Cleanliness of Troops 1863

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Aug 25, 2012
I was going through some Company of Military Collector & Historian Journals that I will be taking to Chickamauga to get rid of. In the winter of 1973 issue it a short article The Cleanliness of Troops 1863.

This covers a letter from Colonel Nelson A. Miles that suggest something be done about the dirty soldiers. It appear that even the London journals were making fun of the unkept filthy Union soldiers. So some questions:

1. Were Union soldiers any more filthy and unkept than Confederate soldiers?
2. Were British soldiers during the Crimean War all that clean on campaign?
3. Even though Miles suggest bathing often, were the Union soldier open to such a thing?

Miles described one group he had just seen. "I observed a detail of soldiers escorting recruits to the depot the other day, and they seemed to be only burlesque of what a soldier should be. One wore a fur cap without a peak, or visor,-the better. I presume to display his hair, which was soap locked in the Ionic style; another sported a cigar in his mouth; another was cress as an artilleryman, so far as head-gear went- wearing the "bonnet" slouched , with the number of his regiment behind, the position being reversed, and his trousers being of corduroy, while a flashy neck-tie was suspended from his neck."
 
This is how they cleaned their bodies. One soldier diary I read told of making lye soap. Their clothes would be boiled to kill lice. Pine tar or kerosene (if they had any) would kill those in their hair.
Soldiers bathing in river.jpg
 
During the active campaigning season, while marching and fighting, there was little or no time for cleaning up. Most infantrymen had an extra set of clothes, but these would be stored in the wagons that were sent rearward when a battle was imminent, and several days might go by before they could be accessed. As bankerpapaw mentioned, a line of march would likely take you through a river at some point. Naturally it might be rather muddy, although at least it was refreshing and you could swap your old grime for fresh dust. Crossing a river like the Potomac might take a half hour, but since lice can reportedly live underwater for several hours, no relief was afforded in that department.
 
Covered in dirt and soot. Sun burnt brown. The smoke from burning green wood turns everything coal black, face, hands.
Clothes food, etc,covered in dust and horse hair if that's your branch. Marching in a dust cloud for days on end.
 
I've read where most soldier's cleaned their eating utensils after eating by sticking them in the ground until the meal's 'leavings' were brushed off.

Most of the soldiers took 'canteen baths' by having a fellow soldier hold the canteen over their hands and neck so they could clean their faces and hands and that was it until a stream or creek was found.
 
I think cavalrymen would stink worse than any infantryman - they'd smell like whatever their horses smelled like and have more dust on them than the Sahara. Forrest dropped off his troops' laundry at a lady's house and she claimed every single pair of shorts stood by itself! Jeb Stuart and some of his staff stopped at a house to have dinner and brought tears to everybody's eyes - and it wasn't from their heroic accomplishments - the host had to open every window in the house! Somewhere I read the armies could smell each other before they saw each other. :frog:
 
I've also read that British infantry could smell the French cavalry before they could see them during the Napoleanic wars. Perhaps giving them more time to get into defensive formation?

:D I read that about the navies, too! Seems the French had a strange habit of tucking the dead in the bilge until they got back home so they could be properly identified and buried. Ack! (Although with those old wooden navies it would be hard to say who smelled who first...!)
 
:D I read that about the navies, too! Seems the French had a strange habit of tucking the dead in the bilge until they got back home so they could be properly identified and buried. Ack! (Although with those old wooden navies it would be hard to say who smelled who first...!)
At least the British had the decency to stuff Nelsons body in a cask of Brandy for the trip home. I believe the cask was almost empty on arrival due to the sailors siphoning off the liquor to drink!
 
At least the British had the decency to stuff Nelsons body in a cask of Brandy for the trip home. I believe the cask was almost empty on arrival due to the sailors siphoning off the liquor to drink!

Tapping the Admiral, yes indeed! Considering the surgeon Beatty had added ethanol to the brandy and navy rum, it likely had a heck of a kick... :confused: After having been pickled, the admiral was supposed to go home on the schooner HMS Pickle but the crew of the Victory wanted to keep him - and he kept very well, according to the surgeon!
 
The rumour of sailors siphoning off the brandy is unlikely. However the guards did get a fright when the gases caused by decomposition popped the lid of the cask. Making them think that Nelson was trying to get out!

Indeed so - the body had the same Marine guard that was always outside the admiral's cabin door. Not likely much got past those guys!

Oh-oh...did it again. Nelson was a great one for cleanliness, always getting a hot bath - rank hath its privileges and one of them was not having itty bitty pets! (Whew - back on topic...)
 
Though from 1864, here are a few good accounts:

The most severe and trying experiences of the [Atlanta] campaign were those we endured in the trenches in front of Kennesaw. For 26 days, 17 of which were days of continuous rain, we never had our clothes off, or a chance to wash, save dipping up muddy water in the trenches or little driblets from our canteens; never had a cooked meal, and rarely even a cup of hot coffee. During these 26 days in the trenches, at no time was it safe to venture out of them, as strongly fortified lines were in front and above us, extending along the whole length of the mountain. Our only chance for sleep was to make the best of the mud-bedraggled trenches, or, perchance, creep out to lie down on the water-soaked earth. Such was our condition and personal appearance from grime, mud and burnt powder that we were all but a fright to ourselves. However, whatever else happened, the main thing was to keep our guns in good working order and our ammunition dry.

- Pvt. John C. Arbuckle, Co. K, 4th Iowa Infantry. Civil War Experiences of a Foot-Soldier Who Marched with Sherman.


Another topic is peculiarly connected with our stay on Kennesaw—Keeping Clean! Humble enough topic, 'tis true, nevertheless a very living question with the soldier, a problem always, when on the march or in a campaign, yet most especially so on Kennesaw. . . . The majority of men preferred to keep clean but on Kennesaw the task was a hard one. Our washings were confined as a rule to the face and scant at that, the water being brought in and poured out of our canteens. Sometimes a wash basin was in evidence, sometimes a bucket. We of the artillery, were compelled to always have one bucket (the leather or heavy rubber one belonging to the piece, and used for swabbing out the gun during an engagement), so, sometimes that was utilized. One of our greatest inconveniences was in regard to our teeth. How to keep them clean when water was so scarce. Tooth brushes were plentiful enough, for they were made with twigs, generally of the gum tree, one end being split into a sort of brush. But the question was, to spare the water! Such a refinement seemed a superfluous luxury.

- Pvt. Philip D. Stephenson, 5th Co. Washington Artillery. The Civil War Memoir of Philip Daingerfield Stephenson, D.D.


During the later years of the Confederate war wash basins in camp were an unknown quantity. The morning ablution, if performed at all, was managed by pouring water on the hands from a canteen. Lieut. Blanchard, I remember, always held his hands in cup shape until they were filled and then dropped one, spilling all the liquid and washing his face with the moistened palm of the other. In the bitter cold and constant marching of the Nashville campaign I am satisfied that some of the boys did not wash their faces nor comb their hair at less than weekly intervals. As evidence of the infrequency of "bath tub nights" for reasons stated, I recall the fact that I lost a calico handkerchief and thought I had dropped it on the march. Some weeks afterwards in removing my outer clothing for the first time after its disappearance, I found it hidden away underneath the back of my vest. On our return to Corinth, Miss., my mess took their underclothing to a lady to be washed and as they had been wearing it a month or more without change, they apologized for its condition. No apology is necessary," she said, "I have washed some for Forrest's cavalry that was so stiffened with dirt that they were able to stand alone."

How we managed to keep our pedal extremities in a cleanly condition I do not recall save in a single instance and this, it is perhaps not amiss to say, was an exceptional case and not a company custom. A member of the Oglethorpes one day began his preparations for the midday meal. One of the cooking utensils was missing and he sang out, "Where is the oven?" A messmate some distance away shouted back, "Can't you wait til I finish washing my feet in it?" I am not prepared to testify as to the flavor of the bread that day as fortunately, I was not a member of that particular mess.


- Sgt. Walter A. Clark, 63rd Georgia Infantry. Under the Stars and Bars.
 
I would imagine if they were on active campaign there would be little time for health and comfort stand downs or admin stand downs, not to mention the difficulty of resupply of health and comfort items, uniforms, etc . You wore what you had, you washed when you could.If you were out of Regs oh well the three B's are always more important.
Now if you were in static position things would be a bit different depending on your command.
 
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