- Joined
- Feb 5, 2017
I just started reading a book called "War Stuff" The struggle for Human and Environmental Resources in the American Civil War by Joan E. Cashin
Anyway, I got to a section that is real annoying and shameful - and both sides did it!
"Both armies alienated civilians, female and male, by their petty abuses of authority while foraging. It is remarkable how often they damaged kitchenware and cooking utensils during their freelance expeditions. Federal troops in Huntsville, Alabama, entered private homes, demanding to be fed, and then left broken pottery in their wake. Rebel soldiers did the same, even to families who supported their cause. In Hanover County, Virginia, Fanny Tinsley's neighbor willingly gave most of her food to Confederate troops who then borrowed her crockery and broke it, leaving shard of cups and glasses behind. Men from both armies grabbed coffee pots and forks from households wherever they went, which was galling to civilians, who of course wanted those objects for their own use."
I peeked ahead to the section on Timber resources and it ain't pretty.
But... why all the destruction? What's the point to terrify women no matter which army you're in? And why would you want to even help your own side if they are going to destroy your place?
The book already said that the different states citizenry feared the armies on both sides when they started coming.
Anyway, I got to a section that is real annoying and shameful - and both sides did it!
"Both armies alienated civilians, female and male, by their petty abuses of authority while foraging. It is remarkable how often they damaged kitchenware and cooking utensils during their freelance expeditions. Federal troops in Huntsville, Alabama, entered private homes, demanding to be fed, and then left broken pottery in their wake. Rebel soldiers did the same, even to families who supported their cause. In Hanover County, Virginia, Fanny Tinsley's neighbor willingly gave most of her food to Confederate troops who then borrowed her crockery and broke it, leaving shard of cups and glasses behind. Men from both armies grabbed coffee pots and forks from households wherever they went, which was galling to civilians, who of course wanted those objects for their own use."
I peeked ahead to the section on Timber resources and it ain't pretty.
But... why all the destruction? What's the point to terrify women no matter which army you're in? And why would you want to even help your own side if they are going to destroy your place?
The book already said that the different states citizenry feared the armies on both sides when they started coming.