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The Supply for Tomorrow Must Not Fail: The Civil War of Captain Simon Perkins Jr., Union Quartermaster
Captain Simon Perkins Jr. and his fellow quartermasters helped make the Union’s victory possible by providing the Federal army with clothing and camp equipment, livestock and forage, wagon and railroad transportation, offices, warehouses, and hospitals, despite bad weather, unserviceable railroads, and lack of transportation. “The Supply for Tomorrow Must Not Fail” examines Perkins’s responsibilities, the difficult situations he encountered and overcame, and the successes he achieved as part of a team of determined and dependable supply officers, whose duties were critical to successful Union military operations.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published October 14, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 21, 2026
I've always been a history buff. Growing up, while most kids played outside at recess, I spent my time in the school library. That passion continued into my adult life. If I'm anywhere in public, it's usually a local library branch. This book was interesting on a couple levels. The main character grew up, like me, in northeastern Ohio. Many of the places mentioned in the narrative are within driving distance of my home. The other thing of interest was the level of detail the author attributes to a mere quartermaster in the Union army. Overall, a very engaging book, and well worth the time spent.
April 3, 2020
interesting - the back story of all the efforts needed to conduct those battles we read about in history - (that succeeded or failed) that depended on there supply capabilitiesd
April 26, 2020
Book is very technical. Crazy how similar the issues were then as of today with accountability of equipment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2013
Captain Simon Perkins Jr. began the war with 19th Ohio Infantry, a 90 day regiment. He used political connections (his uncle, David Tod, was Governor of Ohio) to get a commission as an Assistant Quartermaster. He left behind 8 crates of his wartime records and correspondence, bound with the infamous red tape, which were discovered in 1990. These records provided a lot of information about a branch of the service that receives little attention. But it's been said that an army travels on its stomach and I suspect that the more successful generals were quartermasters earlier in their army careers or at least had good quartermaster staff that they could rely on.
Captain Perkins served with Buell's Army of the Ohio during the capture of Nashville, the Battle of Shiloh, the Perryville Campaign, Rosecran's Army of the Cumberland and finally in the Department of the North in Ohio before he resigned his commission in July 1864. During his service he was at various times in charge of supplying forage, food, clothing, other supplies, assigning quarters, railroads and steamboat transportation in such locations as Nashville, Chattanooga and various smaller cities in Tennessee and Alabama.
Most quartermasters never rose above the rank of Captain. They confronted such obstacles as the inability to ship supplies due to low water levels on the Tennessee, Cumberland and Ohio Rivers, damage to railroads from Confederate raiders and saboteurs, labor shortages, forage being damaged by exposure to the elements, crooked supply contractors, bureaucratic infighting and especially delays in Congress appropriating funds. That forced quartermasters to issue vouchers instead of paying cash. People holding vouchers often had to wait a year or more to get paid.
When the XI & XII Corps were transferred from the Army of the Potomac to help raise the siege of Chattanooga, following the Battle of Chickamauga, that tied up most of the available railroad rolling stock. And the XII Corps' wagons were left behind, against orders, in Virginia, forcing Perkins and other quartermasters to scramble to provide them with wagons and other supplies.
Perkins' sole combat experience after he left the 19th Ohio, was during the Battle of Stones River, when he helped fight off a Confederate cavalry attack on a wagon train.
This book reads like the dissertation it was but you'll learn a lot about quartermasters from reading this book. There's an appendix at the end of the book that explains all the various forms & reports that quartermasters were expected to complete. Suffice to say they were buried in paperwork.
Captain Perkins served with Buell's Army of the Ohio during the capture of Nashville, the Battle of Shiloh, the Perryville Campaign, Rosecran's Army of the Cumberland and finally in the Department of the North in Ohio before he resigned his commission in July 1864. During his service he was at various times in charge of supplying forage, food, clothing, other supplies, assigning quarters, railroads and steamboat transportation in such locations as Nashville, Chattanooga and various smaller cities in Tennessee and Alabama.
Most quartermasters never rose above the rank of Captain. They confronted such obstacles as the inability to ship supplies due to low water levels on the Tennessee, Cumberland and Ohio Rivers, damage to railroads from Confederate raiders and saboteurs, labor shortages, forage being damaged by exposure to the elements, crooked supply contractors, bureaucratic infighting and especially delays in Congress appropriating funds. That forced quartermasters to issue vouchers instead of paying cash. People holding vouchers often had to wait a year or more to get paid.
When the XI & XII Corps were transferred from the Army of the Potomac to help raise the siege of Chattanooga, following the Battle of Chickamauga, that tied up most of the available railroad rolling stock. And the XII Corps' wagons were left behind, against orders, in Virginia, forcing Perkins and other quartermasters to scramble to provide them with wagons and other supplies.
Perkins' sole combat experience after he left the 19th Ohio, was during the Battle of Stones River, when he helped fight off a Confederate cavalry attack on a wagon train.
This book reads like the dissertation it was but you'll learn a lot about quartermasters from reading this book. There's an appendix at the end of the book that explains all the various forms & reports that quartermasters were expected to complete. Suffice to say they were buried in paperwork.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews