Hardtack and Coffee, or, The Unwritten Story of Army Life

by John Davis Billings

Paper Book, 1982

Status

Available

Call number

973.7/83

Series

Collector's Library of the Civil War

Genres

Publication

[Alexandria, Va.] : Time-Life Books, [1982]

Description

History. Military. Nonfiction. HTML: Throughout history, from antiquity to the present, service in the armed forces of one�??s country has provided an almost endless source of material to entertain and even enlighten listeners. Military life has usually been a unique and peculiar experience for most civilians exposed to it. Originally published in 1888, Hard Tack and Coffee is the fascinating account of the everyday life of a footsoldier in the U.S. Army of one hundred years ago. John Billings describes all aspects of a soldier�??s life, including living quarters, foraging, wagon trains, offenses and punishments, equipment, transportation, food, hospitals, and much more. This is a detailed, comprehensive, and highly absorbing resource on the common soldier�??s life in the Civil War a… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member HaleyWhitehall
Hardtack and Coffee is one of my go to reference books in my Civil War library. It explains every facet of a Civil War soldier's life from entertainment in camp to discipline. This book is a must have for every Civil War historian and historical fiction writer.
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LibraryThing member MarkBeronte
Originally published in 1888, this first-person account of everyday life for the foot soldier during the Civil War became an immediate bestseller
LibraryThing member DCBlack
An excellent overview of just about every aspect of the war from the enlisted man's point of view, from recruitment, to life in winter camp, to picket duty, to drawing pay and clothing, to foraging, to burying men and horses and digging latrines. John Billings gives a very thorough account,
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 elucidated with fascinating anecdotes of his own history as an Massachusetts artilleryman in the war.
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LibraryThing member Whiskey3pa
Entertaining look at Civil War soldiering from the enlisted perspective. Entertaining and well written. It was assembled years after the war and lacks the urgency of a contemporary journal. The author was in the artillery and provides excellent insights into that life. Enjoyable read.

Subjects

United States History Personal narratives. Civil War, 1861-1865

Language

English

Original publication date

1887

Physical description

vi, 408 p.; 22 cm

ISBN

0809442086 / 9780809442089

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