1 Camp Officers: Camp Cmdr: John Mark Camp [email protected]1st Lt. Cmdr: James C. Chappell 1st._[email protected]2nd. Lt. Cmdr: Roy Thomas Cook 2nd_Lt. [email protected]Camp Adjutant: Steve Camp [email protected]Editor: J. H. Underwood [email protected]Volume 16, Issue 4 Gen. Joe’s Dispatch Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler Camp #863, Conyers, Ga. “Our Commanders Comments” By: Commander Mark Camp 2 “Historical Ignorance and Confederate Generals” By: Walter E Williams 2 “What they ate in the WBTS” By: Trevor Steinbach, Civil War Cuurier 3 “Historical Ignorance and Confederate Generals” By: Walter E Williams (Continued from page 2) 4 Coming Events August 11, 2020 - Open House Meeting of Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler Camp 863 - Masonic Lodge, Conyers, Ga. September 8, 2020 - Regular Meeting of Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler Camp 863 - Masonic Lodge, Conyers, Ga. October 13, 2020 - Regular Meeting of Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler Camp 863 - Masonic Lodge, Conyers, Ga. Inside this issue: Technology increased the variety of what the Civil War soldier ate. Supposedly, Napoleon stated that an “army marches on its stomach”. We actually hear this phrase in the movie “Gods & Generals.” Prior to the war, most food was grown locally and consumed local- ly. The war changed all of this. In the decade leading up to the war, there were a number of new manu- facturers that were processing foods in ways that would be criti- cal in feeding armies. Many of these you will recognize. Dr. Gail Borden patented his con- densed coffee and milk starting in 1854. By 1862, the Borden Com- pany was shipping so much con- densed milk that it could not pro- duce enough to meet the demand. Dr. Borden started to “license” the product so that other manufactur- ers could help increase production. Federal troops were purchasing items in tinned cans and other tinned containers. Meat, biscuits, condensed coffee, fruit juices, and Borden’s condensed milk were all being consumed. Gilbert Van Camp started, in 1862, canning 6 gallons of raspberries, blackber- ries, peaches, and tomatoes in his Indianapolis, Indiana plant. Gustavus Swift was sending from his Chicago plant canned beans and meats. He also used the new refrigerated railcars for transport- ing beef, pork, butter, and lamb to various locations of the Federal Army. August 2020 The Union soldier in 1861, was supplied with one pound of meat, one pound of bread, a quarter pound of vegetables/beans, two ounces of coffee & sugar, one ounce of salt, pepper, vinegar, and other assorted spices per week. Many also obtained bottles of Worcester sauce to disguise the taste of any spoiled meat that they sometimes had to eat. While this diet of 3,100 calories on the march might seem ade- quate, it was lacking in Vitamins A, C, E, and Calcium. This could result in scurvy, as it did during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. Some of these foods were dried. This resulted in them being hydrated with contaminated water, resulting in diseases like typhoid, dysentery, and others. On the Confederate side, not only did the troops, but the slaves that performed services to their mas- ters and were used as teamsters, had to eat, too. The standard weekly ration for many slaves consisted of three pounds of pork, a peck of corn- meal (about 8 dry quarts), salt, and sometimes a little molasses. This worked out to an average daily ration of just under one-half pound of pork and just over one quart of cornmeal, not including the salt and molasses. Wheat was a favorite saved for the Confeder- ate soldiers for the baking of their biscuits. Continued on page 3. What they ate in the WBTS The slaves’ diet was, however, greatly augmented by the inclu- sion of field greens and wild fruits that Confederate soldiers did not or would not eat. Slaves ate sweet potatoes and cowpeas (black-eyed peas, field peas, etc.) which provided a good substitute for calcium usually obtained in milk. Most soldiers considered these items as animal fodder and left them for the slaves. Crop vegetables were also not their favorite but root and leafy field greens were (chards, okra, mustard greens). They provided high concentrations of complex B and C vitamins. Southerners were suspicious of most fruits and catching local fish and small game was chiefly a way slave’s increased protein in their diet. In the end, slaves in the army ate better and got more nutrition because of a varied diet that provided more vitamin and pro- tein content, though of greater or lesser quality, than the Confeder- ate soldiers. As complete diets, however, the Northern soldier fared far better than the Confed- erate rarely being provided with inadequate rations. The Confederate Government attempted to adopt the July, 1861, U.S. Army ration, but because the South had imported much of its coffee and sugar from the North, and the Union blockade cut off its food imports By: Trevor Steinbach
Gen. Joe’s Dispatch Maj . Gen . Joseph Wheeler Camp #863, Conyers , Ga.
“Our Commanders Comments” By: Commander Mark Camp
2
“Historical Ignorance and Confederate Generals” By: Walter E Williams
2
“What they ate in the WBTS” By: Trevor Steinbach, Civil War Cuurier
3
“Historical Ignorance and Confederate Generals” By: Walter E Williams (Continued from page 2)
4
Coming Events
August 11, 2020 - Open House Meeting of Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler Camp 863 - Masonic
Lodge, Conyers, Ga.
September 8, 2020 - Regular Meeting of Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler Camp 863 - Masonic
Lodge, Conyers, Ga.
October 13, 2020 - Regular Meeting of Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler Camp 863 - Masonic
Lodge, Conyers, Ga.
Inside this issue:
Technology increased the variety of what the Civil War soldier ate. Supposedly, Napoleon stated that an “army marches on its stomach”. We actually hear this phrase in the movie “Gods & Generals.”
Prior to the war, most food was grown locally and consumed local-ly. The war changed all of this. In the decade leading up to the war, there were a number of new manu-facturers that were processing foods in ways that would be criti-cal in feeding armies.
Many of these you will recognize.
Dr. Gail Borden patented his con-densed coffee and milk starting in 1854. By 1862, the Borden Com-pany was shipping so much con-densed milk that it could not pro-duce enough to meet the demand.
Dr. Borden started to “license” the product so that other manufactur-ers could help increase production.
Federal troops were purchasing items in tinned cans and other tinned containers. Meat, biscuits, condensed coffee, fruit juices, and Borden’s condensed milk were all being consumed. Gilbert Van Camp started, in 1862, canning 6 gallons of raspberries, blackber-ries, peaches, and tomatoes in his Indianapolis, Indiana plant.
Gustavus Swift was sending from his Chicago plant canned beans and meats. He also used the new refrigerated railcars for transport-ing beef, pork, butter, and lamb to various locations of the Federal Army.
August 2020
The Union soldier in 1861, was supplied with one pound of meat, one pound of bread, a quarter pound of vegetables/beans, two ounces of coffee & sugar, one ounce of salt, pepper, vinegar, and other assorted spices per week.
Many also obtained bottles of Worcester sauce to disguise the taste of any spoiled meat that they sometimes had to eat.
While this diet of 3,100 calories on the march might seem ade-quate, it was lacking in Vitamins A, C, E, and Calcium.
This could result in scurvy, as it did during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. Some of these foods were dried. This resulted in them being hydrated with contaminated water, resulting in diseases like typhoid, dysentery, and others.
On the Confederate side, not only did the troops, but the slaves that performed services to their mas-ters and were used as teamsters, had to eat, too.
The standard weekly ration for many slaves consisted of three pounds of pork, a peck of corn-meal (about 8 dry quarts), salt, and sometimes a little molasses.
This worked out to an average daily ration of just under one-half pound of pork and just over one quart of cornmeal, not including the salt and molasses. Wheat was a favorite saved for the Confeder-ate soldiers for the baking of their biscuits.
Continued on page 3.
What they ate in the WBTS
The slaves’ diet was, however, greatly augmented by the inclu-sion of field greens and wild fruits that Confederate soldiers did not or would not eat. Slaves ate sweet potatoes and cowpeas (black-eyed peas, field peas, etc.) which provided a good substitute for calcium usually obtained in milk. Most soldiers considered these items as animal fodder and left them for the slaves.
Crop vegetables were also not their favorite but root and leafy field greens were (chards, okra, mustard greens). They provided high concentrations of complex B and C vitamins.
Southerners were suspicious of most fruits and catching local fish and small game was chiefly a way slave’s increased protein in their diet.
In the end, slaves in the army ate better and got more nutrition because of a varied diet that provided more vitamin and pro-tein content, though of greater or lesser quality, than the Confeder-ate soldiers. As complete diets, however, the Northern soldier fared far better than the Confed-erate rarely being provided with inadequate rations.
The Confederate Government attempted to adopt the July, 1861, U.S. Army ration, but
because the South had imported much of its coffee and sugar from the North, and the Union
blockade cut off its food imports
By: Trevor Steinbach
2
War of Independence (1775-1783), a war between Great Britain and its 13 colonies, which declared independence in July 1776. The peace agreement that ended the war is known as the Treaty of Paris signed by Benjamin Franklin, John Ad-ams, John Jay and Henry Laurens and by British Commissioner Richard Oswald, on Sept. 3, 1783. Article I of the Treaty held that "New Hampshire, Massachu-setts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary-land, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sover-eign and Independent States."
Delegates from these states met in Phila-delphia in 1787 to form a union. During the Philadelphia convention, a proposal was made to permit the federal govern-ment to suppress a seceding state. James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, rejected it. Minutes from the debate para-phrased his opinion: "A union of the
The Confederacy has been the excuse for some of today's riot-ing, property destruction and grossly unin-formed state-ments. Among the latter is the testimony before the House Armed Services
Committee by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley in favor of renaming Confederate-named military bases. He said: "The Confedera-cy, the American Civil War, was fought, and it was an act of rebellion. It was an act of treason, at the time, against the Union, against the Stars and Stripes, against the U.S. Constitution."
There are a few facts about our founding that should be acknowledged. Let's start at the beginning, namely the American
The Georgia Division HAS filed a law suit against the (great and powerful) Oz . Now we have to wait and see what takes place next.
Southern Ladies, and Fellow Compatriots,
Wow !
It’s so hot, I’m sur-prised that the rain doesn’t turn to steam before it hits the ground.
Well, a lot is going on in the Confedera-tion. Just last month our Monument in Old Town was removed ( illegally) by BOC chairman Oz Nesbit. I say illegal because he took it upon himself to make a (executive decision) and have it re-moved.
Not only is it a violation of state law, he used city funds to pay the company to do the removal. That is called Misappropri-ation of Funds. And he CANNOT do that.
Our Commanders’ Comments
PAGE 2 GEN. JOE ’S DISPATCH VOLUME 16 , ISSUE 4
states containing such an ingredient (would) provide for its own destruction. The use of force against a state would look more like a declaration of war than an infliction of punishment and would probably be considered by the party at-tacked as a dissolution of all previous compacts by which it might be bound."
During the ratification debates, Virginia's delegates said, "The powers granted un-der the Constitution being derived from the people of the United States may be resumed by them whensoever the same shall be perverted to their injury or op-pression." The ratification documents of New York and Rhode Island expressed similar sentiments; namely, they held the right to dissolve their relationship with the United States. Ratification of the Con-stitution was by no means certain. States feared federal usurpation of their powers. If there were a provision to suppress a seceding state, the Constitution would never have been rati-
Historical Ignorance and Confederate Generals By Walter E. Williams July 21, 2020
And now, as of this writing, the city of McDonough has removed the statue on the square. I know that Cmdr. Tony Pilgrim and his camp did all they could to stop it, but it came down anyway.
Now, on to a bright spot. This month (August) we will be having our Open House. PLEASE, if anyone has artifacts or memorabilia that they would like to show, Please bring them.
We will open the doors early so you can have time to setup, then “start “ our meet-ing at 7:30
Thanking you in advance,
Until then,
For the Southern Cause,
Mark Camp, Commander
Continued on page 4.
General Henry Benning
Open House, April 2017
3
PAGE 3 GEN. JOE ’S DISPATCH VOLUME 16 , ISSUE 4
By: Trevor Steinbach
then frying it in pork grease. “Hellfire stew”
was made by breaking the cracker into small bits and frying it with meat. “Lobscouse” was a
soup of salt pork, hardtack, and whatever else the soldier felt like adding or just had in his haversack at the moment.
The bread of the Confederate soldier was typi-cally cornbread. The meal used to make the bread often was of a poor consistency - coarse and not sifted - a quality that became progres-sively worse throughout the war.
When cornmeal was not available and only dried corn was available for the troops, sol-diers would often punch holes in their can-teens and make their own meal by grating the corn. A favorite dish using cornbread was ‘cush’ or ‘slosh;’ a dish similar to ‘hellfire stew.’ The soldier fried a piece of meat and put bits of broken cornbread in the pan to mix with the grease, making a stew.
Poor harvests, a drought in late 1862, freak spring snows in 1863, and the shortage of men
to plant, cultivate and reap crops compounded both the civilian and military need for food.
This affected the South more than the North as the war went on.
This might have also influenced the reason for General Lee’s Gettysburg Campaign. Late June/Early July would have resulted in hay, oats, and feed corn harvests in south central Pennsylvania being ready for the “picking”. It was also when grass for grazing/forage would be at its most lush for his starving animals.
Confederate foraging operations were taking place up to forty-five miles away from Gettysburg and were actively send-ing supplies to the South. Perhaps this was also the reason the General Lee’s final request of General Grant at Appo-mattox was 25,000 rations for his hun-gry troops.
Until next Month
Your Obt. Servant Surgeon T.T. Steinbach 17th Corps Field Hospital, Inc.
The South had its own tradition of hot sauce going back to Col. Mausel White who, in 1850, began selling his Concentrated Es-sence of Tabasco (sic) Sauce. His family marketed the product in 1863 and it has long been rumored that they gave pepper seeds and the recipe to Edmund McIlhenny to help with his budding Tabasco Sauce business at Avery Island, Louisiana.
With the invention of ‘Tilden’s Coffee Ex-tract’ by a Prof. W. Tilden working with both the U.S. Sanitary Commission in July of 1861 and the New York Condensed Milk Co. (later known as Borden’s), he received licenses to produce a thick paste of coffee extract, sugar and milk.
He began supplying this in tin cans to the Federal Army by December 1861. It also ended up in the Medical chest of Union Sur-geons as a “stimulant” for patients including the wounded.
Secretary of War Simon Cameron wrote in January of 1862 that Congress had approved the issuance of this new form of coffee.
The benefits of improved and uniform fla-vor, along with ease of use (it required water at just 110° rather than boiling), less waste of coffee and sugar (estimated at 1 to 10%), less water (with a preferred ratio of 24:1 water to extract), plus the added nutrition of a dairy product.
The Union government found that fresh coffee and sugar rations were not as efficient for distribution as the coffee extract.
The number one food for the Union soldier was hardtack (or ship’s biscuit in the Navy).
Hardtack had several rather unappealing characteristics that the men were forced to deal with.
This three by three by one-half inch thick cracker became notorious for its hardness. This was the result of the drying process. It actually made the finished product both drier and lighter than
the flour used to make it. The daily ration could vary from nine to ten crackers per day. Several
popular dishes utilizing hardtack included “skillygalee, hellfire stew, and lobscouse.” The first
dish called for soaking hardtack in water and
from England and Latin America, it could not. The government reduced the coffee ration from 1.6 ounces to 0.92 ounces for every man and the sugar ration from 2.4 ounces to 1.92 ounces.
Louisiana was the largest producer of sugar in the South, but in spring of 1862, Union forces invaded the state and obstructed the production yield. Sugar and coffee were not the only imports from the North before the war; the Northwest was a major export-er of wheat grain, so most of the soft bread issued to Confederate soldiers was made from either cornmeal or rice
In the South, Confederate corn bread looked more like Northern wheat-based hard tack or ships biscuit. Basic ingredients of corn meal, salt, water, and lard were kneaded together and slowly baked to form a rock hard and somewhat tasteless food.
As with Northern hard tack, soaking it in hot water or coffee softened it to a semi-eatable state.
Slaves liked a sweeter product and added as much sugar or fruit sugars as they could find to any cornbread. In the Northern states, corn bread, with the addition of baking soda, looked more like the cake we have today.
As a topping, this bread was eaten with rendered lard or bacon drippings to add better nutrition and flavor. This does not sound very appetizing today.
The Union blockade of Southern ports had made salt, pepper, cloves, cinnamon and
Ginger, and many other common cooking spices scarce. The Creole cuisine of Louisi-ana had for years used both wine and as-sorted chili pepper sauces in cooking and most of these
concoctions found their way into camp cooking. Many of these recipes came from French
cayenne sauces and others from native Peruvian ‘brews’.
The first commercially prepared hot or pepper sauces came from J. McCollick & Co. in New York City, winning a prize for their Bird’s Pepper Sauce in 1856. By the early 1860’s, E. Durkee Spice Company of Brooklyn, NY began producing and ship-ping to troops a patented ‘Chili Sauce.’
What they ate in the WBTS
4
letting the Gulf States go."
Confederate generals fought for independ-ence from the Union just as George Wash-ington fought for independence from Great Britain. Those who label Robert E. Lee and other Con-federate generals as traitors might also label George Wash-ington a traitor. Great Britain's King George III and the
British parliament would have agreed.
Walter E. Williams is a professor of econom-ics at George Mason University
fied. The ratification votes were close with Virginia, New York and Massa-chusetts voting in favor by the slim-mest of margins. Rhode Island initially rejected it in a popular referendum and finally voted to ratify — 34 for, 32 against.
Most Americans do not know that the first secessionist movement started in New England. Many New Englanders were infuriated by President Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which they saw as an unconsti-tutional act. Timothy Pickering of Massachusetts, who was George Washington's secretary of war and secretary of state, led the movement. He said, "The Eastern states must and will dissolve the union and form a separate government." Other promi-nent Americans such as John Quincy Adams, Elbridge Gerry, Fisher Ames, Josiah Quincy III and Joseph Story
shared his call for secession. While the New England secessionist movement was strong, it failed to garner support at the 1814-15 Hartford Convention.
Even on the eve of the War of 1861, union-ist politicians saw secession as a state's right. Rep. Jacob M. Kunkel of Maryland said, "Any attempt to preserve the union between the states of this Confederacy by force would be impractical and destructive of republican liberty." New-York Tribune (Feb. 5, 1860): "If tyranny and despotism justified the Revolution of 1776, then we do not see why it would not justify the secession of Five Millions of Southrons from the Federal Union in 1861." The De-troit Free Press (Feb. 19, 1861): "An at-tempt to subjugate the seceded States, even if successful, could produce nothing but evil — evil unmitigated in character and appalling in extent." The New-York Times (March 21, 1861): "There is a growing sentiment throughout the North in favor of
499 Bell Road SE Conyers, GA. 30094
MAJ . G EN . J OS EPH W HE EL ER CAM P #863, CONY ERS, GA.
