Fishing in the War

[ColonelBuckwalter]

I did a lot of cane poke fishing back home. I'm in a different place now. During the war fishing just a popular then as now. I'm sure being as there were people who were from the coast and sailor's that there was angling going on..

Any fish tales anyone knows of?

And fur the record I caught a 600lb guppy once)

 

[Fairfield]

With military rations being both skimpy and monotonous, I guess fishing provided something special.

 

[Michael C. Hardy]

The Army of Northern Virginia did a great deal of fishing in the spring of 1863 while stationed near Fredericksburg. Different regiments and brigades built fish traps and seine hauled.

 

[Rhea Cole]

Brian E. Stam has written a very informative article about how soldiers supplemented their rations with fresh fish & shell fish.

I especially like the fact that handmade lures of pork rind were ubiquitous.

Link:

Fresh Fish: How Civil War Soldiers Added Seafood To Their Provisions

Fishing was not only a leisure activity for the common soldier but was also used as a way of supplementing their diets by adding a fresh alternative to army rations.

historforum.com

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Union soldiers enduring Hood's "Siege of Nashville" in November-December 1864 did not have to forgo their taste for fish & oysters.

The Daily Nashville Union Banner News Paper's wartime publication is available from the Library of Congress. I find that the local news paper ads speak volumes about what is really going on.

As Hood's shivering men listened to the brass band of an elaborate circus 3 times a day echoing among the hills, they read about the grand opening of an ice cream parlor.

In Nashville a soldier with a 24 hour pass could have checked ito a nice hotel, had a restorative bath, enjoyed the novelty of a soda shop, delighted in a trip to the circus, eaten an excellent meal that included salmon & , in order to fortify himself for later, oysters. Finishing up his evening at one of the officially sanctioned & licensed brothels would have been a fine way to "cap off" a day away from the army.

 

[Kurtlg]

The main course in Pickett's infamous shad bake must have been caught by some one

 

[Rhea Cole]

Sidebar: Did you ever wonder where the Signal Corps ordered the segmented staffs for their signal flags / torches?

A team of 4-6 mounted men made up a signal team. Their kit included a set of red, white & black flags, two turpentine torches to mount on the poles, a stationary torch & a copper turpentine canteen.

You can see a lit candle one mile away. With a telescope you can see a turpentine torch 41 miles from Fort Transit station outside Murfreesboro TN to Fort Negley in Nashville.

You can't do any of that marvelous stuff without stout, segmented poles. Who better to make them than surf fishing rod manufacturers? (+/-) 12 ' in length, the surf fishing pole / hardware modified easily into segmented poles for signalists to wave out their messages.

•

"The Flags that Talk"

Link:

The Flag That Talks – The U.S. Signal Corps in the Civil War

The U.S. Signal Corps was founded in the Civil War. Learn how it developed and how it is still in use in today's Army.

www.civilwarmed.org

 

[ColonelBuckwalter]

The Army of Northern Virginia did a great deal of fishing in the spring of 1863 while stationed near Fredericksburg. Different regiments and brigades built fish traps and seine hauled.

I can see that. The Rapids, from the way.it flows looks like it would have some holes.

 

[7th Texas Mounted Rifles]

A couple of the men in the Army of New Mexico spoke fondly of supplementing rations (and acquiring alcohol at the affiliated scabtowns) with large catfish caught in the Leona, Devils and Pecos Rivers, and Government and Las Moras Springs - on the march from the Salado to Mesilla.

 

[ColonelBuckwalter]

I did a lot of cane poke fishing back home. I'm in a different place now. During the war fishing just a popular then as now. I'm sure being as there were people who were from the coast and sailor's that there was angling going on..

Any fish tales anyone knows of?

And fur the record I caught a 600lb guppy once)

That was cane and for

 

[Stryker65]

The main course in Pickett's infamous shad bake must have been caught by some one

I think Tom Rosser caught those himself.


Are there any Civil War-era fishing rods still preserved? Would love to see one or two.

 

[DixieRifles]

Im reading thru Dr. Timothy Smith's series of 5 books on the Vicksburg campaign. The volume on Battle of the Bayous describe Grant's attempts get behind Vicksburg by flooding the Mississippi Delta. The Federal troops had to put up mud, rain and snakes as well as lack of rations. However many units were able to supplement their rations with fresh fish, especially a few units that spent time at one location for some time.
I will try to get some quotes.

 

[USS ALASKA]

NF - Looking for books on: oceanside fort garrison life, fishing during ACW | Civil War Books, Stories, & Media

Hi all. I've been reading and researching the ACW for much of my life and would love to learn more about a very niche topic. My parents live in Brunswick County, NC, near Fort Fisher. I think it's fascinating thinking about how soldiers would have dealt with daily life near the ocean, with...

civilwartalk.com

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[Dan Kohli]

If I remember correctly, in at least one book from the time period suggests that a company in garrison should acquire a few types of fishing equipment.

 

[Joe Whitworth]

Bullets turned into fishing sinkers are fairly common metal detecting camp finds.

 

[ColonelBuckwalter]

I think Tom Rosser caught those himself.


Are there any Civil War-era fishing rods still preserved? Would love to see one or two.

Me too. If they were cane proper, do they hold up better than rattan?

 

[ColonelBuckwalter]

NF - Looking for books on: oceanside fort garrison life, fishing during ACW | Civil War Books, Stories, & Media

Hi all. I've been reading and researching the ACW for much of my life and would love to learn more about a very niche topic. My parents live in Brunswick County, NC, near Fort Fisher. I think it's fascinating thinking about how soldiers would have dealt with daily life near the ocean, with...

civilwartalk.com

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

Alaska, as always, you have the goods.

 

[John Hartwell]

><))))( *>

 

[Stryker65]

><))))( *>

With that X over the eye, that's the deadest fish I've ever seen.

 

[R. Porter]

With that X over the eye, that's the deadest fish I've ever seen.

I think that's a star, which would make it a star fish?

 

[JD-reb]

The Army of Northern Virginia did a great deal of fishing in the spring of 1863 while stationed near Fredericksburg. Different regiments and brigades built fish traps and seine hauled.

Since Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade were stationed right in Fredericksburg Barksdale gave his soldiers permission "to fish as much as we want" stated Pvt Newton Nash of the 13th MS. The Mississippians used large seine nets purchased from the merchants within Fredericksburg. Sgt Hill of the 13th MS identified numerous species caught as "White Shad, Mullets, Sturgeon, Herring, Catfish, Rockfish Carp and Perch. Unfortunately one private from the 13th MS and one from the 21st MS drowned after becoming entangled in these large nets.