answering her question about how the mission went, he noted, \u201cif I must speak the truth we did suffer both from the severity of the weather and scarcity of rations.\u201d He elaborated by stating, \u201cour rations were only coffee, hard tack, and pork scant at that[.] vegetables are altogether out of the question on a campaign, in fact we have had potatoes and onions but twice since we have been back.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Even Confederate soldiers noted their foe\u2019s food woes. Pvt. Walter Battle, 4th North Carolina Infantry, wrote to his mother from his camp near Morton\u2019s Ford on December 3, 1863. After providing a run down on the recent events, Pvt. Battle mentioned that while following the Union army to the Rapidan River his regiment captured some stragglers. Several, being without food for a few days, tried to buy some from the Confederates. One famished Federal soldier offered to give Walter \u201chis knapsack and everything in it\u201d if he gave the hungry soldier a cracker. Walter thought the deal was too good to pass up. Inside the knapsack were several valuable items: \u201cA pair of new shoes and a Yankee tent are things that money will not buy. I would not take $25.00 for my tent which he gave me. They are large enough for two [men], and so light that you can roll them in your knapsack and not feel the weight at all,\u201d he cheerfully wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Some soldiers commented on the stinginess of their comrades when food got short. The 15 New Jersey’s Sgt. Lucien A. Vorhees, wrote to the Hunterdon Republican<\/em> newspaper upon returning to camp after Mine Run. He explained that \u201cOur marches have been rapid, and what was most appalling starvation threatened us. Hard tack gave out with many, and had it not been for the timely arrival at a depot of supplies and the kind sharing of comrades who were fortunate enough to have a few crumbs, our case would have been deplorable. I regret to mention that we have comrades who, with hard tack in their haversacks, when asked by hungry mouths for \u2018just one\u2019 gruffly retorted, \u2018I have none to spare.'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As long as the armies maintained lines of communication with bases of supplies, their soldiers usually received rations on a regular basis. Shown here is an overturned train on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad near Brandy Station. (Library of Congress)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was like a supply faucet turned back on when Union soldiers returned to their winter camps. Corp. Hodgkins, now back in camp, penned in his diary, \u201cReceived some rations and not one moment sooner than needed.\u201d Corp. Mann wrote, \u201cWe now have plenty and today got a ration of soft bread.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 While the Federals ate much better once they returned to their Culpeper camps and had the convenient Orange and Alexandria Railroad supply line handy, rations remained tight for their Confederate counterparts who were mostly spread through northern Orange County. Writing to his mother a couple of weeks after the conclusion of the Mine Run Campaign, Jerome Yates of the 16th Mississippi expressed that he wished that his regiment had been sent to Western Virginia. \u201cThat part of the country is such a good country for something to eat,\u201d Yates explained. He noted that \u201cRations are pretty scarce here at present. Only one [ration of] flour and one of meat per day, which is not more than half what a man can eat when he does not get anything else to go with it.\u201d Additionally, he felt \u201cMoney is still scarce and what we have we can not b[u]y anything with [it to eat] as everything is so high. . . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Battle of the Wilderness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Wagon Park- Brandy Station, Va., May 1864”   Supplies like food for both the soldiers and the animals had to be transported via wagons once the armies left their railroad connections. (Library of Congress)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As was the case with most campaigns, logistical preparation began long before the marching and fighting started. That preparation usually involved gathering food supplies from whatever sources possible when rations were scarce, and issuing and cooking rations on the eve of the campaign when more prevalent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 On April 29, 1864, just before receiving orders for what would be the beginning of the grueling Overland Campaign, Sgt. Marion Hill Fitzpatrick, 45th Georgia Infantry, gleefully wrote to his wife Amanda about the box she sent. \u201cThe weather is pleasant, and we are living high on the contents of our box. We have biscuits for breakfast every morning and cornbread for supper or dinner. I do not know which you would call it, as we only eat twice a day and have no regular time to do that. My piece of meat is of great value. The [ration] meat we draw is very inferior, and come in small doses,\u201d Sgt. Fitzpatrick explained from his Orange County camp. Later in the same letter he wrote about some variety added to their diet: \u201cWe had a mess of fish for breakfast this morning which was quite a treat to us. We also has biscuits and coffee which went fine with the fish and gravy.\u201d It would be some time before he would eat as well again.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Writing regularly to the Springfield, Massachusetts Republican<\/em> newspaper, Connecticut soldier Capt. Samuel Fiske, who used the pseudonym Dunn Brown, shared some thoughts about food rations on the eve of the Battle of the Wilderness. \u201cDoes it ever occur to anyone who is thinking of the liberal rations of our government, to ask whether the soldier, as a matter of fact, gets that full allowance [of rations]?” Fiske explained that if a soldier did indeed receive the additional foodstuffs that regulations suggested (beans, rice, molasses, potatoes, etc.) \u201che would be able to satisfy his appetite very reasonably, and even have something over.\u201d But, as it traditionally went, when on campaign, soldiers only received hardtack and a meat ration \u201cand nothing else except a small allowance of sugar and coffee.\u201d Fiske went on to note that \u201cThis hard bread is frequently spoiled by wet, and some part of it unfit to eat by reason of bugs and worms.\u201d Fiske suggested that when supplementals like beans and rice are not issued, \u201cat least 12 pr 14 crackers a day should be issued to make a ration good.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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During much of the winter of 1863-1864, Confederates lived on reduced rations in their Orange County winter quarters.  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Illustrated London News, April 4, 1864)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 3, 1864, as he and his comrades were about to start heading east to meet the Federals crossing the Rapidan River and what would become the Battle of the Wilderness, Henry Beck of the 5th Alabama noted in his diary, \u201cOur long-expected box cam to hand this morn\u2019g about 11 or 12 o\u2019cl\u2019k. Almost all its contents were ruined. But the pepper, sage, catsup, ham, candy & some of the cake, were all pretty good\u2014the first three articles being as good as ever. We gave a sort of treat of the articles to our mess.\u201d Company comrade James Pickens penned the following day, May 4, \u201cSo we were up at about 3 or 3 \u00bd o\u2019cl\u2019k this morn\u2019g, & after eating a breakfast of some our ham broiled I corn-bread, got ready. . . .\u201d Later that evening James wrote, \u201cWe were supplied with rations to-night, & those detailed to cook them made so much noise & bustle all the night that Sam & I got very little sleep.\u201d Their comrade Joel McDiarmid noted that they \u201cGot two days rations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The 121st New York\u2019s First Sgt. John F. L. Hartwell penned in his diary on May 4 that \u201cAt day light we moved out of Camp on our Spring Campaign with 6 days rations.\u201d Later the same day, Hartwell jotted that \u201cWe got Supper & drew rations of fresh beef.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The day before the Battle of the Wilderness began, Lt. William C. Nelson wrote to his mother with an update. Toward the end of the letter, he noted the scarcity of food. \u201cFor the past two month we have been living quite hard, in the Army of [Northern] Virginia, the officers ration messes have has proven a lamentable failure, an officer and his servant are now compelled to live on one ration,\u201d Nelson explained. He then ran down their typical meals: \u201cBreakfast, a piece of cornbread, they give us no flour now, a piece of meat about 2 inches square, \u00bd inch thick, a cup of coffee, quite frequently we have no meat for breakfast, when we eat hearty dinners, we dine on meat and bread without the coffee and sup on nothing.\u201d Regardless, Lt. Nelson wrote, \u201cI am perfectly contented and never enjoyed better health.\u201d He felt fortunate to recently buy some bacon with gold, but noted that near Richmond it cost $7 or $8 per pound and that flour went for $1.25 per pound. \u201cWe must grin and endure,\u201d Nelson ended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unidentified Union soldier.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soldiers typically carried their rations in their haversack. As one might image, with salt pork and hardtack crumbs, haversacks could be messy. Some Union haversacks came with removable button-in liners that could be replaced or removed for washing. Some soldiers carried their rations in individual cotton bags inside their haversacks. (Library of Congress)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few things were more exasperating to a soldier than losing a vital piece of equipment. During their early May 1864 movement from Ely\u2019s Ford and then through the old Chancellorsville battlefield, Pvt. George Perkins and his Sixth New York Independent Battery stopped and watered their horses twice. Apparently, along the way Perkins, \u201cLost my haversack on the road with all my rations.\u201d However, he seemed more upset with the loss of his \u201cknife, fork and spoon.\u201d One wonders if he lost it, or if it was taken by a hungry comrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 On the first day of the Battle of the Wilderness, Alabamian James Pickens explained that they got breakfast at about 6:00 am. He wrote that it \u201cwas very good one, of some of our sausages & corn-bread.\u201d On the morning of the 6th, James detailed in his diary that he \u201cAte a hasty breakfast of a mouthful or two of fish & crackers & a cup of coffee,\u201d before going to a nearby hospital to recuperate from illness. An Army of the Potomac counterpart, New Yorker First Sgt. John F. L. Hartwell, wrote in his diary on May 6: \u201cSoon after daylight we joined our Brigade which by some mistake we got strayed from during the night. After we halted we got breakfast of hardtack & coffee & some lay down to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Pvt. Wilbur Fisk of the 2nd Vermont Infantry wrote to his newspaper on May 9, describing the terrible fighting at the Wilderness that his famous Vermont Brigade endured. After witnessing a comrade killed beside him and then having an officer\u2019s horse step on his foot, Fisk made his way to the rear. As he explained, \u201call I thought of was a cup of coffee, and a dinner of hard tack.\u201d Feeling that \u201cMy patriotism was well nigh used up, and so was I, till I had some refreshments. I made a deep impression on my haversack, which nourished my fighting qualities so I could return to my regiment,\u201d Fisk penned. Such “self-care” measures during campaigns were fairly common. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“As You Were” By Charles Wellington Reed While on campaign, Civil War soldiers typically cooked in “messes,” a small group of men who rotated duties and pooled their rations and resources.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Library of Congress)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 7, 1864, Sgt. Charles McKnight of the 88th Pennsylvania Infantry scribbled in his diary about his regiment’s recent marching and fighting. That day’s entry included that they “Built two lines of Brest Works and at night marched to the rear Where We Cooked Coffee and Beef Steaks and then marched for Spotsylvania. Marched all night.\u201d Similarly, McKnight’s fellow 88th comrade, Pvt. John Vautier, wrote in his journal the same day: \u201cClear, Hot, and Sultry. The first thing after we cooked our coffee, and eat our hard tack and pork, was to throw up breastworks on the Germanna Ford Road.\u201d Soldiers like McKnight and Vautier became resourceful scavengers when it came to finding fuel to cook their food and boil their coffee. \u201cLate in the afternoon we marched back to the center and massed. There was no firewood around for the men to make fire with, but there was a frame schoolhouse near by, and that was torn to pieces in a little while and fuel obtained to cook coffee with,\u201d Vautier noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 New Yorker Sgt. John Hartwell wrote in his diary the following day that \u201cThrough the night we lay on our arms in line of battle but before laying down we drew 5 days rations & one ration of fresh beef.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 While lying in battle at the Po River on May 8, Lt. Robert Robertson of Gen. Nelson Miles\u2019s staff noted in his diary, \u201cAbout half past 3 Capt. Thompson brought up 5 wagons of rations and two bullocks for the brigade and began distributing rations. The wagons were partially unloaded and the cattle were hamstrung to prevent them from running away, when suddenly a volley of musketry . . . startled us, and all was in confusion for a moment.\u201d The confusion turned into a withdraw, thus \u201cThe wagons were sent back, and 17 boxes of hard bread were left in front of us. The hamstrung bullocks were wild and crazy with the noise [of battle], and rushed madly about goring everything that came in their way, and I saw one of them kill a wounded man who was going to the rear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Beef for the Army – On the March” Sketch by Edwin Forbes While on campaign, herds of beef cattle often supplied fresh meat rations to the soldiers of both armies.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Library of Congress)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mississippian Pvt. David Holt remembered keenly that \u201cOn the night of May 11th, we halted in a pasture on the right hand side of the road. It was raining hard and we were too worn out to attempt making a fire and cooking mush. We laid down on the wet ground with about as much comfort as a wet starving steer.\u201d Exhausted from the near constant fighting of the last week, Holt recalled that \u201cI had a few morsels of wet corn pone and a small piece of bacon which was not dry nor cooked, and, after eating that moist ration, I wrapped a soaking wet blanket around me and went to sleep in a puddle of mud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Brig. Gen. Nelson Miles\u2019s brigade fought with other Second Corps troops at the Muleshoe Salient on the morning of May 12, but being shattered after about three hours of fighting in a downpour, and with the enlisted men refusing to go forward again, they withdrew and worked on entrenchments. Establishing a headquarters, Lt. Robert Robertson of Miles\u2019s staff noted that \u201cThere was now by little firing and we had time to recollect that we had fasted all day, and were very tired besides, so a fire was built to cook our supper and dry us, for we were chilled in our wet clothes.\u201d As soon as they kindled a fire, Confederate bullets came whizzing through the woods aimed at their silhouettes. The group of officers doused the fire, built a screen of tree boughs and started another fire. \u201cWe had a cup of coffee and a supper of \u2018Hard tack\u2019 and beef, and rarely have I relished a supper as I did that, lying on the battlefield, scarcely knowing but that each morsel we ate might be our last. We had finished our coffee and another pot was boiling for the orderlies, when\u2014ping! Came a bullet, passing through the pot and letting out the coffee,\u201d Lt. Robertson noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 While serving as a staff officer for Sixth Corps commander Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright, Lt. Col. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. took time to jot in his diary on May 12, 1864, at Spotsylvania. On what may be the fiercest day of fighting in the whole Civil War, Holmes at one place in that day\u2019s longer-than-normal entry, briefly broke from reporting on the battle to mention a trivial observance. \u201cAll day we have been fighting & are banging away still\u2014bullets are now whistling round these H.Q. & meanwhile a flock of little chickens are peeping & cheeping\u2014their mother no doubt being in the belly of some soldier,\u201d Holmes wrote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The Turkey He Didn’t Catch” Hardtack and Coffee, Or the Unwritten Story of Army Life by John Billings, published 1884. Poultry was a particular treat to foraging soldiers when they could catch them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 12, Fifth Corps Chief of Artillery, Charles Wainwright, noted in his diary that \u201cIn our domestic affairs we manage to rub along, not expecting much luxury in eating or comfort in sleeping in such times as these.\u201d Wainwright wondered how he was able to go on \u201conly four or six hours\u2019 sleep,\u201d but explained that \u201cexcitement does wonders\u201d for keeping one awake. Being an officer, Wainwright had the option of having a servant forage and prepare meals, a luxury not afforded to enlisted men and non-commissioned officers. He mentioned that \u201cDr. Thompson\u2019s boy [servant] acts as cook. He does quite tolerably, considering; better a good deal than Ben [Wainwright\u2019s servant]. Fried potatoes is his \u2018piece de resistance.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Left to tend to Federal wounded, and for a time behind lines and cut off from supplies when the Army of the Potomac moved from the Wilderness to Spotsylvania, Maj. William Watson, who served as surgeon for the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry, found himself in an unenviable position. In an attempt to get help, he sent a letter to an unidentified superior on May 19, 1864. In the letter, Maj. Watson explained his dire circumstances: \u201cI have in charge 275 wounded, including 50 amputations and resections and have neither food, clothing, nor supplies of any kind, the men have been living on hard bread and water for three days, the Coffee was expended on Sunday [May] 12, the sugar on the 13th,  and I feel satisfied that many have already died from want of proper sustenance.\u201d Having previously tried other means, Watson ran into red tape and excuses from his side as well as the enemy. Exasperated, the surgeon continued that, \u201cour last cracker was issued this morning and if relief is not afforded the men will die of sheer starvation. I applied to the Confederates, they replied that nothing prevented us from receiving supplies from our own lines.\u201d Watson and his patients finally received help on May 28, when Federal authorities in Fredericksburg sent cavalry, infantry, and 36 ambulances for them.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The 5th Alabama Infantry’s James Pickens, who at the time of Spotsylvania was helping in field hospital noted in his diary on May 13 that \u201cMaj. Webster recd me kindly & gave me a very nice warm dinner. Rice, nice hot biscuits, ham (broiled) & coffee with sugar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Elisha Hunt Rhodes, 2nd Rhode Island Infantry, penned in his diary on May 18, 1864, that after an attack on the Confederate line that day he ushered his men back into the protection of a woods. In doing so he met a staff officer of Gen. Frank Wheaton\u2019s who had his servant with him and invited Rhodes to breakfast with them. Rhodes wrote that \u201cWe had some hot bread and broiled shad which some one had caught in one of the streams. Notwithstanding the Rebel shells I enjoyed my breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Writing to his sister, Theora, at the tail end of Spotsylvania, Lt. James B. Thomas, 107th Pennsylvania, noted his worries about his horse getting enough food. As for himself he seemed pleased that \u201cLast night we secured a ham for our mess which is quite a treat. Hard tack, coffee & pork[,] chip beef, flannel cakes [pancakes] and an occasional cup of tea\u201d rounded out his recent meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 As previously mentioned, cattle herds followed the armies in almost every campaign providing fresh beef to soldiers and adding a bit of variety to the more common salt pork for meat rations. The 141st Pennsylvania\u2019s Pvt. Joel Molyneux wrote in his diary on Wednesday, May 18, 1864, from Spotsylvania, that in addition to all the military action and moving about that that day they drew \u201cfresh beef, get supper, go to bed,\u201d but that they were \u201crouted out at 11 [p.m.] to move [to a new position].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Describing the action at Harris Farm on May 19, 1864, in his diary First Sgt. Hartwell noted that \u201cIn the afternoon just at sunset the rebels made a desprate Attempt to turn our right by charging which at first seemed likely to be suckcessfull. they were finaly put to rout by the 2nd Corps & some heavy Artillery.\u201d Hartwell explained that \u201cThe rebs took 18 wagons loaded with harde bread[,] as they could not readily take them away they commenced to deal them out to their men.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Almost a week later, Holmes jotted that he arrived at Army Headquarters at 8:50 a.m. and [Capt. Charles] \u201cCadwalader gave me a swallow of brandy & [Lt. Col. Theodore] Lyman 2 hardtack & some guava wh[ich] revived me after riding all yesterday, last night & this morning & having nothing since dinner yesterday & no sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Going into Bivouac at Night” By Edwin Forbes (Library of Congress) At night, when on campaign, soldiers kindled thousands of small campfires to create enough heat to cook rations and boil coffee.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through 1863 and into 1864, Civil War soldiers’ dietary staples of salt pork, fresh beef, hardtack, and cornmeal remained ever-present. However, when supply and distribution issues arose, causing a reduction in rations, the above primary sources make it clear that soldiers tried to find ways to feed themselves and also introduce some variety into their diets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Other than potatoes and onions, and an occasional pilfered apple or sweet potato, or dried fruit sent from home, soldiers rarely mentioned consuming fruits and vegetables. Not eating these vitamin-rich foods consistantly wreaked havoc on their health. Some did recognize their benefit. For example, a couple of weeks before the beginning of the Overland Campaign, Walter Battle of the 4th North Carolina Infantry noted in a letter home that “nearly the whole regiment amused themselves gathering wild onions. The doctors recommend them very highly on account of their preventing scurvy. Gen. Ransom had a kettle for each company brought down the line, for the purpose of cooking them.” But other than some soldiers occasionally receiving desiccated (dried) vegetables, there was not much at the time that the armies could do to prevent their rapid spoilage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 When it came to food shortages and monotonous diets, as Mississippian Lt. William C. Nelson noted above, soldiers often had to just “grin and endure.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some Sources and Suggested Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

John D. Billings. Hardtack and Coffee, Or the Unwritten Story of Army Life<\/em>. George M. Smith and Company, 1884.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Peter S. Carmichael. The War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought, and Survived in Civil War Armies<\/em>. The University of North Carolina Press, 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 William C. Davis. A Taste For War: A Culinary History of the Blue and the Gray<\/em>. Stackpole Books, 2003<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Carlton McCarthy. Detailed<\/em> Minutiae of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865. <\/em>B. F. Johnson Publishing Company, 1899.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Bell Irvin Wiley. The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union<\/em>. Louisiana State University Press, (reprint 2008).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Bell Irvin Wiley. The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy<\/em>. Louisiana State University Press, (reprint 2008). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Parting Shot<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The Coffee Call” By Winslow Homer (Library of Congress)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes, where companies preferred it, the rations were served out to them in the raw state; but there was no invariable rule in this matter. I think the soldiers, as a whole, preferred to receive their coffee and sugar raw, for rough experience in campaigning soon made each man an expert in the preparation of this beverage. Moreover, he could make a more palatable cup for himself than the cooks made for him; for too often their handiwork betrayed some of the other uses of the mess kettles to which I have made reference. Then, again, some men liked their coffee strong, others weak; some liked it sweet, others wished little or no sweetening; and this latter class could and did save their sugar for other purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Capt. Augustus C. Brown, 4th New York Heavy Artillery, diary entry May 6, 1864. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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