Hard Tack and Coffee

by John D. Billings

First published more than 100 years ago, Hardtack And Coffee is John Billings’ absorbing first-person account of the everyday life of a U.S. Army soldier during the Civil War. Billings attended a reunion of Civil War veterans in 1881 that brought together a group of survivors whose memories and stories of the war compelled him to write this account. It is set in November, 1860. Lincoln has been elected as President of the United States. The Democrats split into two factions, divided over the issue of slavery. As early as October, Southern politicians decide that the state of South Carolina should withdraw from the union. Georgia, Alabama, Mississipi are among the states who seceded from the Union, creating the South Confederacy. On the 15th April, Lincoln issues a proclamation that will send 75,000 militia to suppress the rebellion for three months. Hard Tack and Coffee is the story of one of those ‘Minute Men’. John D Billings describes in rich detail the daily routine of a foot soldier as the Civil War developed. Recruitment became conscription, provisions became rations, tents became ‘bomb-proofs’, and the muzzle-loading rifle became breech-loaded. In this unique account, we are given the first-hand account of life as a Massachusetts soldier, from conscription and training through to camp-life at discipline. First published in 1887, Hard Tack and Coffee is a gripping military memoir that promises to deliver a new insight into the Civil War.

331 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2020

Reviews

[Rob Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, if at times badly proof-read account of almost every aspect of army life during the American civil war. Biilings thoroughly and clearly elucidates what he and his comrades went through, not battle-by-battle, but day by day. It compares favorably with other Civil War narratives, which it confirms, and which confirm it. One gets a real understanding of how the Union mustered, equipped and fed tens of thousands of volunteers, and then draftees, and hurled them against the Confederacy. Don't look for a narrative of the war, but your understanding of what was happening will be inestimably richer.