Army Bread Crates in Western Camps

[RSchuda]

Commonly I see army bread crates stenciled to have been packed in places such as Baltimore and Brooklyn, and I have yet to see one packed to the west, which raises a question to me.
Were armies such as AotT, AotC, AotO, etc. supplied from these factories out east, or were there some in more "western" locations like Chicago that we know about, and if so, what did the stenciling for such boxes look like?

Thanks

[brown]

Re: Army Bread Crates in Western Camps

There is an original Kendall Brothers of Chicago crate that still exists. However, it was picked up at Gettysburg. Orrin Kendall was making hard bread in Chicago, too (or with his sons).

[James Brenner]

Re: Army Bread Crates in Western Camps

J.J. Scroggs, Co. C, 104th OVI, describes a factory in Lexington, KY, that made hardtack. He visited the place in April, 1863, and goes into great detail describing how hardtack was made, but barely mentions the boxes; only that women and girls packed the hardtack in boxes, nailed them shut, and piled them on the sidewalk ready for the army. J.J. Scroggs' Diary and Letters, 1852-1865, Larry Leigh comp., (Larry Leigh: Thomaston, GA, 1996.) If taken at his word, it doesn't sound like the boxes were stenciled or, if they were, they were stenciled somewhere other than the factory.

I hope this helps a bit

[Ambrose Bierce]

Re: Army Bread Crates in Western Camps

This is a good question and looking through older threads there is some information that I will not repeat here; search function should get it going.

Crates were marked on top of the box by the manufacturer at the point of origin--though I am not saying a hardtack crate would have been filled without it being so marked, just that it would be unlikely since the extant ones are marked. They were then marked on the sides (sometimes) with the depot that supplied them (Washington, D.C., St. Louis, etc).

The Kendall crate mentioned is hard to read due to the writing not only being faded, but there is also a large stain on the top that obscures a lot of the clarity. I will see if I can find the link for the auction which has more details, to include photos of the box. I have also seen a reproduction top made by Charlies Boatworks that claims to be a copy of the Kendall crate, though the lettering and address listed in the photo does not correspond with the lettering written on the orginal box mentioned. Those are the only two photographic pieces of evidence I have found, with one of them being a reproduction of unknown origin. I am not saying the reproduction is not accurate, just that I haven't seen the provenance.

Opining here, I don't think Western armies were exclusively supplied by Western depots with food and ammunition any more than Eastern armies would have been by Eastern depots. It does make sense, logistically anyway, that respective armies would have been supplied by the depots closest to them, but that is speculative, especially considering the Kendall box was picked up at Gettysburg.

Any unit requiring ammuntion or food would have been issued whatever was available from whichever depot had the items requested. I am sure an argument can be made that it would be more likely to have a Western unit issued with items available in areas to which they were closer out of proximity and convenience, but again, I speculate that wasn't always the case.

I, too, would like to see more photos and documentation on these items, particularly pertaining to the Western Theatre. Good stuff!

[Brian Baird]

Re: Army Bread Crates in Western Camps

You might want to check with the Quartermaster Museum at Fort Lee, VA. They might have some information of contracts during the war.
Brian Baird

[Mississippian]

Re: Army Bread Crates in Western Camps

Billings in "Hardtack and Coffee" mentioned that Jeffersonville Indiana (across from Louisville) was a major manufacturing center for hardtack in the west.

Will MacDonald