Civil War Food
Ten Little Known Facts About the American Civil War
1. When Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation he wasn’t actually freeing ALL the slaves, he was only freeing the slaves in the rebellious states. It’s interesting that he chose to free the slaves in those states that he had the least power to do so. It did however serve a political purpose by adding a moral component to the Union cause and also allowed blacks to join the Union Army and Navy. By the end of the war as many as 200,000 blacks had fought for the Union.
2. Union General Major General Lovell H. Rousseau once rounded up leading citizens during the Union occupation of Huntsville Alabama and each day placed one of them on the Union trains traveling in and out of the city to discourage Confederates from indiscriminately firing into the trains.
3. By the end of the war, Federal funds had paid for an estimated 840,000 horses and more than 430,000 mules. Confederates officers and mounted troopers were required to provide their own horses although they were reimbursed at a daily rate of forty cents. If the horse was killed, he was required to find a new one or he might be transferred to infantry service.
4. During the American Civil War, more men died from disease than died from actual combat. Exact numbers are hard to come by especially on the Confederate side since many of the records were lost or destroyed. Estimates, however, put the total number of Civil War deaths at over 600,000 for both sides combined. Of that number, just over 200,000 were from combat and the rest were from disease and other causes.
5. It was not a forgone conclusion that Robert E. Lee would command the Confederate States Army. In many ways he sympathized with the North. He considered slavery wrong and supported the preservation of the Union, yet he turned down Lincoln’s offer to command Union forces. In the end, his loyalty to his state of Virginia was stronger than his loyalty to the Union.
6. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln invited Grant and his wife to join he and Mrs. Lincoln in Washington. Mrs. Grant didn’t have particularly warm feelings towards Mrs. Lincoln so they declined the offer. Had they gone to Washington, they likely would have been there that night when Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre.
7. President Lincoln’s son Robert Todd Lincoln was once saved from falling under a train by famous actor Edwin Booth. A few months later, Edwin Booth’s brother John Wilks Booth would assassinate President Lincoln.
8. The first fatality in the Civil War was an accident. After two days of shelling by the Confederates on Fort Sumter causing heavy damage and many fires, there were still no fatalities. After running short on supplies, Union Maj. Robert Anderson agreed to surrender the fort, one of the stipulations being that they be allowed to salute the flag as they took it down. The next day, during the 100 gun salute, a smoldering piece of cartridge landed on a pile of new cartridges causing an explosion that killed Pvt. Daniel Hough and fatally injured another.
9. Ulysses S. Grant’s wife Julia Grant was once taken prisoner by the Confederates. Julia and their youngest son Jesse often traveled with Ulysses and stayed in his camps so he could have “good home-cooked food”. In December of 1862, Julia was captured by Confederate troops under the command of Confederate Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. This is believed to be the only wife of a Union General to be taken prisoner. When her identity was discovered, Forrest had her released immediately.
10. The first submarine to sink an enemy ship was the H.L. Hunley. On February 17, 1864, the Confederate submarine, with a crew of 8 including Confederate Lt. George Dixon, set off into the Charleston Harbor to sink the Union ship U.S.S. Housatonic. The sub was man powered by hand cranks attached to the propeller shaft. They were successful in attaching an explosive to the U.S.S. Housatonic and detonating it, sending the ship to the bottom, however, before it could return to port, the H.L. Hunley sank to the bottom also killing its entire crew.
If you enjoyed this article, check out the Interesting History website
About the Author
Mark Bowman is a history enthusiast and web site hobbyist. The result is the Interesting History website.
A Taste of Civil War Foods
|
|
1986 Card Coach Civil War Scenes Food Issue Trading Card Set (36) NM/MT $10.99 |
|
|
1986 Card Coach Civil War Scenes Food Issue Trading Card Set (36) NM/MT $10.99 |
|
|
Russia CIVIL WAR Southern Front Food Commission TALON $29.99 |
|
|
1986 Card Coach Civil War Scenes Food Issue Trading Card Set (36) NM/MT $10.99 |
|
|
Coupon rationing Civil War Spain: food, clothing $59.99 |
|
|
Coupon rationing Civil War Spain: food, clothing $49.99 |
|
|
Coupon rationing Civil War Spain: food, clothing $39.99 |
|
|
Coupon rationing Civil War Spain: food, clothing $59.99 |
|
|
Coupon rationing Civil War Spain: food, clothing $38.99 |
|
|
Coupon rationing Civil War Spain: food, clothing $39.99 |
|
|
Coupon rationing Civil War Spain: food, clothing $39.99 |
|
|
HARDTACK Food For Soldiers U.S. CIVIL WAR CARD Teeth Dullers $1.99 |
|
|
JEFFERSON, WI WIS WISC WISCONSIN INSURANCE AGENT FOOD CWT CIVIL WAR TOKEN MEDAL $99.99 |
|
|
1863 I P Sherwood Dry Foods Cleveland OH Civil War Token FREE S/H!! $0.99 |
|
|
SALT MEAT Black as a Shoe Food in the U.S. CIVIL WAR PHOTO CARD $1.99 |
|
|
SCURVY Food Illness U.S. CIVIL WAR CARD Union Officers 1864 Dining Photo $1.99 |
|
|
SOLDIERS DIETS Food Eating DURING THE U.S. CIVIL WAR 2 CARDS Hardtack $2.50 |
|
|
1864 Civil War Cincinnati,Ohio Pork-Beef Packers-Producers item-Soldier food? $7.99 |
|
|
1936 pin SPANISH CIVIL WAR pinback Anti FASCISM Food for SPAIN $89.00 |
|
|
Yanks, Rebels, Rats & Rations Scratching for Food in Civil War Prison Camps $3.95 |
|
|
Pay-day,Army of the Potomac,Civil War,sending money,food,liquor,women,Homer,1863 $8.99 |
|
|
Civil War Scenes Uncut Card Sheet Food Premium Set 1986 $91.99 |
|
|
JANESVILLE, WI WIS WISC WISCONSIN LIQUOR FOOD ETC. CWT CIVIL WAR TOKEN MEDAL $99.99 |
|
|
1986 Card Coach Civil War Scenes Food Issue Trading Card Set (36) NM/MT $11.24 |
|
|
Civil War Scenes Complete Food Premium Card Set 1986 $74.99 |
|
|
ARMY BEEF CATTLE FOOD DINNER 1863 Civil War Art Matted $32.00 |
|
|
Food and Recipes of the Civil War (Cooking Throughout American History) by Geor $0.99 |
|
|
1986 Card Coach – CIVIL WAR SCENES FOOD ISSUE CARD SET $34.95 |
|
|
Butchering cattle to feed the Union army, Civil War Photo Mugs Union soldiers butchering cattle in camp, US Civil War. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration…. |
|
|
Confederate camp dinner, Civil War Photo Mugs Tired and hungry Confederate soldiers cooking supper after a hard march. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration…. |
|
|
Confederates invading Maryland, 1864 Photo Mugs General Earlys cavalry taking livestock from farmers during the Confederate invasion of Maryland, 1864. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration…. |
|
|
A Thousand Deaths $1.99 … |
|
|
CIVIL DEFENSE: FOOD AND FALLOUT Experience the American Journey through our country’s visual heritage in this historical recording provided by the National Archives of the United States.An educational film on survival during a nuclear war. Produced by the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization.This historical recording from the National Archives may contain variations in audio and video quality based on the limitations of the … |
