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Haversacks, Hardtack, and Unserviceable Mules: the Civil War Journey of a Union Quartermaster in Tennessee
In April 1861, Private Webster Colburn enlisted in the Union infantry for three months. President Lincoln believed the war would end within that time. Five years later, with a few more stripes and thousands of miles behind him, Major Webster Colburn, a Union Quartermaster mustered out of the Army in June 1866. Haversacks, Hardtack, and Unserviceable Mules is the true story of one man’s private war to survive a year in the infantry and artillery, and four more years in the demanding job of a quartermaster. Providing the Federal Army with everything from socks to horseshoes and haversacks to horses was critical to the survival and success of the Union Army. The details of Colburn’s journey across Tennessee with the Army of the Cumberland during the Civil War is discovered from 6,000 original documents, letters, diary, orders, and monthly reports preserved by his family . The untold story of his struggle behind the scenes at the battles of Stones River, Shiloh, Chattanooga and Knoxville examines his difficulties and mounting responsibilities through times of starvation or through times of victory. Critical to the success of the Union Army, quartermasters kept supplies coming even when railroad bridges were destroyed and crops burned. This unique book contributes to the literature about the Civil War in Tennessee. For the first time, readers can learn about the thousands of mules and horses that were unserviceable and destroyed; or the job of digging up and re-burying hundreds of victims from the Fort Pillow massacre for $7 a body. How many know the details of the Massacre in Memphis in 1866? Or the existence of Fort Rosecrans or Mrs. Major Booth? Haversacks, Hardtack, and Unserviceable Mules examines the scope and intensity of one man’s war.
351 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 5, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 22, 2022
Shortly after Fort Sumter was attacked in April 1861, Abraham Lincoln requested 75,000 volunteers for the US Army. Two days later, Webster Colburn enlisted and began a five-year journey that uprooted his life as a printer in Madison, Wisconsin and brought him to Tennessee. Throughout his time in the army, Colburn kept meticulous diaries, records, and receipts, totaling over 6,000 pages. These documents lay undisturbed in a chest for 155 years until Dr. Nancy McEntee, a freelance writer and professor, discovered them at her friend’s home. From these documents, McEntee compiled a story that speaks to Colburn’s experience as a Union soldier in the Civil War and also provides a multitude of information regarding the importance of the little-known Quartermaster in the army’s operation. McEntee does not intend to make a groundbreaking argument in her book; her goal is to tell Colburn's story, and, simultaneously, the story of Civil War Quartermasters.
Colburn began as an infantryman and was initially only committed to three months of service. His unit was only involved in skirmishes with the Rebels; they never “saw the Elephant,” as McEntee puts it, referencing a term for substantial combat. Colburn, an intelligent and capable soldier, quickly outgrew his position in the Infantry and sought a more involved job, one that would change his life.
The topic McEntee’s book discusses at length is the role of Quartermasters in the daily operation of the Union Army, using Colburn as its primary example. Quartermasters, originally intended to find food, supplies, and quarters for the Army, quickly became a catch-all position. They performed many jobs that other soldiers had no time or patience for. They maintained records of rations, traversed the countryside in search of suitable horses, procured weapons and ammunition, and oversaw the return of confiscated property. During his first year of service, Colburn befriended several members of the Quartermaster Department, following their work during his free time. He jumped when the opportunity arose for him to join as the Quartermaster for his company.
As McEntee explains in detail throughout the book, the Quartermaster’s role comes with both risk and responsibility. These men were intelligent, quick-thinking, and organized. If their records, which were often produced in triplicate, contained even the slightest miscalculation, the Quartermaster could be reprimanded. Colburn noted one instance when he was scolded for slightly miscalculating the bacon rations. If horses or mules under a Quartermaster’s care were lost or mishandled, the Quartermaster would often be blamed. Colburn, eventually promoted to the rank of Major, held plenty of responsibility, and managed it well; whenever something went wrong under his command, his men signed letters swearing he was not at fault.
After the war, Colburn became busier; Quartermasters were responsible for demobilizing the army and disposing of supplies and animals. His most significant post-war duty, however, was overseeing the creation of cemeteries throughout Tennessee and facilitating the reinterment of Union dead. This was a gruesome task, but the Quartermasters took pride in their work. When Colburn was discharged in 1866, he settled in Chattanooga, married, and became a successful businessman. He served on the Chickamauga Commission, with a mission to establish the first National Military Park. When he died in 1918, he was buried in the Chattanooga National Cemetery.
“Though his chronicle had been lost in history, as so many Civil War stories, Major Webster Colburn’s experience in the military is now part of the historical conversation,” writes McEntee (299). She has surely accomplished her goal; the book is packed with detail and written in a manner that expertly compiles Colburn’s records into an interesting and accessible work.
Colburn began as an infantryman and was initially only committed to three months of service. His unit was only involved in skirmishes with the Rebels; they never “saw the Elephant,” as McEntee puts it, referencing a term for substantial combat. Colburn, an intelligent and capable soldier, quickly outgrew his position in the Infantry and sought a more involved job, one that would change his life.
The topic McEntee’s book discusses at length is the role of Quartermasters in the daily operation of the Union Army, using Colburn as its primary example. Quartermasters, originally intended to find food, supplies, and quarters for the Army, quickly became a catch-all position. They performed many jobs that other soldiers had no time or patience for. They maintained records of rations, traversed the countryside in search of suitable horses, procured weapons and ammunition, and oversaw the return of confiscated property. During his first year of service, Colburn befriended several members of the Quartermaster Department, following their work during his free time. He jumped when the opportunity arose for him to join as the Quartermaster for his company.
As McEntee explains in detail throughout the book, the Quartermaster’s role comes with both risk and responsibility. These men were intelligent, quick-thinking, and organized. If their records, which were often produced in triplicate, contained even the slightest miscalculation, the Quartermaster could be reprimanded. Colburn noted one instance when he was scolded for slightly miscalculating the bacon rations. If horses or mules under a Quartermaster’s care were lost or mishandled, the Quartermaster would often be blamed. Colburn, eventually promoted to the rank of Major, held plenty of responsibility, and managed it well; whenever something went wrong under his command, his men signed letters swearing he was not at fault.
After the war, Colburn became busier; Quartermasters were responsible for demobilizing the army and disposing of supplies and animals. His most significant post-war duty, however, was overseeing the creation of cemeteries throughout Tennessee and facilitating the reinterment of Union dead. This was a gruesome task, but the Quartermasters took pride in their work. When Colburn was discharged in 1866, he settled in Chattanooga, married, and became a successful businessman. He served on the Chickamauga Commission, with a mission to establish the first National Military Park. When he died in 1918, he was buried in the Chattanooga National Cemetery.
“Though his chronicle had been lost in history, as so many Civil War stories, Major Webster Colburn’s experience in the military is now part of the historical conversation,” writes McEntee (299). She has surely accomplished her goal; the book is packed with detail and written in a manner that expertly compiles Colburn’s records into an interesting and accessible work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2020
A new and entirely different view of the civil war from the view
point of a quartermaster. Observations previously obscured have been discussed and brought forth in detail. On the whole
a refreshing factual discussion.
point of a quartermaster. Observations previously obscured have been discussed and brought forth in detail. On the whole
a refreshing factual discussion.
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