| The armies inevitably resorted to
taking food from the surrounding countryside. This practice, considered theft by the
owners of the plantations and farms, was charitably referred to as 'foraging.' Pvt. Frank
Stockstill, a Sidney, Ohio resident who fought with the 118th Ohio, was often placed in
charge of a foraging detail. He and ten or so other soldiers foraged for several days at a
time, and returned with livestock, food, and often rebel prisoners. Cassius Wilson, a
brother of Dr. Albert Wilson, and a member of the 118th Ohio, related in a letter home to
his brother Henry in December, 1863, that "...being short of rations, Col. Young
told the boys to go for hogs or anything else good to eat." Union General William
Tecumseh Sherman made a telling observation about the effects of foraging on June 26,
1864: "We have devoured the land and our animals eat up the wheat and cornfields
close. All the people retire before us and the desolation is complete. To realize what war
is one should follow our tracks." Dr. Albert Wilson expressed his disgust at the practice in a letter home on February 5, 1863: "I sincerely wish there was better discipline in our army as there has been so much vice and wanton destruction of property that I am almost disgusted with it. If this course was likely to bring the war to a close any sooner I might think differently...But the worst light in which it can be viewed is the probable result on the morals of the young men. After they return from the service, they may not give up so readily the vicious habits they have been accustomed to practice." A private in the 20th Ohio wrote a Letter to the Editor of the "Journal" on June 13, 1864, in which he reported the reaction of one Southern lady he encountered while looking for food to the practice of foraging: "This morning your nasty beast company (meaning cavalry) came along and took nearly everything I had, and then your walking company (infantry) came along and took the rest and burned my house!" [Back] [Next] [Up] [New Search] [ 'Civil War' segment written in July, 1998 by Rich Wallace ] |