Loyal to the Union vs. Disloyal Copperheads -- A Missouri Union Soldier's Perspective

 If you loyally stand for the Union, how do you deal with family that doesn’t?  The following letter written by Thomas M. Coleman (6th Missouri Infantry) to his sister, Elizabeth Coleman in 1863 gives sad insight into the divisions that were personal, not just national. (The letter is from a private collection; punctuation and misspellings reproduce author’s writing style.)

Camp Sherman, 3rd Sept. ‘63
Dear Sister,
    ‘Tis with the greatest of pleasure that I take my pen in hand to inform you that I am well at present and hoping that these few lines may find you all the same.  I was on picket when I received your letter, and could not answer your letter any sooner.  We were out on picket on Black River six miles from our present camp.  We had one man shot by guerrillas from the opposite side of the river. If the officer had not sent out guards on the other side of the river the men would have burnt all of the houses within five miles of the river, for some of them follow nothing but shooting Union soldiers such me.  Are not worth wasting powder and lead, for the rope is the thing for them, and that is the best thing for the Copperhead.  If that is true what you said in your letter, about father, I shall never go near where there is a Copperhead.  I am going to get a furlough and go to Missouri in one week from today.  You need not look for me at home.  Old George Crane sent for me to come there.  He wants me and Martin and Steiner to come back as soon as our time is up I will go there, for I will never go after what he passed around there, for I can get along myself.  I don’t think very well of that, for I have undergone hardships of every description for the old Union.  Thank the great ruler off all being, that He spared me this long, but if I am spared through this time, and I am needed, I will still fight for the old flag that I followed many days, till it is restored master of this continent once more.  Then I will be satisfied.  If those Copperheads were in the rebel army, I would serve another five years, till they were all killed and under the sod.  I am in good earnest.  As for me coming home, that is played.  I must stop for this time.  Uncle Bill Reel is going to Illinois, and they are going on a farm there.  So nothing more at present, but remain your brother until death.  

Thomas M. Coleman

The 6th Missouri Infantry Regiment was organized at St. Louis, Missouri, June 15 - July 9, 1861, mustered in for three year service; mustered out of service on August 17, 1865.  Involved with the Vicksburg Siege May 18-July 4. Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22. Advance on Jackson, Miss., July 4–10. Siege of Jackson July 10–17. At Big Black River Camp Sherman until September 25, 1863.
Reading this letter shows the loyalty Thomas Coleman feels for the Union, and also the divisions that are occurring in his family because not everyone agrees with him in his loyalty to the Union.  He chooses to stand by his decision to fight for the Union even if it means he must walk away from family.

Who were the “Copperheads” and what did they stand for?
“Copperheads” were people in the North who opposed using force to bring the southern states back into the Union, and instead wanted at first an immediate or then as the war progressed a negotiated peace settlement, (also called “Peace Democrats” or “Butternuts”).  These “Peace Democrats” were tagged “Copperheads” by the Republicans for two reasons:  first, they choose to wear badges made from one cent copper Liberty coins, and secondly, just like deadly snakes, they were traitors trying to kill the Union.  So “copperhead” is an interesting political play on words.  Obviously for those who supported the war effort, “copperhead” was not a positive moniker to be tagged with. 
There were variations on why people opposed the war to preserve the Union, and how they opposed it.  Some saw the conflict as a result of the extremist abolitionists stirring up trouble, or due to rich Northerners seeking more power and money through tariffs on the south, or an attempt to increase Federal power over the states.  Many southerners who had migrated north of the Ohio River saw it as an attack on their culture.  Immigrants were also drawn toward this approach as the war progressed in order to avoid being drafted into service.  In Missouri, Copperhead groups often came out directly in support of the Confederacy and fought against Unionists in the state.  The reasons why people, mostly Democrats, opposed the war varied.  Not everyone in the North was pro-war, just as not every Southerner fought to preserve slavery.  Generalizations make good politics, but do not accurately present the complexity going on in our nation at the time.  Sadly, it is true that out of the Civil War, there has come a now constantly increasing “federalization” power grab which defies what the founding fathers wrote into the Constitution.  But I digress.
For an interesting survey of historical interpretations of the meaning and effects that the Copperhead movement had on the Civil War, see the article “Copperheads” by Jonathon W. White on Essential Civil War Curriculum website.  It’s an interesting survey how views of the Copperheads have changed, depending on culture and time.

The Copperhead badge was made by cutting the Liberty Head symbol out of a copper large cent

and soldering a pin on the back side, or by drilling a small hole in the top so a ribbon could be threaded through it so the copper badge could be worn to show you were opposed this terrible war.  The wearing of Copperhead badges appears to have peaked in 1863 as the Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg seemed to evidence that things were turning in the Union’s favor.

Returned Soldiers Punish a Copperhead -- An interesting news report from The Commercial Times Newspaper– Oswego, NY – May 21, 1864:
An exciting affair took place last evening at Shunpike, a small station on the Central [rail]road, a short distance west of Auburn. When the train containing the 26th regiment reached there, the station keeper made his appearance wearing a copperhead badge on his coat, in plain sight. This disloyal exhibition incensed the soldiers, and in less time than we are relating the occurrence, the odious emblem was torn off.  The station keeper, allowing his zeal in a bad cause to out-do his discretion, got very mad, and starting for his house, declared that he would get his pistol and shoot his assailants. Upon this some two hundred of the soldiers surrounded the house, smashed in the windows and doors and nearly destroyed the structure. They would have severely handled the misguided copperhead himself, if he had not made haste to escape by a back door. The conductor of the train, upon hearing of the occurrence, hurried up the departure of the train.  The copperheads will learn speedily that the soldiers look upon them as no better than rebels in arms, and woe be to them if they do not keep their unpatriotic feelings within due bounds.

Children Projects:
1) Explore some articles on Civil War Copperheads to get a better idea of the variations in what they believed and how they operated during the war.  Explore what might have been the effects in both the North and the South if their idea of “peaceful negotiation” to the split had been followed.  Explore what might have happened if Lincoln had lost the 1864 election and been replaced by McClellan and the Peace Democrat Party. 
2) Discuss how people today show their support/allegiance to various causes.  Clothing items/ flags/ internet postings/ bumper stickers – oops ignore the last one, sorry am old school.  During the Civil War period, Patriotic Envelopes both helped to shape public opinion on issues as well as enabled people to show their support of various causes during the Civil War.  Explain to your children what a “letter” is and how in the old days people used to write and mail them as a means of communications.  Yes, am being sarcastic.
3) Explore the issue of family division, in the Civil War and today.  May not be a comfortable discussion, but it has happened down through the ages for multitude of reasons.  Does it make sense that Coleman, who is clearly dedicated to preserving the Union, would walk away from his father? Why or why not?  Is it better he walks away than keeping going back home and maybe increase the anger into open hostile confrontation? Also look at the Commercial Times article.  Does it make sense that the soldiers who have been putting their lives on the line would be upset with a Copperhead?  In the discussion, remember that both “sides” (those for secession and those against it) insulted and openly attacked their opponents.   

Handling Attack and Retreat in the Chancellorsville Campaign -- Spring 1863

How do men in the ranks handle tough costly battles?
    In spring of 1863, starting on April 27th, the Army of the Potomac under Gen. Hooker begin attacking Lee’s forces across the Potomac River in the Chancellorsville Campaign, pursuing a victory that would then allow Union forces to push on to Richmond.
    Gen. Hooker had replaced Burnside after the failures of the first Fredericksburg assault in Dec.1862 and then the Mud March Jan.1863.  Hooker reorganized and raised moral in the Army of the Potomac, so the men were ready for the spring assault on the rebels.  Hooker intended to keep Confederate forces pinned down in Fredericksburg while he outflanked them with a greater force from the west coming through Chancellorsville.  Union troops began moving on April 27th.  Hard battles with Confederate forces in the distractive assault on Fredericksburg and also around Chancellorsville resulted in Hooker giving up and ordering retreats by May 5th/ 6th.  Another gloomy defeat for the Army of the Potomac.
    Wilbur Fisk, a Vermont soldier serving in the 6th Corps involved in the assault on Fredericksburg shares his perspective on the campaign to his hometown newspaper in a letter written a few days after they had retreated back across the Potomac for safety.  Enjoy this interesting analysis of the failed campaign from a man-in-the-ranks perspective -- yes, it was tough, but do not believe everything you read in the newspapers:

Camp near White Oak Church, Va.  May 19, 1863

    The smoke of the battle has cleared up [Second Battle of Fredericksburg], giving us a chance to look over the ground and count the cost and consequences of our late bloody campaign.   As we are considered fighters by trade, the last attempt in our line of business will have prominence in our thoughts and be the leading topic of conversation till another “rip” comes off.  It may be an old story in Vermont by this time but it is not exactly so here.  We all have our stories to tell, and where they are deficient in fact we supply the lack from imagination.

Marye's Heights Stone Wall
May 3d, 1863
Library of Congress/ Andrew Russel Image

    It is quite amusing to see the accounts the newspapers give of our proceedings here subsequent to coming this side of the river [back north of the Rappahannock].  Hooker, it was coolly said, was over the river again and pursing Lee’s fleeing forces into the last ditch.  The Philadelphia Inquirer (I believe) shrewdly observed that the next battle would probably be fought somewhere on the Pamunkey and then the door to Richmond would be thrown open to the victorious Yankees.  The backbone of the rebellion, so long on the point of breaking, would be able to sustain the pressure no longer, and the starved-out confederacy would succumb at once, letting peace and prosperity once more shine into that slavery-darkened region, while the Flag of our Union should float triumphantly over all.  This looks very fine in print, and if the papers would only fight the battles for us and give us an open road to the rebel capital we should be abundantly satisfied to walk in and make that noted, as well as notorious, city ours. It is vastly easier to win victories on paper than on land, and the experiment has proved that to drive Gen. Lee and his army from the Rappahannock to Richmond is an operation attended with considerable personal danger.  We had no idea that we was to start for Richmond again after being drove to this side, till we saw it in some of the leading dailies, and then, it is needless to say, we didn’t believe it.
    I noticed the New Jersey papers claim that the 26th New Jersey regiment with the Vermont brigade captured the rebel stronghold on the heights of Fredericksburg.  That is strictly true, but it strikes us that the mention of the 26th is entirely gratuitous and unnecessary.  It reminds one of the Dutchman who in the excess of his vanity to make a display for himself, boasted that he and the Squire owned forty cows, when it would have been equally true had the “he” been left out, for the forty cows all belonged to the Squire.
    But after all, that regiment contains some as brave boys as the country affords, and it is a pity they should have to serve in such a miserable organization.  It is not necessary to have the men all cowards to have the regiment break and run.  Fear is one of the most contagious diseases that ever afflicted a soldier, and when one timid fellow loses his heart, others are apt to be affected in the same way.  It takes a fellow of more than ordinary courage to come up to the scratch when others desert their post to hide away from the bullets of the enemy.  Every man that leaves and runs, encourages the enemy, and prompts them to crowd a little harder, and when one after another has skulked away and the ground is getting covered with wounded and dying men, while all the time the enemy are pressing harder and harder and bringing up heavy supports as they did in the second day’s fight, leaving our men no hope of driving them back, but only of holding their ground and gaining time, it takes but a word to start a panic that no power on earth could stop.
    No matter how brave a man may be when that event takes place, nor how much he may deplore the event, if the rest run, he must run too, or be overwhelmed.
    When the Jerseys broke in the 5th, on Monday afternoon, some of them fell in with us, willingly, and some fell in with the 6th regiment, to show the Vermont boys that they were not a set of cowards, and when that regiment charged, they charged with it, and they kept a long ways ahead, making themselves the most conspicuous mark for the enemy, and plunging first and foremost in every encounter, doing their utmost to retrieve their honor, and the honor of their regiment.  Bully for such fellows as that, and all like the, belong to what regiment they will!
    The anxious question, when is the Army of the Potomac going to move, has been practically answered.  We have moved on to the enemy’s works, and moved off again.  We slept one night in the rebels’ nest, and should have slept longer there, perhaps, had we not been forcibly reminded by them that it was a safer place for us this side of the river.  Some sanguine writer said, ‘When Gen. Hooker moves on the enemy, God help them;’ but the prayer was unnecessary; they were able to help themselves.  On the whole, the most of us are willing to admit that we got a very neat little whipping over there, and General Hooker will have to be more successful than he has been, or his boys will think Old Lee, the rebel General, is too much for him.  Our reports claim a sort of victory on whole, and so do the rebels, but the rebel newspapers will lie, and ours won’t.  If we accept the rebels’ own calculations that one Southerner is equal to two Yankees, we may safely infer that battles like the last ones pay pretty well, after all; but the rebels can hardly make out as much for them, unless they change the premise of their argument, for they, by no means, killed twice as many of us as we did of them.
    Let no one say that the recent battles have had a tendency to demoralize the army.  Far from it.  The more we get used to being killed, the better we like it.  Positively, the army is in just as good fighting spirits to-day as they were the day we left our old camp.  I was talking to some New York boys a few minutes ago, whose time of service has nearly expired.  The late battles, I found, had not discouraged them in the least, and a large majority said they contemplated re-enlisting after they had enjoyed the luxuries of home a while but they would not bind themselves to any paper at present, preferring to wait and see what would “turn up,” as they expressed it. 

        Hard Marching Every Day -- The Civil War Letters of Private Wilber Fisk (University Press of Kansas) p.85-87

What?!?”  Newspapers do NOT always get the story right?!?
    Wilbur Fisk is indeed a gifted writer.  Over the course of the war, he wrote many letters to the Green Mountain Freeman newspaper under the name “Anti-rebel.”  He was born in Sharon, VT (June 7 1839) and lived until March 12, 1914.  Mainly self-educated, he taught in a rural school district for seven terms.  1861 he enlisted in Co.E 2nd Vermont Volunteers.  After the war he tried his hand at farming in Kansas for a decade before turning to the ministry and serving as the Congregational pastor in Freeborn, Minnesota, for more than 30 years.
    Fisk is writing this letter to his hometown newspaper after he has read how various newspapers are describing the latest failed Union push into Virginia.
    Now you may say that Fisk is just rambling on, but as you walk through his analysis of this latest Union failure, catch how he is putting the strategic set-back (big picture) into perspective with explanations of tactical insights (on the ground small pictures).  Yes, units did get routed, and there were reasons for that happening, but individuals often stepped up giving their fullest even amidst the harsh defeat.  Even though Fisk shares about retreats, he also affirms that the honorable men in the ranks can handle such things and will rise to the challenge again in the future.
    Is Fisk “lying” about the moral of the army to whitewash the campaign failure to his hometown people?  I honestly think he is trying to explain that even though ‘once again’ the road to Richmond still has not been traveled, many Union soldiers are still committed to finishing the task of putting down the rebellion.  He is also trying to give a more realistic perspective to people back home than what they might read in the newspaper headlines.  He is trying to balance out the “failure” with “all is not lost.” The newspapers may project big picture victory . . . then oops . . . pushed back across the river in defeat once again!?!  Which is it?!?  Once again, we see while the soldiers value the newspapers which they get in camp from ‘back home’, they also evaluate the content for accuracy.  Fisk is attempting to give better perspective for the readers back home to both “headline grand oversimplification” as well as  “local news focus” which downplays the part of other units in the conflict to highlight the favored local unit.

    Is Fisk's perspective the 100% true one?  I'm not saying that.  Fisk's letter is an interesting illustration of the discussions that were certainly happening around the campfires by the men in the ranks all the time about what was going on and why.  I really enjoy Fisk's sense of humor that he uses to make his points.

2nd Vermont Volunteers
    Mustered in June 1861, becoming part of the Old Vermont Brigade in Sept.1861, they fought in many battles including the first assault on Fredericksburg in 1862.  They were also went marching on Burnside’s glorious Mud March in Jan. 1863 (see my post on January 2022 for a humorous tidbit of history on that march). As part of 6th Corps, in the Chancellorsville Campaign sent to keep the Confederate forces pinned down at Fredericksburg while the majority of the Union troops attempted to outflanked the Rebs, on May 3d they assaulted Marye’s Heights, then were involved in the Salem Church battle before retreating back across the Rappahannock as the campaign failed.

    A more detailed unit description is given in The Union Army: A history of military Affairs in the Loyal States 1861-65, (Federal Publishing Company, Madison, WI, 1908), p.108-109:

     The 2nd Vermont Regiment was organized at Burlington and there mustered into the U. S. service for three years on June 20, 1861. It left Burlington for Washington, June 24, and encamped on Capitol Hill until July 10, when it was ordered to Bush Hill, Va., where it was attached to Howard's brigade, Heintzelman's Division, with which it fought at Bull Run on July 21. It was next sent to Chain bridge for guard duty along the Potomac, and assisted in the construction of Forts Marcy and Ethan Allen. In September it was formed with the 4th and 5th Vermont regiments into the Vermont Brigade (later known on many battlefields), the 2nd brigade of Smith's division.
    Winter quarters were established at Camp Griffin and occupied until March 10, 1862, when the regiment marched to Centerville, thence to Alexandria, where it was ordered to Newport News and participated in the Peninsular campaign. It was in action at Young's Mills, Lee's Mills and Williamsburg. In the organization of the 6th Corps, the Vermont Brigade, to which had been added the 6th Vt., became the 2nd brigade, 2nd division. From April 13 to May 19, 1862, the brigade was posted at White House landing. On June 26 it shared in the battle of Golding's farm and in the Seven Days' battles it was repeatedly engaged. It was ordered to Alexandria and to Bull Run late in August. The corps was not ordered into the battle and was next in action at Crampton's Gap and Antietam in September. It fought at Fredericksburg Dec. 13, 1862, after which winter quarters were established near Falmouth and broken for the Chancellorsville battles in May, where the 6th Corps made a gallant charge upon the heights. It fought at Gettysburg, and from Aug. 14 to Sep. 13, 1863, the brigade was stationed in New York to guard against rioting and then rejoined the corps. 

    Winter quarters were occupied with the Army of the Potomac near the Rapidan and a large number of members of the regiment reenlisted. The command continued in the field as a veteran organization and broke camp May 4, 1864, for the Wilderness campaign. On the opening day of the fight at the Wilderness, Col. Stone was killed and LtCol. Tyler fatally wounded. A number of the bravest officers and men perished in the month following, during which the Vermont Brigade fought valiantly day after day with wonderful endurance, at the famous "bloody angle" at Spotsylvania, at Cold Harbor and in the early assaults on Petersburg. On July 10 it formed a part of the force ordered to hasten to Washington to defend the city against Gen. Early, and shared in the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley which followed - the fatiguing marches and counter-marches and the battles of Charlestown, Fisher's Hill, Winchester and Cedar Creek. During the last named battle the brigade held its ground when it seemed no longer tenable and only withdrew when it was left alone. Returning with the 6th Corps to Petersburg in December, it participated in the charge on March 25, 1865, and the final assault April 2, after which it joined in the pursuit of Lee's army and was active at the battle of Sailor's Creek, April 6, where it is said to have fired the last shot of the 6th Corps. 

    The service of the 2nd closed with participation in the grand review of the Union armies at Washington, after which it returned to Burlington. The original members who did not reenlist were mustered out on June 29, 1864, the veterans and recruits at Washington, July 15, 1865.
    The total strength of the regiment was 1,858 and the loss by death 399, of which number 224 were killed or died of wounds and 175 from other causes. In his well-known work on 'Regimental Losses," Col. Fox mentions the 2nd Vt. infantry among the "three hundred fighting regiments" of the Union army.

Children’s Projects 
1) Explore Fisk’s sarcasm about what Newspapers are proclaiming and the realities of the situation for those actually doing the work of fighting the battles.  This would be a good occasion to also explore how “media” in its various forms can influence our thoughts and how we have an obligation to evaluate and challenge broad proclamations.
2) Explore how Fisk blends the descriptions of the ‘big picture failure’ with ‘small picture incidents’ to give his readers a better understanding of what is going on at the moment.  I find it interesting that he does admit there were serious defeats and retreats, yet courage and commitment was not totally lost individually.

3)  It is interesting that Fisk who clearly has excellent writing skills was mainly self-educated.  And that he was a teacher in a rural area for several years.  Times and expectations have certainly changed.  Maybe remind your children that it is what they develop within that will allow them to best use whatever they might get from without.

New Enlistee’s Camp Life Reflections – T R Sterns – 29th Wisconsin Infantry

 What was life like for a newly enlisted Union soldier?

    The following transcript of a letter by Thomas Rescum Sterns, enlisted Aug.1862, to his wife Lavinia [in Iowa University Digital Library – Civil War Diaries and Letters] has some interesting perspectives on camp life’s challenges:

Camp Randall, Madison, Wis. Sept 24, 1862

Dear wife 
    I take the pleasure of writing a few lines to you to let you know how thing are here in camp. We arrived here last Saturday about 8 o'clock in the evening. After we arrived each one eat his allowance and went to repose. Our bunks as they are called are just wide enough for two to sleep in. In which is put about a handful of straw and then we spread down a blanket and crawl on that and spread another over and in this we start for the land of dreams. After we arrived here on Saturday night, we ate our supper and the next morning we had our breakfast about noon. I have a headache today caused from the loss of sleep being on guard duty last night but when I get my regular sleep again, I shall be all right. My duty was last night when on guard was to guard prisoners, that is men from our regiment that got drunk and was shut up in the guard house. We had three last night but none from our company. 
    Tell Mrs. Parsons that if she take the blanket back again I will much obliged as I drew one and shall not want more than one. I merely speak of it for she will be looking for the money for it. I cannot get a furlough until we are mustered in U. S. service which we expect to be this week and if we are I think I can get home next week and when I come, I shall bring home all of my old clothes for I expect to get my uniform as soon as we are mustered into U. S. service. The 29th is all here in camp now we are quartered new barracks. For breakfast we have bread, meat and tea or coffee. For dinner coffee, bread and meat. For supper meat, bread and coffee. Sometimes we have in addition to the above potatoes or beans. 
    I suppose you have heard what news there has been. I have not heard much and all I have heard is the President has issued a proclamation declaring all slaves free after the 1st of Jan, and also for 400,000 more troops. 
    Everybody that wants to hear from me must write me a letter and I will answer it; for if I have any more regular correspondents than I have got some of them will get neglected. I shall have five regular correspondents. They are yourself, mother, George, aunts [Huldah?] and [Bethia?]. I have not time nor space to write much more this time. Next time I will try to write something about this city as I have not seen much of it yet. Write as soon as you get this for I shall want to hear from home soon. If I should not get home next week, it would be lonesome if I should not hear from you. How is the little boy? No more at present. so good bye. 

From your Husband, Rescum 
Direct yours to Camp Randall Madison Wis. If you direct as I have told you I will get it for I am acquainted with the P. M.

    Camp Randall, in Madison, Wisconsin was established in 1861 and named after governor Alexander Randall who served from 1858 to 1861.  (Guess it has always paid to be a politician.)  It served as a training facility for over 70,000 recruits from the area during the Civil War.  Here they received basic training, uniforms and gear.  But they did not get weapons until they arrived at federal depots in other states.  During the course of the war 27 infantry regiments trained at Camp Randall as well as nine heavy artillery companies, two batteries of light artillery and a company of sharpshooters.  The army also set up a hospital there.  In the spring of 1862, it served briefly as prisoner-of-war camp.  Today there is an arch monument erected in 1912 by veterans of the war, and a marker to the confederate dead buried in Forest Hill Cemetery; at least as I write this, the monuments haven’t been torn down yet.

    Thomas Rescum Sterns was born January 18, 1839 in Amsterdam NY.  He married Lavinia on April 25, 1860 in Jefferson County, Wisconsin.  He farmed and also taught in the local school.  In August 1862 he enlisted for a three year service, received a $25 bounty and was mustered in as a private in Company F of the 29th Wisconsin Infantry on Sept.27.
    Sterns’ letter gives a brief glimpse into camp life from an enlisted man’s perspective.  Sleeping quarters sound luxurious, don’t they?  Food rations actually seem pretty good.  Wonder if it was all organic?  Evidently there were a few ‘troubled souls’ that had signed up, which had to be held in confinement until they ‘slept it off’.  Interesting that he wants to return the blanket bought with ‘credit’ since he has gotten a government issue one.
    There is mention of the Emancipation Proclamation issued on Sept.22, 1862 to go into effect on Jan.1, 1863.  Sterns does not have an accurate understanding of the details of Lincoln’s executive order (it only freed slaves in states in rebellion against the government), but shows it was evidently a topic of conversation at the camp.
    Again, we see that he highly prized letters.  He assures his wife he will write regularly to certain correspondents.  And he will try to answer letters from others as he gets them.  McCown says that Sterns wrote at least 77 letters to his wife (Books at Iowa, p.38), so we see Sterns was diligent in correspondence with Lavinia until he died Sept.2, 1863.

    The Patriotic Envelope -- The saying printed on it:

            The union of lakes -- the union of lands -- the Union of States none can Sever

            The union of hearts -- the union of hands -- the Flag of our Union Forever

                Sold by Bliss, Eberhard & Festner  Madison

    Since he is in Madison WI, it makes sense that Sterns bought this envelope from a local merchant, maybe even the printer directly. 

        The stamp position: I've always heard an upside down stamp means "I love you".  Did just a bit of research on stamp positions and found that meaning varies with time period as well as position like straight or at an angle etc.  At one angle it could mean "Do you still love me?".  At another angle it could mean "Write no more", which obviously Sterns does not mean. And people could have their own personal messages via the stamp's placement on the envelope.  So I will not pontificate on the meaning of the stamp Sterns put on the letter.

Children’s Projects:
1) Explore a bit about the Emancipation Proclamation that President Lincoln issued.  No, it did not resolve the issue of slavery.  But it was an honest step in that direction, and led to the 13th amendment being adopted in 1865.  In an imperfect world, steps in a good direction should be praised, not condemned “because it didn’t go far enough”.
2) Should the post-war monuments erected on the site to the Wisconsin veterans and also the confederate dead prisoners of war be torn down?  Discuss the attack on American history being waged today.  Or ignore it, to your children’s future detriment.  As I always say to spectators at Civil War reenactments:  Study history, learn from it, improve upon it.  Do not white wash it.  Also do not erase it.

Sleep Lovely Youth of Infant Years, Death Claims Thee for His Own

In the 1800s a common saying upon the death of a child was: “The Lord has spared the child the trials and tribulations of this world.”  The following is a poem written by Maria Gilbert Webber as she grieved the loss of her young daughter, March 14th, 1840.  I read this poem at the memorial service for my grandson, Jedidiah who died at birth on January 15, 2018.  Maria’s poem reached across the years to touch and encourage hearts 178 years later.  Read the poem, and then the information background to see why I value exploring history.

Sleep lovely youth of infant years,

Death claims thee for his own;
That form so charming to our view,
From our embrace is torn.
Thine infant prattle oft had cheered
A mother’s happy home;
Thy riper age in hope appeared,
That age can never come.

The hope of future years thou wast,
A father’s joy and pride;
The idol of his heart – sweet child,
Would that thou had’st not died.
Oft have they watched thy growing charms,
Thy mind’s expanding grace –
The sweetness of thy smiles had won,
What time could ne’er erase.

The deep affection of their hearts;
Love of the purest cast,
The anxious care of sleepless nights,
The soul’s eternal fate;
Yet none of these could e’er avert
Death’s arrow from its mark;
The summons came – disease was there,
To quench the vital spark.

Angelic form! Human, divine!
Thy spirit has winged its flight.
Now robbed in righteousness alone,
It sheds ethereal light.
Bles’d spirit we would not call thee hence,
To thee we fain would go –
Our Father’s there – our Saviour too, --
How mournful all below.

Our Father did we say was there?
To us, is ‘the promise’ good?
Our Saviour too!  These souls of ours--
Have they been washed in blood?
They were purchased by the Son of God:
Lord seal them with Thy blood;
Let justifying faith be ours –
And fill our hearts with love.

Fill these our mourning hearts with peace,
Shed on them healing grace.
Give us Thy Spirit for our guide,
Grant we may see Thy face.
And when from earth Thou us remove,
Be heaven our destined home,
Where sin and sorrow ever cease,
And death can never come.

In that blest region of the skies,
We’ll join angelic lays,
We’ll spend eternity home,
In chanting Heavenly praise.

History of this poem
    This poem is from the journal of Maria Gilbert Webber, the mother of Samuel Gilbert Webber who was a Civil War Union Navy assistant surgeon.  A friend of mine bought a collection of Samuel Webber’s Civil War letters which also had the journal among the items.  He gave the journal to me as a Christmas gift in 1996 because he thought it would give me a resource in exploring thoughts and attitudes about life and faith prior to the Civil War.  I had no idea then that a poem written so long ago would be an encouragement to my family in our time of loss of a child.
    “Samuel Gilbert Webber was born July 24, 1838 in Boston, Massachusetts, son of Aaron D. and Maria (Gilbert) Webber. He graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in 1860. Webber joined the Union navy in 1862 as an assistant surgeon. He served on board the receiving ship Ohio in 1862 and then on Rhode Island in December 1862. He later served aboard the ironclad Nahant. In February 1864 he was again on board the Rhode Island. He was on board while Rhode Island was towing US Steam Battery Monitor toward Wilmington, NC, a voyage that was interrupted by the sinking of the ironclad. He married Nancy Pope Sturtevant in 1864 and mustered out of the Navy a year later. Harvard awarded Webber his medical degree in 1865; his experience in the Navy took the place of actual classes. He continued study for two years in Vienna, Austria and returned to Boston. Webber served in various hospitals, clinics and medical schools in the Boston area and lived in Boston suburbs. He was appointed member of the first faculty of the Tufts College Medical School, and finally retired from all appointments in 1917, at age 79. Webber died on December 5, 1926.” [quoted from the Mariner’s Museum & Park Letters Archival Collection]
    The journal has on its first page a notation that Samuel Gilbert gave it to his daughter, Maria Gilbert on November 3, 1831 with this inscription "May you grow up in virtue and goodness, prove an ornament to society, and live to a good old age, is the prayer of your parents".  Later in the journal is the notation that she at age 21 married Aaron D Webber at age 29 on Oct.29, 1835.  Maria wrote on a variety of topics, some in poetic form, others in just regular script.  She has entries on family relationships, hardships, prayer, faith in Christ, loss of loved ones, as well as some quotes from other people which she found inspirational and wanted to preserve for herself. She wrote poems celebrating the birth of her first child, a daughter named Maria, born on Oct.7th 1836 and then of Samuel (the Union Navy assistant surgeon) born July 24th, 1838.
    Then comes the poem quoted above when her daughter dies of “dropsy on the brain” on March 14th 1840.  There is also a second poem about her struggle with grief over the death of her daughter.  Among later entries by her are ones about two other children who also died at young ages, one 3 days old and another a year and half old.  Through all her experiences of sadness shines her faith in the Lord and His strength to help her walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  Her son who did live to grow up, Samuel Gilbert Weber, learned from his mother a deep faith in Jesus as his letters show.

Encouragement to my family through Maria’s poem
    When my son asked me to do the memorial service for my grandson, Jedidiah Josiah Rowe, who had died at birth, I remembered reading Maria’s poem years ago and wanted to use her words as a part of the message I would share.  I had to hunt up the journal which the Lord was kind in helping me find.  I read Maria’s’ poem at the beginning of the message.  After the service I had several people mention that they found the poem helpful and encouraging in dealing with the loss of Jedidiah. 
    So the Lord used the grief mixed with faith of a woman from 178 years ago to help my family and friends as we faced a similar loss of a young child.  God gave my family this providential gift of encouragement.  Maria’s daughter and my grandson are both in heaven by the forgiving grace that comes through Jesus.  Maria is with her daughter because as an adult she chose to put her faith in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross – His shed blood.  My grandson is with his grandma, my wife Vicki who died in 2016 because she put her faith in Jesus.  Someday because I trust in what Jesus did on the cross, I look forward to seeing my wife and my grandson at the tent in heaven.  And I also look forward to meeting Maria Gilbert Webber, and thanking her for her gift to my family.  Discovering her family story gave some aid and comfort to my family story.  Who would imagine that exploring history would be so helpful?  

    “At the tent in heaven” is one of our family sayings.  It originated from a post that I put up on Facebook shortly after my wife Vicki died.  I said it would not surprise me if she had already setup just inside Heaven’s gate a tent where she was welcoming newcomers in with “Welcome Home! God’s love is free and so is this! Come on in and get something to eat and a nice cold cup of lemonade!”  The reenactors who knew her and had often been to our tent at reenactments agreed.  And among my grandkids the saying became “Can’t wait to see Grandma at the tent in Heaven.”
    Well on the day that Jedidiah died we gathered as a family in the hospital room with many tears and hugs, trying to encourage each other.  My eldest grandson Jonas, came over to me and gave me a hug and was crying.  As I hugged him, I said “your brother is with Grandma at the tent in Heaven.”  He looked up at me and exclaimed “Then he’s alright!  She’ll take really good care of him!”  I said “yes, she will teach him to make lemonade and serve goodies just like she taught you.”  For Jonas it was a visual that gave him comfort that his young brother was OK, even as we grieved over our loss of Jedidiah.

    The poem is not copyrighted.  Feel free to pass it along to someone else who might be encouraged by reading it.  But please also share the background of Maria Gilbert Webber as that will make it more meaningful to people who read it.

Acts of Kindness Encourage the Wounded after the Battle of Chickamauga -- Sept.18-20, 1863

    In difficult and distressful situations of pain and suffering, how much do "little things" really matter?  Consider the following account of a USCC delegate working among wounded soldiers as you answer the question about the value of "little things".

    The battle of Chickamauga took place in northwest Georgia along the Chickamauga Creek between the Union Army of the Cumberland commanded by Maj Gen William Rosecrans and the Confederate Army of Tennessee commanded by Gen Braxton Bragg. The Confederate forces were attempting to stop Union forces from entering deeper into Georgia and instead retake Chattanooga TN back from Union control.  The small city of Chattanooga, with 2,500 inhabitants, lay on the banks of the Tennessee River where it cut through the Appalachian Mountains.  It was the crossroads for four major railroads.  Capturing it allowed Union forces to cut off vital Confederate supply lines.  The Battle of Chickamauga was a costly Confederate victory in stopping the Union army from advancing into Georgia.  In fact, its casualty rate was second only to Gettysburg.  Of the 60,000 Union forces, 1657 were killed, 9756 were wounded, and 4757 were missing or captured.  Of the 65,000 Confederate forces, 2312 were killed, 14674 wounded, and 1468 missing or captured.  The Union army withdrew from Chickamauga, GA area back to Chattanooga, TN to regroup.  Gen. Bragg’s Confederate forces then besieged the Union forces occupying Chattanooga, but were later driven back when more Union reinforcements arrive. 

Wounded in the Hospital

The following is a description of a U.S. Christian Commission delegate creatively doing whatever he can to encourage the wounded men after the battle:

Rev. Edward Hawes recalls these scenes of his service as a USCC delegate working among the wounded in Chattanooga after the battle of Chickamauga:  
    Pushing aside the canvas, I enter a hospital tent.  In one corner lies a wounded man: “Can I do anything for you, my friend?”
    “Yes, sir, if you please.  I have lost my Testament, and would like to get one.”  I give him one.
    On the next cot is a man who lies quiet, seemingly without pain.  All save his face is covered: “You are not much injured, I suppose, my dear fellow?”
    He looks up with a faint smile, “Not much, sir,” -- but he has been hit in nine places by a bursting shell!
    I pass along and the steward says “Chaplain, won’t you come here?  We think this man is dying.  Can’t you say something to him?”
    I bend over him; the cold sweat is already upon his brow; his eyes are fixed, fastening themselves in death, but they grow brilliant, and he mutters something: “See! A star!  Oh, how bright!  It’s the star--,” and his voice dies away in death.  Perhaps he is thinking of the Star of Bethlehem.  We hope so, and that it will light him through the dark valley.
    I go to another man in the next tent, and with the Surgeon’s permission give him a single swallow of wine; he looks such a beam of gratitude from those brightened eyes!
    “O sir, that’s good.  What is your name?  I shall always remember you.”
    “How are you getting along, my brother?” I say to the next.
    “Oh, very well, thank you.”
    “Have you a family?”
    “Yes, a wife and two little children in Ohio.”
    “Have you written to them since the battle?” – It is a foolish question, for I see in a moment that his right arm is shattered; “Sha’n’t I write for you?”
    He hesitated; why don’t he say gladly “Oh, yes, sire, if you please?”  I repeat, perhaps he does not understand.  He looks at me with a queer air:
    “How much do you charge, sir?”
    Oh, how that cuts the Delegate’s sensitive heart: -- “My dear brother soldier, that is what I am here for, -- to write for you, or to do anything for you.  I will thank you for the privilege.”
    “Oh, thank you!  Thank you!  I will be so glad.”
    We get paper and pen ready: “What shall I write?”
    He begins with expressions of Christian trust, and then briefly describes his condition.  We read what is written, but the man is not there, -- his eyes are shut, the big tears are rolling down from the beneath closed lids, and he makes no effort to wipe them away, -- ah! The shattered arm perhaps; but no, that is not the reason; he is in Ohio, with his dear wife and children; we will not disturb his dreams.  After a pause he opens his eyes, and we tell him the letter is finished, -- “Will it do?”  With a look of overflowing gratitude he answers –
    “Oh, yes, sir; yes, sir; thank you!”
    In the corner lies a man burdened with a sense of his guilt.  After talking some time, I ask him “My dear friend, can’t you trust Jesus now?”
    “Oh! If I only could!  It would be the happiest day of my life.  Won’t you pray for me?”
    I kneel at his side; -- there may be card-playing in the opposite corner, -- no matter, God’s Spirit is with us and prayer ascends, and God hears us, for I leave the soldier with a trembling hope in Jesus.
    Passing out, I come to a little shelter-tent, under which a man is lying.  I bend over and ask – “You have the Christian’s hope, I trust?”
    “Oh, yes, sir.”
    I see no Testament by him, -- “Have you no Testament?”
    “No, sir.”
    “Well, you must have one”, and I begin opening my haversack; but he tells me he cannot read.
    “You cannot read?  Then I shall read for you.”
    We begin at the precious words, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heaves.” [2Cor.5:1] We read through the chapter, and then leave him peering up through the rent in the canvas covering into the deep blue beyond, longing after the country above, where his spirit must soon be with the multitude of the redeemed.

                Incidents of the U.S. Christian Commission by Edward P. Smith 1869. P.224-26.

    “Little things” make a big difference -- USCC delegates were civilian volunteers who helped the soldiers in any way they could during the Civil War.  This account shows the delegate creatively doing whatever he can to encourage the wounded men in a variety of situations.  Sometimes it is giving them something he has that they need, like a New Testament, a sip of wine, or an envelope set to write home.  Other times it is engaging in conversation about their situation and sharing encouragement and most importantly pointing them to Jesus.
    The account of the letter writing for the wounded Ohio soldier shows the heart of the USCC: “God’s love is free, so is this soldier.”  It was a “small thing” in the “big picture” of history, yet to that man far from home it was indeed a most precious gift to help him connect with his loved ones.
    I can understand Rev. Hawes’ reaction to the Ohio soldier’s hesitancy to accept his offer of help by asking “how much?”  Our family has reenacted the USCC for almost 30 years.  At our tent we have offered something to drink and goodies to eat as encouragement to the reenactors at events.  From time to time someone would look in at the mix of goodies (cookies, pumpkin bread slices, brownies, lemon bars etc), pause, and ask “how much”?  So over the years we started saying to anyone who hesitated “God’s love is free, so is this soldier!  Come on in!”  To the spectators we would explain that we were reenacting an organization that did whatever they could to help and encourage the soldiers of the Civil War era.  (And also explain that the USCC would not have served goodies like we put out, but more basic food to supplement the army “good old hardtack” rations.)  My point, Rev. Hawes was not offended by the soldier’s question.  Rather he was saddened that his offer to freely help the man was being wrongly rejected “because everyone knows nothing is free in this world.”  And you can sense his joy when the soldier accepts his offer of help.

    I believe "little things" in difficulty make a difference.  To the one who is struggling with sad distressing difficulty such actions can be an encouragement to enable them to better face the challenge.  And to the giver of the "little thing" it brings a smile of joy just knowing that you helped someone else.

Examples of U.S. Christian Commission Envelopes

These are reproductions of original envelopes that I have in my collection.  The USCC gave the soldiers envelopes and stationery for free so they wouldn't have to buy writing sets from the sutlers at high prices.  This helped out the men who didn't have money to buy stationery and helped those who did have money to be able to use their money to buy other things they needed or to send back home to support their family.  In the spirit of the USCC doing little things to encourage, I have handed out many of these reproductions at the tent and in camp walk throughs over the years.  Additional USCC designs are shown on the website Roweclan Haversack.

Children’s Project:
Read through this account with your child.  Talk about how the USCC delegate creatively did his best to meet the need of each wounded soldier.  Talk about how we need to be creative in helping others.  Explore about how your child can help their friends in little ways, especially in sharing with their friends about Jesus’ love for them.

Ohio Civil War Soldiers Creativity with Letters, Stamps and Ration Supplies

    What can you do to stay connected with family and get a little variety beyond the normal army rations?  Well, two brothers from Ohio found creative ways to deal with the challenges they faced as they served in Co.I, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  Both brothers enlisted in August 1862 -- Isaac “Wyke” Maurice and David Wheldon Maurice – in response to Lincoln’s call for 300,000 more volunteers in July 1862.  These letters were written as their unit waited for orders while stationed in [West] Virginia.  I always enjoy learning “little details of camp life” from letters like these.  I hope you find the contents interesting also.  [Transcripts for these letters come from Billy Yank and Johnny Reb Letters site]

Challenges of staying in touch with family.  David Maurice gives us some insights into the challenges of getting stamps and paper to write home.  We also learn about delays and limitations of the mail system.  The letter is written to his cousin, Joseph Wheldon.

Summerville, [West] Virginia
December 29th 1862
Dear Joe,
    Your long looked for letter came to hand on Saturday. We was glad to hear from you but it did [not] to contain any stamps which would have been very acceptable at this time. We are nearly out of stamps and paper but the sutler has got a new stock of goods and I expect he has got some good paper now.
    Tuesday, December 30th. Now I set me down to finish this letter as I could not get it done last night. We are not allowed to have light burning after 8 o’clock at night. The big drum beats three loud taps which is called “Taps.” All lights must be put out at that time—that was the time I stopped writing last night.
    The mail just brought two papers directed by your hand. Last Thursday brought two from Woodside. Those are the first we have received. I suppose you sent some before that. If you did, we didn’t get them. No matter. Your head is alright anyway.
    In one of my letters to you, I sent for some money. I have not received any yet. I merely wanted 50 or 75 cents at a time—just enough to get paper and envelopes or any little thing like that. If you have not sent any, you need not for we expect. to get paid off before the 20th of next month. Postage stamps will be accepted at any time but not more than 20 cents worth at a time. We make the stamps get when we start. We can’t get them here for ten cents apiece. Old Jery sent us a lot or we would have been out before this. We would send you letters and make you pay when you got them out of the [post] office. [but] I know that makes you mad—it would me anyway.
    Wyke has borrowed a fife from the drum major. He sits down at night and blows till his eyes stick out so you could snare them with a grapevine. He plays “Join Lad.” The Tomcats don’t stay about here any longer. There was one around before Wyke got his fife but it has disappeared altogether.
    You can’t speak of getting you an Enfield Rifle. You are took in about the rifle. The Enfield is not half as good as a common rifle. They are clumsy, ugly things. Won’t shoot near as straight as a common one. I could have got any quantity of them from the Second Virginia Cavalry. I could have got one for five or six dollars or if I had been at the camp where the prisoners were took, could have got shotguns, carbines, Mississippi Rifles, Enfields, Pistols, and any kind of arms you could think of. If the regiment had went to the camp, they could have brought a great many things but they did not go there. The cavalry burned most all the guns and things, If I had been there, I would have [ ] to a good shotgun that would be worth two Enfield rifles. The Mississippi Rifles are more thought of than the Enfield but they are heavier than the Enfield. They can be bought for 8 or 10 dollars.
    In regard to sending a box to us, there is no possible chance of getting anything larger than a package that can be carried by mail and then it [is] doubtful whether we get it or not. We are 60 miles from the boat lading and very bad roads.
    You asked me in your letter if I got all the stamps you sent. I got six, Wyke got 8 in one from Aunt with a few lines from you, and he got six from Mary and two 25 cts. stamps. That is all we have got. The mail has been very uncertain. [It] is a little more regular now but it is like all other overland routes on horseback—very slow and uncertain. We are both very well. Have lots of drilling now. Some of the boys are getting furloughs. Five started for Dayton [Ohio] this morning out of our company.
Yours forever, — D. W. Maurice

    David values both getting and sending letters.  He clearly has a sense of humor, and shares opinions with his cousin on a variety of issues.  To do this, he appreciates getting stamps from home because of the poor availability of stamps in the camp.  It seems implied in the fourth paragraph that he has to pay more than face value for postage stamps in the camp.  Did you catch his joke about maybe having to send letters without stamps which would mean his cousin would then have to pay to redeem the letters upon reception?  Remember, there was no “free” mail for soldiers at this time.  Writing the words “soldier’s letter” on the envelope got it delivered back home, but then the family had to pay the postage due in order to get the letter. And while he wants stamps, yet not too many all at once.  Likely because he doesn’t want to have to deal with them being made useless by getting wet and damaged or maybe stolen since stamps were used as money due to the coin shortage.  On the envelope below there is not stamp showing.  So it appears that he did send the letter without postage to his cousin.

Written to Joseph Wheldon, Springfield OH

    He is looking forward to getting paid in January which will then give him some money to buy things like stationery and envelopes now that the sutler has been resupplied.  Remember, the value of 50 cents or 75 cents back then was much greater than it is today.  Using a few on-line inflation computation sites, 25 cents 1861 is about $8 today [2022] in value.  The picture of the Military Portfolio writing supply sales kit below shows a cost of 30cents for 30 sets of stationery and writing utensils. 

This "Sutlers Stationery Depot" Envelope is 8 3/4" x 5 1/2" in size.
It is likely early war issue since it has a picture of Winfield Scott on the back side.
I have reproduced copies from the original that I bought years ago
and have seen some used by reenactors in their living history displays.

    Also notice his advice about sending boxes of supplies from home.  Family would often try to send food and other items to their soldiers on the field as encouragement.  But, he informs his family, delivery of the care packages is not always guaranteed.  I hope you enjoy his insights into aspects of the importance and challenges of staying connected with family.

    David’s comment that he has finally gotten a few newspapers reflects the general valuing of them by the troops.  James McPherson cites evidence of troops valuing newspapers in his book For Cause & Comrades – Why Men Fought in the Civil War (p.92): “Newspapers were the most sought-after reading material in camp – after letters from home.  Major metropolitan newspapers were often available only a day or two after publication, while hometown papers came weekly when the mail service functioned normally. ‘I receive the Chronicle regularly,’ wrote a lieutenant in the 50th Ohio to his brother back home in 1863.  ‘The boys all want to read it.  The officers subscribed $4.75 for papers for the benefit of the boys.  [We] get four daily papers, all loyal and right on politics’ – that is, Republican.  In January 1862 a private in the 17th Mississippi stationed near Leesburg, Virginia, wrote in his diary: ‘Spend much time in reading the daily papers & discussing the war question in general.  We always close by coming to the conclusion that we will after much hard fighting succeed in establishing our independence.’  Two years later a lieutenant in the 4th Virginia reported that the ‘boys’ spent much of their time in winter quarters reading the papers.  We ‘make comments on the news and express our opinions quite freely about the blood and thunder editorials in the Richmond papers, smoke again and go to bed.’”

Creative supplements to standard Army rations.  Isaac “Wyke” Maurice [Jr.] shares in his letter some creative ways he has supplemented the standard Army rations:

Summerville, [West] Va.
January 22, 1863
Dear Cousin,
    I take it upon myself to inform you that David got all his tools and a letter all right the last mail (the night before last). David is cooking today. He has not time to write today though he may write before the mail goes out tomorrow morning. The mail comes in the evening.
    I scarcely know what to say for there has nothing of any importance transpired since you last heard from us. The weather is rather rough. Been snowing & raining several days. I have not done any military duty since New Years Day except dress parade and inspection now and then. Been carpentering, fixing up quarters, and building a cook house & sundry work & ain’t more than half through yet fixing up.
    The Sergeant Major was shot a week or two ago accidentally by a Lieut. of Co. G. The sergeant was sitting upstairs and the Lieutenant was fooling with a Secesh gun downstairs (not knowing it was loaded—no cap being on the tube) [when] it went off, went through the ceiling and floor, the ball lodging in the spine of his back. He lived a few days, then left this troublesome world. He was from Troy—Tom Mitchell.
    We get mist all of the important dispatches here by telegraph every day or two—generally two fool cap sheets to write & put on the bulletin board. Tis rumored here that we will leave here before very long. From the looks of things, it may be so though I do not believe anything I hear here till I know it to be sure.
    Just ate dinner. I think you had better put your usual quantity of corn ground out in beans for I think there will be a good demand before the war is over the way our boys go into them. We have a good set of boys in our mess [and we] generally have a good bit of fun. I was doing a little work for the baker this week and he gave me a couple loaves of bread and David went out in the country the other day, took our coffee and got 8 lb. of butter which goes very nice with soft bread. We have only been getting soft bread about once a week though the quartermaster is going to issue soft bread every day so reported. He has got two or three extra bakers detailed [and] they are at work now. We have had butter most all the time since New Years Day. I took our coffee out on picket the last time I was out and got 4 lb. butter. Coffee is a great object here with the folks. It’s worth 50 cents a pound and butter 15 cents.

    Myself and David draw our coffee out as we do not drink any & trade it off to the best advantage. The sutler sells sugar and coffee to the country folks here. Coffee 75 cents a pound, sugar 35 cents a pound. We can trade our extra rations to the country folks to pretty good advantage when we have any to spare, Two of our boys out of our mess went out this morning, took soap and rice to trade for chickens & butter. They have just come in with a lot of pies.
    A man came in with a watch a few minutes ago for David to fix. He has just taken it to pieces & finds the mainspring broke. How is my little watch getting along? Does it keep good time without getting out of order? Please answer soon. I have not had a letter from any of you folks for about two months. Yours, — I. W. Maurice

    It is clear that Wyke is glad that they are getting some soft bread from time to time.  Evidently his helping out the baker got him some.  The Revised US Army Regulations of 1861 has these as standard issue daily rations for a soldier:  12oz pork or bacon, or 1lb 4oz fresh or salt beef / 1lb 6oz soft bread or flour, or 1lb 4oz corn meal, or 1lb hardtack (9 squares).  In addition, per every 100 rations there is also issued for the group: 1 peck of beans or peas/ 10 lb. of rice or hominy/ 10 lb. of green coffee, 8 lb. of roasted and ground coffee, or 1 lb. 8 oz of tea/ 15 lb. of sugar/ 1 lb. 4 oz of candles/ 4 lb. of soap/ 1 qt of molasses. In addition to or as substitutes for other items, desiccated vegetables, dried fruit, pickles, or pickled cabbage might be issued.
    The main focus is on bread and meat as the two main sources of food for the soldier, with some supplements.  Soldiers were issued uncooked food, so typically they would group together in a mess and take turns fixing meals, hence the term “mess mates”.  Wkye’s reference about a baker making bread may reflect the fact that they are encamped, and so soft bread is being made and issued instead of hardtack which was the normal “bread” when on the march.
    That he and David are using some of their standard rations like coffee beans to trade for extras from the locals shows their ingenuity in getting variety beyond the normal issued rations.  Am not sure, but it probably helped the trading that they are in West Virginia where the locals may have been more supportive of the Union troops.  We can see why they might enjoy getting a chicken as a break from salt pork or salt beef.  Remember the rations were the same for every meal, breakfast or supper.  Remember there was no Chick-fil-A in the neighborhood back then.
    David’s advice to his cousin to plant beans instead of corn on the farm is probably a mix of sarcasm over normal army rations mixed in with a genuine suggestion of what crop might actually be more profitable due to the increased need for it because of the war.

    Family Information:  Isaac “Wyke” Maurice (1836-1876) and David Wheldon Maurice (1838-1900) – both sons of Isaac Wyke Maurice (1802-1873) and his first wife, Eliza Wheldon (1799-1842) of Springfield, Clark County, Ohio.  So, the oldest got his dad’s name and evidently went by his middle name “Wyke” instead of “Junior”, and the younger got his mother’s maiden name for his middle name.  David Wheldon Maurice rose in rank to First Sergeant, then 2nd Lieutenant of Co. E, and finally to Captain of same company/regiment.

    Summary of 11th OVI actions 1862:  Operations in the Kanawha Valley April to August, 1862. Moved to Washington, D.C., August 18–24. Pope's Campaign in northern Virginia August 25-September 2. Bull Run Bridge August 27. Maryland Campaign September 6–22. Frederick City, Md., September 12. Battle of South Mountain September 14. Battle of Antietam September 16–17. Moved to Hagerstown, Md., October 8, thence to Clarksburg and Summerville, W. Va., and duty at Summerville until January 24, 1863.

Children Projects:  
1) Do not let your child think “oh it’s only 25 cents, that nothing”.  Work through the “value” of things by using inflation to bring the “cost” of the various items into today’s cost.

2) Explore how they are willing to give up coffee to gain better food.  Coffee was highly valued by the soldiers back then as it is today by people.  Check out my posts on hardtack so your children will better understand the joy over getting “soft bread”. 

3) Eating for a day as a soldier.  This project would be for upper grade school & older children to help them understand the challenge of army rations.  For one day they only eat bread and meat for all three meals/ no butter or jelly or snacks or goodies.  Supply them in the morning with either part of a loaf of bread slices or a loaf of French/Italian bread that they have to slice themselves.  If you want to somewhat give “hardtack”, maybe use crackers instead of bread. For the meat portion, maybe bacon to fry up is more accurate, or a pound of sliced ham might be simpler to use to avoid cooking.  That’s it. Nothing else.  They then must fix the food and eat as they want to.  Drink would be water, or tea, or coffee, no juice or soda.  This is their food rations for the entire day.  The goal is to help them understand why Wyke is so happy about creatively getting butter and chicken etc.  Now you as parent can eat like normal.  Why? Because you are the “senior officer” and so have advantages.  Also, all day any requests must be put in writing by the child on paper and placed in a dish on the table.  An hour or so later, you do one of two things.  Either read the note, and write a response that you “mail” back to them, or randomly before you read the request you crumple it up and throw it away.  This will show the child the importance of letter writing and the frustration of having to wait for an answer or not getting one.  Do not use this as a “punishment” exercise, but as a lesson about why variety is appreciated over the tedium of no options.  OK, I doubt this project will get much use, but had to put it out for your consideration.  I think I probably would have taken the challenge to do it for a day when I was a young kid, and I think it would have made me more appreciative of what the soldiers back then had to endure.

Why Was Hardtack So Disdained by the Civil War Troops?

  Complaining about army rations has been a soldier’s task from time immemorial.  But is there really any basis for the Civil War soldier to grumble about the army provisions?  Well, John D. Billings (Hard Tack and Coffee. Soldier’s life in the Civil War 1887  p.113-16) has an interesting description of this ‘beloved’ government issued army ration which I’d like to serve up for your enjoyment, then you decide if you would sing it’s praises:

“I will speak of the rations more in detail, beginning with the hard bread, or, to use the name by which it was known in the Army of the Potomac, Hardtack.  What was hardtack?  It was a plain flour-and-water biscuit.  Two of which I have in my possession as mementos measure three and one-eighth by two and seven-eithers inches, and are nearly half an inch thick.  Although these biscuits were furnished to organizations by weight, they were dealt out to the men by number, nine constituting a ration in some regiments, and ten in others; but there were usually enough for those who wanted more, as some men would not draw them.  While hardtack was nutritious, yet a hungry man could eat his ten in a short time and still be hungry.  When they were poor and fit objects for the soldiers’ wrath, it was due to one of three conditions:  
First, they may have been so hard that they could not be bitten; it then required a very strong blow of the fist to break them.  The cause of this hardness it would be difficult for one not an expert to determine.  This variety certainly well deserved their name.  They could not be soaked soft, but after a time took on the elasticity of gutta-percha. 
[During the Civil War “gum blankets” (water-proof flexible ponchos/ground clothes) were issued to the troops made with either India rubber or gutta percha coated muslin cloth. According to an on-line video by Mike Woshner, author of India-Rubber and Gutta-Percha in the Civil War, only 4% were made with the gutta-percha latex, the rest with India rubber.  It seems the term “gutta percha” became the popular ‘slang term’ for everything that was black rubbery looking even though it was made with India rubber.  So, in this context John Billings is saying that even if you soaked them, at best it is still just like eating your gum blanket.]

The second condition was when they were mouldy [sic] or wet, as sometimes happened, and should not have been given to the soldiers.  I think this condition was often due to their having been boxed up too soon after baking.  It certainly was frequently to exposure to the weather.  It was no uncommon sight to see thousands of boxes of hard bread piled up at some railway station or other places used as a base of supplies, where they were only imperfectly sheltered from the weather, and too often not sheltered at all.  The failure of inspectors to do their full duty was one reason that so many of this sort reached the rank and file of the service.
The third condition was when from storage they had become infested with maggots and weevils.  These weevils were, in my experience, more abundant than the maggots.  They were a little, slim, brown bug an eight of an inch in length, and were great bores on a small scale, having the ability to completely riddle the hardtack.  I believe they never interfered with the hardest variety.
When the bread was mouldy [sic] or moist, it was thrown away and made good at the next drawing, so that the men were not the losers; but in the case of its being infested with the weevils, they had to stand it as a rule; for the biscuits had to be pretty thoroughly alive, and well covered with the webs which these creatures left, to insure condemnation.  An exception occurs to me.  Two cargoes of hard bread came to City Point, and on being examined by an inspector were found to be with weevils.  This fact was brought to Grant’s attention, who would not allow it landed, greatly to the discomfiture of the contractor, who had been attempting to bulldoze the inspector to pass it.
The quartermasters did not always take as active an interest in righting such matters as they should have done; and when the men growled at them, of course they were virtuously indignant and prompt to shift the responsibility to the next higher person, and so it passed on until the real culprit could not be found.
But hardtack was not so bad an article of food, even when traversed by insects, as may be supposed.  Eaten in the dark, no one could tell the difference between it and hardtack that was untenanted.  It was not uncommon occurrence for a man to find the surface of his pot of coffee swimming with weevils, after breaking up hardtack in it, which had come out of the fragments only to drown; but they were easily skimmed off, and left no distinctive flavor behind.  If a solider cared to do so, he could expel the weevils by heating the bread at the fire.  The maggots did not budge in that way.  The most of the hard bread was made in Baltimore, and put up on boxes of sixty pounds gross, fifty pounds net; and it is said that some of the storehouses in which it was kept would swarm with weevils in an incredibly short time after the first box was infested with them, so rapidly did these pests multiply.”

As disdained as hardtack was by the soldier, it was a staple of army rations long before the Civil War, having variations of its production back to ancient times for various army and naval units.  So, its use in the Civil War time period is not a “new thing”.  William Davis writes “as many as three or four million hardtack [were] being consumed every day [by 1864], clearly too big a demand for any one baker to supply, and thus companies all across the North received contracts that kept their ovens at baking heat around the clock.” (A Taste for War: Culinary History of the Blue and the Gray  2003, p.42)  That is a lot of crates of hardtack being shipped to Union troops.
The South, not having as much access to wheat flour which was grown mostly in Virginia and Georgia, used other things like corn or rice to make something similar to hardtack known as “corn dodgers” or “Johnny cakes”.  This was a mixture of cornmeal, salt, and water cooked until it was just as dry and hard as the Union hardtack.
Given the challenges of the time period of limited preservation options combined with the large quantity needed and the transportation challenges, we have to give the soldiers back then much credit for making due with what they had, even if they grumbled and mocked it in songs like “Hard Crackers Come Again No More” (see the March 5, 2022 post about this humous song).  They made due with what they had in order to accomplish the task before them.  We can also see why the army sutlers enjoyed good business in offering expensive options of food variety to the soldiers.

        An example from the Vicksburg campaign of soldiers valuing this army ration is cited in Nothing But Victory; The Army of the Tennessee 1861 -- 1865 (p405-06) by Steven Woodworth.  "The [Union] army spent May 20 and 21 [1863] making preparations, improving its position and its supply situation.  Though the process of hauling up material from the river had begun on the nineteenth, it was taking time to get the new rations into the hands of the soldiers.  Riding his line on May 21, Grant heard one of the soldiers say, quietly, but just loud enough for the general to hear him, 'Hard tack.'  That was all it took, and within moments hundreds of men had taken up the chant of  'Hard tack!  Hard tack!' and it spread rapidly along the line in both directions.  Grant assured the soldiers nearby that the food was one the way, and shouts of 'Hard tack!' changed to cheers.  By the evening the army was able to issue full rations to all of its troops around Vicksburg."

Children’s projects:
1. Given the resources of the times, can your children understand that it was an honest attempt to have food available to eat that could be stored, transported and handed out to keep the men fed?  Remind your children this is before refrigeration and plastic packaging etc we take for granted today.
2. Which one of the three options would your children find most horrible if their rations were contaminated in one of the ways Billings lists.  Extra hard?  Moldy?  Weevil infested?
3. Do some on-line research about weevils.  Would they make nice pets?  What might be the rationale behind not rejecting weevil infested crackers?  Look at Billings description of how such biscuits were used by the men.