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Such huge armies required equally huge amounts of food and other provisions. It was commonplace for the men to go days with little or no food. Dr. Wilson advised his Sidney, Ohio family in July of 1863 that "Presently we are out of rations and obliged to wait for supplies." Sergeant Oldroyd of the 20th Ohio related a typical incident that occurred outside of Vicksburg one day. General Leggett approached their campfire and inquired whether or not the men had food for supper. When he was advised they had none, he said, "Well, boys, I have none either, and we shall probably have to fight for our breakfast." Oldroyd replied: "Very well, general, I guess we can stand it as well as you." |
| One unforgettable type
of food was hardtack, a form of hard, dried cracker. The men had to break it over their
knees, or soak it overnight in order to eat it. When mixed with water, it was known as
'sluce'. As has been the case throughout all of the wars, the folks back home heard a
different story. J. W. Morrow, chaplain for the 99th Ohio, sent a letter which the "Sidney
Journal" printed on June 3, 1863. It quoted Col. Swaine of the 99th as saying,
"A man could not be blamed for loving to soldier, when furnished with such a nice
camp, superb cooking arrangements and good boarding." [Back] [Next] [Up] [New Search] [ 'Civil War' segment written
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The 118th Ohio, with a large contingent of men from Shelby County, suffered terribly during the winters of 1862-1863 and 1863-1864. Lt. D. L. Crites provided this graphic description in a letter dated November 29, 1863: "We are living entirely on corn sometimes ground, sometimes in the ear or shelled and it is only through the greatest exertions that we can get that. Hundreds of our men are becoming sick through fatigue and famine and unless the enemy is soon driven from our front, we will have to retreat toward Chattanooga to get something to keep soul and body together. I have now seen the war in all its shapes, from enjoying the calm sea breezes of a northern conscript camp to the mangled bodies of the dead upon the battlefield together with the shock of contending armies, yet all is pleasant when compared to the horrors of a starving army." |
