Cotton bale

[gary]

Does anyone have an image of a Civil War period cotton bale? I know they were used to "armor" ships, make breastworks and even sap rollers. I read that they were 30 lbs and were man portable.

 

[wausaubob]

Here's a picture from a Vicksburg restaurant.
View attachment 562528

I like the grappling crane. It appears the rear of the steamboat was not loaded.

 

[Sheltowee]

I like the grappling crane. It appears the rear of the steamboat was not loaded.

Just assuming that- on this transit- the staterooms would not be booked? Or could they be?

 

[wausaubob]

Just assuming that- on this transit- the staterooms would not be booked? Or could they be?

Probably a short trip to New Orleans or Savannah.

 

[USS ALASKA]

A Switcher Moving Cotton, c. 1868-70. | Railroads & Steam Locomotives

A switcher moving cotton, probably at Galveston, c. 1868-70. From the Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs Collection at SMU.

civilwartalk.com

Loading Cotton, 19th Century | Naval War - At Sea & Along Inland Waterways

This unidentified image, from the New York Public Library, is probably from the postwar period but is nonetheless a good example of a wharf scene that might have been taken at any large port in the South from the mid-19th century on. These bales are more compact than in earlier periods, and so...

civilwartalk.com

Loading Cotton Onto Vessels By Hand... 450 Lbs A Bale??? | Naval War - At Sea & Along Inland Waterways

I was researching how cotton was loaded onto blockade running vessels for transport and came across this photo. It appears that cotton was loaded BY HAND (or rather by back, bicep, and thigh), each bale weighing 450 or more lbs. GEES! Is this right, or were winches etc. used as well? Anyone...

civilwartalk.com

HTHs,
USS ALASKA

 

[MilesHai]

Does anyone have an image of a Civil War period cotton bale? I know they were used to "armor" ships, make breastworks and even sap rollers. I read that they were 30 lbs and were man portable.

On seeingthecivilwar.com go to the Index and click on "cotton bale." Seven images will come up. Sources are listed for each image. If you want the specific catalog number for an image/source, just email me and I'll provide it.

Miles Hai
seeingthecivilwar.com

 

[gary]

According to this website (link below), coffee originally came in barrels, not bags. Anyway, 100 lb bags were used to ship bulk corn and oats for the Army's horses and mules. The bags were about 24' wide and 1 yard long and were fabricated from coarse cotton, juke sackcloth or sailcloth (is that another way of saying canvas?).

Returning to coffee, at Petersburg Major W. P. Martin instructed that coffee, sugar, beans and salt be put into bags to save wagon space and reduce the weight that a wagon had to carry.

Years of reading CW literature and that's stuff I never even knew about. Mebbe I missed that part in Hard Tack and Coffee.

Linkus

 

[gary]

Re-read (6th MVI) Edward Bacon's Among The Cotton Thieves and he confirms that bags were used for oats too.

 

[DaveBrt]

According to this website (link below), coffee originally came in barrels, not bags. Anyway, 100 lb bags were used to ship bulk corn and oats for the Army's horses and mules. The bags were about 24' wide and 1 yard long and were fabricated from coarse cotton, juke sackcloth or sailcloth (is that another way of saying canvas?).

Returning to coffee, at Petersburg Major W. P. Martin instructed that coffee, sugar, beans and salt be put into bags to save wagon space and reduce the weight that a wagon had to carry.

Years of reading CW literature and that's stuff I never even knew about. Mebbe I missed that part in Hard Tack and Coffee.

Linkus

I have coffee in sacks/bags weighing 16#; Bags (Sacks) weighing 150# and Bags on the Will of the Wisp blockade runner weighing 223#. Have never seen coffee mentioned in barrels on CS railroads. I'm sure the South used bags because they were easier to make and lighter to carry on any form of transportation.

 

[gary]

The South really didn't have much coffee as that item was blockaded (along with arms & munitions). it was a barter item for tobacco (except at Port Hudson which ran out).

 

[Booner]

Here's why I asked. At Port Hudson some soldiers slung their muskets and carried 30 lb cotton bales. They were to throw them down the ditch so it would be easier to scale. I couldn't want to carry a 400 lb bale of cotton.

Those bales on the steamboat look awfully large; too large to carry. Even those 80 lb bales would be a task if you're going to carry it by hand. I can see rolling a bale like breastwork (Battle of Lexington).

Except that at Lexington, Mo. the bales were of hemp, not cotton. It's why it's known as "The Battle of the Hemp Bales."

 

[gary]

Last night I watched Buster Keaton's film, Steamboat Bill, Jr. You guys shared steel engravings showing how large the cotton bales could be. The paddle steamer is aptly named the Stonewall Jackson. Skip to 9:15 min to 11:40 to see how big cotton bales are compared to an adult male.link

 

[Old Soldier]

 

[Drew]

Cotton was (+/-) $1.89 / pound in 1863. That was up from 10-13 cents / pound in 1860.

Cotton trades at about 60 cents per pound today. These 1860 prices represent between $2.50 and $40 per pound, in today's money.

A powerful incentive, to "preserve the Union."

 

[BartlbyAdams]

Does anyone have an image of a Civil War period cotton bale? I know they were used to "armor" ships, make breastworks and even sap rollers. I read that they were 30 lbs and were man portable.

Im sorry if this was already added to this thread, just found it while scrolling for something else and remembered this question being posed.

Found in Frank Leslie's Illustrated; Vol. 17-18: https://archive.org/details/franklesliesilluv1718lesl/page/n539/mode/2up

 

[Trooper "D"]

Except that at Lexington, Mo. the bales were of hemp, not cotton. It's why it's known as "The Battle of the Hemp Bales."

The Yanks at Vicksburg used cotton bales that they pushed ahead of the trenches they were digging towards the defenders. Some enterprising Confederates put cotton soaked in turpentine or something into the back hollows of their Infantry bullets to set the cotton alight.
I wonder if the Yanks had done the same thing with the hemp bales if History would have been different.
"Up in smoke, that's where my money goes..."

 

[G Low]

The Yanks at Vicksburg used cotton bales that they pushed ahead of the trenches they were digging towards the defenders. Some enterprising Confederates put cotton soaked in turpentine or something into the back hollows of their Infantry bullets to set the cotton alight.
I wonder if the Yanks had done the same thing with the hemp bales if History would have been different.

Maybe a flaming arrow would do the trick..

 

[Ben Ford 987]

Maybe a flaming arrow would do the trick..

At Port Hudson a Confederate soldier passed over the defensive earthworks and threw burning materials onto a Federally utilized cotton bale, destroying it.

 

[atlantis]

Were oxen used to haul it, if the standard bale is 400/500 lbs.

 

[Old Soldier]

Were oxen used to haul it, if the standard bale is 400/500 lbs.

The last one shows the base-line.

 

[Trooper "D"]

Maybe a flaming arrow would do the trick..

Maybe. The bullets worked.