History I suppose one couldn't hunt eh?

[Kentucky Derby Cavalier.]

Thinking about something the other day, soldiers couldn't go out to find game to for meat, right? It wouldn't be practical?

 

[UCVRelics]

A lot of Southern units sent out groups of soldiers to shot game, especially when they were in winter quarters. The yankees didn't have to as they had plenty of rations or they just did that foraging thing.

 

[Kentucky Derby Cavalier.]

A lot of Southern units sent out groups of soldiers to shot game, especially when they were in winter quarters. The yankees didn't have to as they had plenty of rations or they just did that foraging thing.

Huh, how about that. Very interesting.

 

[Discipulus]

A lot of Southern units sent out groups of soldiers to shot game, especially when they were in winter quarters. The yankees didn't have to as they had plenty of rations or they just did that foraging thing.

I have read letters of Union soldiers mentioning shooting wild animals for food. But almost never. I was thinking it was relative to where they were at the time, most of the time not wanting to give away their presence by firing their guns.

 

[Albert Sailhorst]

Hunting, for the most part, was considered a waste of ammunition, and was thus forbidden by the officers. I'm not saying it never occasionally happened, though.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Think foraging (authorized or not) of nearby livestock and produce would have been fairly commonplace, especially in the underfed Southern Armies. There are plenty of accounts available of soldiers engaging in such activities.

Hunting local game by hungry (Southern) soldiers would almost certainly have occurred in some instances too.

 

[thomas aagaard]

In general. no.
Any sort of firing is problematic near an army camp during war.

And when we area talking camps with thousands of troops they would quickly kill of all game.
And you have the issue of accidents with every unit get this idea.


But Iam sure there are exceptions.
The smaller the camp and the longer it was from good supplies the more likely I would say.
And more likely in winter quarter then the rest of the time.



I know that the US army in 1881 made and issued as smoothbore trapdoor Springfield as hunting weapons to their posts across the west. So help supplement supplies, allow for some more exiting food and simply to help give the soldiers the option of hunting as a recreational activity.

 

[Nebraska Lawdog]

In my experience, the quality of food rations are a major morale item in any military unit.

I'm convinced that hunting/foraging would have provided tastier and more nutritious food,
at least compared with the issued food preserved by the techniques at that time.
A meal is only as good as the ingredients you start with.

That being said, I've seen many good ingredients turned inedible by military "cooks".

 

[donna]

They would catch fish and steal some chickens. They didn't have to use guns for these types of food.