|
| Mary Tippee, Sutler, 114th Pennsylvania |
|
|
| CivilWarPhotos.Net |
| Sutler's Tent, Petersburg, Virginia |
|
|
| Library of Congress |
The sutler was an integral part of every Union regiment.
The man, or in one case woman, who filled the post of sutler was approved and appointed by the army. The appointment
was supposed to be independent and impartial, but in reality many sutlers received politically motivated appointments.
There was a lot of profit to be made during the war, and a host of men, both civilian and military, who aimed to share in
that profit.
| Sutlers Row, Chattanooga, Tennessee |
|
|
| CivilWarPhotos.Net |
Each regiment had but one sutler, and the soldiers
of the regiment were required to purchase from that person only. The sutler, too, was supposed to sell only to the soldiers
in his regiment. Again, this was difficult to police, even if the officers did care enough to try to enforce this particular
order. Since soldiers of different regiments shared friendships and family ties, it is not difficult to understand that they
would also share provisions purchased from their sutlers.
| Sutler's Tent, Rappahannoc Station, Virginia |
|
|
| Library of Congress |
Often the sutler was the most despised man in
camp. Because he was a civilian and a man of commerce, his motives for being in camp were different than the 1000 men he was
supposed to serve. He was there to sell at a profit, and businessmen generally try to maximize their profits. Since the sutler
had a monopoly on camp business, he often attempted to sell inferior goods at inflated prices. This practice was so common
that when the soldiers became infuriated to the point of revenge, after they raided the sutler's tents and stole what they
wanted from him, the regiment's officers rarely intervened. They, too, believed the sutler had it coming.
| Sutler's Bomb Proof, Petersburg, Virginia |
|
|
| Library of Congress |
When pay day came, sutlers were in line before any
of the soldiers so they could present their receipts and be paid what the soldiers owed them on credit. There was a limit
to how much sutlers could loan a soldier, and if their receipts ran over the limit, they lost out. The army would not pay
the excess. When the soldiers received their pay, the loan that was paid to the sutler was deducted from what they received.
| Sutlers Tent, Brandy Station, Virginia |
|
|
| Library of Congress |
Sutlers were strictly forbidden from selling the soldiers
alcohol. Consequently, ingenious means of hiding strong drink from the officers was found. Liquor was hidden in pies, in cans
labeled milk or fruit, or any other innocent appearing device the sutlers could devise. Sutlers were, however, permitted to
sell alcohol to officers. The restriction was that any alcohol transported to a sutler had to be delivered to the officers
within 24 hours, or it would be confiscated by those officers.
| Rock Island, Illinois, Prison Sutler with Officers |
|
|
| U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
The way commercial sutlers at reenactments
set up their tents and sell their wares does not recreate the Civil War sutler's arrangement. A soldier would never be allowed in a
sutler's tent. Why? Because the sutler could not trust the soldiers. They loathed him and he paid the consequences with mistrust
and the need for increased security.
| Sutlers Tent, Bealeton, Virginia |
|
|
| Library of Congress |
A sutler always set up a sales counter across his entrance.
Whatever the soldier wanted to purchase, he asked for it at the counter and the sutler retrieved it. This is the setup used
for the Mackinaw River Valley
impression. No photographs are available at this time, but the photos here represent how the impression looks.
| Newspaper Vendor in Union Camp in Virginia |
|
|
| Library of Congress |
Sources that Contributed to the Creation of
the Sutler Impression
Barber, Lucius W., 1839-1872. Army Memoirs of Lucius W. Barber,
Company "D," 15th Illinois
Volunteer Infantry : May 24, 1861, to Sept. 30, 1865. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1984, c1981. Reprint. Originally published: Chicago: J.M.W. Jones Stationery and Print. Co., 1894.
Cunningham, Michael R. Follow
Me To Victory or Death: The Diaries and Letter of Captian Henry Martin Kellog, 33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry.
Louisville, Kentucky: University of Louisville, 1993.
Depasquale,
Stephen M. The Twentieth Illinois
Infantry Regiment. Normal, Illinois:
Master’s Thesis, Department of History, 1993.
Geer,
Allen Morgan, 1840-1926. The Civil War Diary of Allen Morgan Geer, Twentieth Regiment, Illinois
Volunteers. Denver: R. C. Appleman, c1977.
Iseminger, Tubal Wile. Civil War Diaries and Letters of Tubal Wile Iseminger, 1862-1865. Collinsville, Illinois: William
Robert Iseminger, 1988.
Jessee, James W. Alan D. Selig, Transcriber.
William P. LaBounty, Editor. Civil War Diaries of James W. Jessee 1861-1865. Normal, Illinois: McLean
County Genealogical Society, 1997.
Peters, George A. Diary of “G. Peters, High Private. North Little Rock, Arkansas: Family Time Books, 1998.
Stillwell, Leander. The Story of a Common Soldier.
Franklin Hudson Publishing Company, 1920. Reprinted in 1983. Place of publication not revealed.
Wiley,
Bell Irvin. The Life
of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1952, 1971.
|
