History Caffeinating the Union Army

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Starbuck sells chocolate covered coffee beans. I have had them. They are good but pricey.

Give me my coffee in a cup - NOT a cup of beans either - hot Brewed liquid.

 

[Pollaco]

Folgers may have gotten the trademark about "the best part of waking up..." but that seems to be just about everyone's motto. Just plain coffee, no matter the brand.

 

[52ndFandS]

Engine Room Coffee? Sounds like you are ex-Navy.

Grandfather former WW2 Merchant Marine. Sunk by a free floating mine in the Engkish channel and by the I-27 in the Pacific. He started out a cabin boy ended up a harbor pilot. I could steer before I could drive and swear before I could read.

I.spent a lot of time on amd off of ships, a dew naval ships as well. Nothing was as impressive however as being on the bridge of a Moran tug pushing a ship out into the river. My grandfather got his first job as a citizen with them.

And aything but that coffee tasted weird to me.

 

[bayouace]

So that's how the Union won the war! If only the South had unlimited Community, Seaport, and Mello Joy dark roast. Lol

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

So that's how the Union won the war! If only the South had unlimited Community, Seaport, and Mello Joy dark roast. Lol

Haha! Good comment. At least the Rebels sometimes had tobacco to trade for coffee with Union soldiers on the picket lines.

 

[donna]

When I said pricey I meant expensive.

I was surprised at price of cup of coffee at Denny's. We went there for breakfast on Sunday. Hadn't been in years. The coffee was over 3 dollars a cup. That more than we pay at Starbucks and it no where as good as Starbuck's. Actually breakfast was high and we got the over 55 meal of scrambled eggs. Things have gone up so much.

 

[KianGaf]

Wades Fancy Coffee, this recipe for coffee from a soldier in the 14th Connecticut looks interesting.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Wades Fancy Coffee, this recipe for coffee from a soldier in the 14th Connecticut looks interesting.

Good video. This is the best recent post about Civil War coffee.

 

[KianGaf]

If Wade had made that coffee Irish I'd be tempted to give it a try.

 

[Pollaco]

Notice how often the term "bucket" is used. Were coffee pots even used back then?

 

[KianGaf]

Notice how often the term "bucket" is used. Were coffee pots even used back then?

Who would carry the bucket it looks a cumbersome item to march with ? I'd imagine pots were only for the higher ups and not the regular soldiers.

 

[Dan Kohli]

Notice how often the term "bucket" is used. Were coffee pots even used back then?

I do believe that coffee pots were found in the recks of the steamships Arabia and associated with some officers and soldiers.
"Bucket" may not be the technical term for them, but it gets the point across.

 

[Dan Kohli]

Who would carry the bucket it looks a cumbersome item to march with ? I'd imagine pots were only for the higher ups and not the regular soldiers.

They probably were transported in the wagon. If I remember correctly, the soldiers would take terns carrying the buckets/kettles amongst themselves.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

This quote tells us a lot about how the soldiers felt regarding their coffee-

When Jon Grinspan, a curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, began digging through journals written by Civil War Soldiers, those are exactly the types of things he thought Soldiers would be talking about. "I went looking for the big stories," he said, "And all they kept talking about was the coffee they had for breakfast, or the coffee they wanted to have for breakfast."

He found that the word "coffee" was used in Civil War journals more often than the words "war," "bullet," "cannon," "slavery," "mother," or even "Lincoln." Grinspan said, "You can only ignore what they're talking about for so long before you realize that's the story."
Source:

Episode Ten: Warfare and Coffee Part One - The Civil War

Civil War Soldiers journaled about coffee more than anything else. In this episode of Coffee Canon we explore the intersection of coffee and The Civil War.

boisecoffee.org

 

[oiffirefighter]

32 year veteran fire fighter, and former marine. I main line caffeine. only problem i have in the morning i have to have coffee before i can make coffee

 

[donna]

Yes they had coffee pots in 19th century. If you put in "Coffee Pots 19th Century", all kinds of pots will come up. Several great ones for sale.

 

[KianGaf]

Kettle Stainless 1 Gallon

Based on originals constructed of tinned sheet iron, these kettles are typical of those made by English craftsmen and brought to America for the Indian trade some time in the early 18th century and continuing through the late 1870's. Our kettles are made

thequartermastergeneral.com

This website describes the item that may have been used for coffee as a camp kettle.

 

[Dan Kohli]

Some reproduction coffee pots and kettles can be found in South Union Mills' catalog.

Pot that can serve several people. The original was found in the wreck of the steamship Arabia.

Mess Size Coffee Pot - Arabia Style

Excellence in Authentic textile recreations and straw hats

www.southunionmills.com

A pot associated with an officer of the U.S. Signal Corps.

Captain Norton Coffee Pot - Army of the Potomac Signal Corps

Excellence in Authentic textile recreations and straw hats

www.southunionmills.com

And a couple of kettles.

1 Quart Tin Kettle - Hot Dipped Tin

Excellence in Authentic textile recreations and straw hats

www.southunionmills.com

2 Quart Hot Dipped Tin Kettle

Excellence in Authentic textile recreations and straw hats

www.southunionmills.com

 

[Virginia Dave]

If Wade had made that coffee Irish I'd be tempted to give it a try.

I married an Irish Girl and she really know how to make Irish Coffee, but you have to have Irish Whiskey or none at all. Bushmill Black Label.

 

[KianGaf]

I married an Irish Girl and she really know how to make Irish Coffee, but you have to have Irish Whiskey or none at all. Bushmill Black Label.

Every Christmas the family goes to a fine dining restaurant in the city. I'll never forget the time I had an Irish coffee made table-side it was sensational.