Wired in War? The use of caffeine in war

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Aug 25, 2012
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt...offee-has-offered-u-s-soldiers-some-salvation

A quick article on the U. Army use of coffee. Many of us know how hard it is to stay alert on picket duty. If you start to drag pour the instant coffee found in you MREs or c rations in to a little water in your canteen cup and bang you are wide awake for a while.

Union soldiers were given 36 pound of coffee per year to help keep them alert. The Union blockade limited how much caffeine a Confederate soldier drank. From the above article:

"Perhaps the North's access to caffeine gave its soldiers a strategic advantage. At least that's what one Union officer, Gen. Benjamin Butler, thought. He ordered his men to carry coffee in their canteens and planned attacks based on when his men would be most wired. His advice to other generals was: "If your men get their coffee early in the morning, you can hold."
 
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