Pea Ridge NMP: A Question of Supplies


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A QUESTION OF SUPPLIES

"Supplies being the main question in moving armies in America, my main efforts are devoted to that matter."

General Samuel Curtis
February, 1862

To supply the 12,500-man Army of the Southwest, Federal commander Curtis had to contend with a 300-mile long supply line, poor roads, bad weather, corrupt officials, poorly-made equipment, as well as the Confederate Army. His supplies came from the Federal Headquarters in St. Louis. They had to travel 100 miles by rail to Rolla, Missouri, and then another 200 miles over rough, mountainous roads to his army in Arkansas. The task of making sure that those supplies reached the Army fell upon Captain Phillip Henry Sheridan.

The Army’s supply system was divided into four departments – Quartermaster (clothing, tents, camp equipage), Subsistence (food), Ordnance (weapons, ammunition, leather gear), and Medical.

SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT:

"Oh Thou who blessed the loaves and fishes,
look down upon these old tin dishes.
By Thou great power these dishes smash,
bless each of us and damn this hash."

Federal Soldier's Table Prayer

For the Pea Ridge campaign, the Federal soldiers were issued salt beef or pork, hard bread, flour, hominy, rice, desiccated (dehydrated) vegetables, sugar, coffee, salt, and pinole (ground parched corn and sugar). Whenever possible, fresh beef or pork was substituted to save on the preserved stores. Sometimes, soldiers made up for shortcomings in their rations by foraging.

Reconstructed hardtack box filled with hardtack. A common part of the soldiers’ diet was the "Army Bread", also known as hardtack or a hard-cracker. The soldiers knew it, among other things, as a "cast iron biscuit", a "tooth-duller", or a "worm castle".

Little more than a flour and water cracker, the troops were issued 1 pound daily (somewhere between 4 and 9 crackers).

Reconstructed hardtack box. "Indestructibly hard", as one soldier remembered, and sometimes black with mildew or tunneled through by worms or weavels, the crackers could be eaten many ways – plain, boiled in coffee, fried, or in a soup or stew.

Rations came packed in wooden crates and barrels, so that they could be easily transported cross-country. The boxes usually ended up as camp furniture or firewood.

QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT:

The Quartermaster’s Department was responsible for providing the soldiers’ clothing, camp equipment, tents, horses, and transportation. In the first months of the war, there was much chaos within the Quartermaster’s Department. In a number of cases, arms, clothing and equipment was ordered, then stolen and sold by corrupt officers.

Major General Henry W. Halleck, Curtis’ superior in St. Louis, summed up the supply situation in a report to the Federal Army’s General-in-Chief, Major General George B. McClellan, "The most outrageous frauds are daily being developed, especially in the Quartermaster’s department. Many of the regimental quartermasters are unworthy of trust. This, General, is no army, but rather a military rabble."

Several Federal regiments could not join Curtis' Army for the Pea Ridge campaign due to the shortage of uniforms and equipment. Much of the equipment they did receive was of inferior quality. Many soldiers joked that their uniforms were issued in two sizes – too large and too small.

"I find the men’s shoes so miserable, they have worn them entirely out in six days marching."

General Samuel Curtis

ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT:

The Ordnance Department was responsible for weapons, ammunition, and leather goods, such as saddles and cartridge boxes. One of the greatest challenges facing the ordnance department was supplying sufficient ammunition to the army due to the lack of standardized weaponry. The weapons ranged from shotguns, hunting rifles and antiquated flintlocks to modern rifle-muskets and repeating rifles. Many units carried more than one type and caliber of weapon, compounding the ordnance officer’s job.

SUTLERS:

The Sutler was a civilian who had a contract with the Army to sell goods to the soldiers. He sold fresh and canned foods, and a supply of dry-goods, such as dime-novels, newspapers, writing materials, exotic photos, and tobacco. Most of the goods were sold at an extremely inflated price, which quickly used up the soldiers’ monthly $13 pay.

The sutlers traveling with the Army of the Southwest used the Elkhorn Tavern as a base of supplies in the days just before the battle. They stored most of their goods in the barn and outbuildings. There were hams, cheeses, crackers, canned oysters, sardines and lobsters, pickles, wines, preserves, and canned fruits. Most of this bounty fell into the hands of the hungry Missourians on the first day of the battle.

Box based upon an original in the Bertrand Collection, Desoto National Wildlife Refuge.	"One end of the building was found to contain a large amount of sutler’s stores; hungry as we were after our long fast, we were now prepared to do justice to this glorious feast." Ephraim M. Anderson 3rd Missouri Infantry, 1st Missouri Brigade
Shipping Box for Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce - imported from England

"Some of our boys stuck their bayonets into and carried off a pile of cheese on their shoulders as they passed through. There was an old Jew there who was wringing his hands and exclaiming, "Mine God! Mine God! Mine goods!"

Asa M. Payne
3rd Missouri Infantry
1st Missouri Brigade

Reconstructed shipping box for canned oysters.
Box based upon an original in the Bertrand Collection, Desoto National Wildlife Refuge.

Shipping Box for Rumsen, Carrol & Company, Chesapeake Canned Oysters - a delicacy sold to the soldiers by the sutler.

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Last updated on: October 26, 2003
Written by: Interpretation Staff
http://www.nps.gov/peri/supplies

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