January 2004 Newsletter

Gentlemen, the time grows near where a new page will be turned in the life of F Company. I have a lot of fond memories of my time with F Company and if you all will bear with me, I will recount a few.

When I first started with F Company, the camp of instruction was held at a community center in Richmond, there was drill and sit down classroom instruction and the like, nothing like we do today. My first event was Bentonville 125th, I thought I was going to starve so I brought so much food; my haversack nearly cut my shoulder off. I thought we were to be hard core so I brought a gum blanket and wool blanket and tried to sleep on that, in a tent, yes we had tents back then at every event. Many of the others had sleeping bags, cots, and the other amenities there in the tents. My next event was Saylers Creek/Appomattox 125th. It was still cold, it rained, snowed and sleeted on us that evening and night. I was much the wiser since I had brought a sleeping bag for my tent this time and a lot less food. Sleeping back to back sitting up with Mr. Alexander in the rain at mud and shooting at the enemy early into the morning so that if I had to be awake everyone had to be awake at the Plains event in the early 90's. Being a corporal for an event when 1st Sgt. Vice arrived and announced, "Cpl. Jones, get all these _______ out of camp" (since this is a family newsletter you will have to personally ask me about this one). Seeing mortar shells arcing across the sky at a live fire demo during a Gettysburg event. The firefight at 135th Gettysburg Culp's Hill battle, the infamous stump death of Mr. Wood, burned into my mind and then it was also in print for all to see. The Fairfield event when we had that great place to camp in that lady's back yard and passing out a mail call to many unsuspecting members that got real letters from home. The Shiloh trip where Mr. Wood did not stop talking for 14 hours till we got there and where we stayed in an incredible house on the river, too bad the event got rained out after we had already walked out. Waking up at Fishers Hill and being the only company still left in the field after a hard nights rain. Sleeping in the heavy rain at Ft. Pocahontas and not getting wet for once after building a Mr. Pearson like shelter, even I can still learn. Really fixing bayonets at a hardcore event to fend off a cavalry charge from some Federals that thought they had us out in the open, they changed their minds very quickly and did not even come close to us after that. The way I looked at it, they had swords and were going to charge so I met steel with steel. The many trips to Mr. Perry's home in Edenton and the event that happened to be going on.

There are many bad memories also, the few death marches we naively took part in, and me telling the commander of the battalion that we were not going to retrace our steps after this last leg of a 14 mile march but were going to march the 100 yards across the road to where we started, since we had made a loop, and we were going to wait there for pick up. Walking out on the first Recon after so many things had happened there including the famous "I shoot you first, No, I shoot you first, Hey you hit me in the eye with a flaming, electrified, barbed wired stick". Mr. Gregory coming to me and asking if he could take a poll of whether to leave or not, then on top of all that the medical personnel that were not equipped for heat casualties.

I have so many good memories I cannot recount them all here. I am not done with reenacting, but I do need a break so you may see me at an event or two after the COI, it all depends. I expect that all of you have a lot of good memories and I guess this is one of the reasons we continue to do this is because it is fun and we enjoy other like-minded peoples company. See you all soon at the Annual meeting.

Attention all F company members. To remain as a member in good standing (able to vote, run for office, etc), and if you had missed a “paid for by the company” event, you need to re-reimburse the company for such missed event/events. Please forward any monies due to the treasurer prior to annual meeting. If you are not sure of your status, e-mail me ASAP and I will update you on your status.

Be there! In a nutshell! Out of all of our past meetings that have taken place, this will be one of the most important meetings to attend for our company. You will determine the future of F-Company and all that it will become.

There’s much to be accomplished this season and an entire year to put it together. With your participation and help, 2004 could be the beginning of a new era for F-Company. We’ll have to break in a new boss. I hate when that happens. We will be striving to find some refreshing and new events, and there will be some Mega 140^th events that will also be included. If any of you remembered Grant vs. Lee, then you know that there will be a culmination event similar to that one five years ago. Also, Cedar Creek promises to be one of the largest events on the actual grounds that we’ll ever experience. I can’t promise that the entertainment could surpass 2003, but the event itself should make up for that.

“ I tried to keep clean while in the army, and I made it a rule to take a bath once a week and oftener when convenient. This included winter as well as summer. Here is a winter’s day experience in this camp (Mt. Pisgah Church, near Orange C.H.). One day about noon, with the sun shining brightly and little wind stirring, I thought I would take my bath. I walked over to Madison Run, a large stream about half a mile from camp. I found the stream frozen over solid. I got a large rock, walked to the middle of the stream, raised the rock over my head and hurled it with all my force on the ice. But it made no impression. I repeated this eight or ten times without breaking the ice. I then returned to camp, got an axe, went back to the Run, and cut a hole in the ice, which was about seven inches thick. I cleared the hole of all floating ice, undressed, took a good bath, and was in fine condition when I returned to camp.”

Those of you in the Company with little ones; next time they don’t want to take a nice warm bath, read them this story.

January–nothing
February 28^th- Annual Meeting, VA
March 26^th-28^th- Camp of Instruction, VA
April 4^th- Confederate Heritage Parade, VA
April 30^th -May 2- Wilderness (Recon III) , VA
May 7^th-9^th- 140^th Spotsylvania Campaign, VA
May 15^th-16^th- New Market, VA
May 22^nd-23^rd- 140^th Fort Pocahontas, VA
June 5^th-6^{th ?}- Cold Harbor L.H., VA
July 3^rd-4^th- Gettysburg, PA
July 23^rd-25^th- 140^th 2^nd Battle of Kernstown,VA
August- nothing posted
September- possible J.D. L.H. event
October 16^th-17^th- 140^th Cedar Creek, VA
November 5^th-7^th- Fort Branch, NC
December-nothing

These are some of the events that are being put on this season. Please see the Events worksheet attachment for additional events and hyperlinks to them. Please note: Any other events that you wish to be voted on for this season needs to be discussed and if you have any info or a registration packet, bring it to the meeting.

Gilham’s Manual

Article IV – School of the Company

225. The instructor, wishing to cause fire by company to be executed, will command:

At this first command, the captain will promptly place himself opposite the centre of his company, and four paces in rear of the line of file-closers: the covering sergeant will retire to that line, and place himself opposite to his interval. This rule is general, for both the captain and covering sergeant, in all the different firings.

At the command load, the men will load their pieces, and then take the position of ready, as prescribed in the school of the soldier.

The captain will sometimes cause aim to be taken to the right or left, simply observing to pronounce right (or left) oblique, before the command aim.

226. The instructor wishing to cause the fire by file to be executed, will command:

The third and fourth commands will be executed as prescribed in the school of the soldier.

The fire will be commenced by the right file of the company; the next file will take aim at the instant the first brings down pieces to reload, and so on to the left; but this progression will only be observed in the first discharge, after which each man will reload and fire without regulating himself by others, conforming himself to what is prescribed in the school of the soldier.

1. Fire by rank. 2. Company. 3. Ready. 4. Rear rank – Aim. 5. Fire. 6. Load

The fifth and sixth commands will be executed as is prescribed in the school of the soldier.

When the instructor sees one or two pieces in the rear rank at a ready, he will command:

1. Front rank. 2. Aim. 3. Fire. 4. Load. The firing will be continued thus by alternate ranks, until the signal is given to cease firing.

228. The instructor will sometimes cause aim to be taken to the right and left, conforming to what is prescribed for the oblique fire.

The instructor will cause the firing to cease, whether by company, by file, or by rank, by sounding the signal to cease firing; at which signal the men will cease to fire. If they have fired, they will load their pieces and bring them to a shoulder; if at the position of ready, they will half-cock and shoulder arms. If in the position of aim, they will bring down their pieces, half-cock, and shoulder arms.

229. The signal to cease firing will be always followed by a bugle note, or tap of the drum; at which sound, the captain and covering sergeant will promptly resume their places in line, and will rectify, if necessary, the alignments of the ranks.

The fire by file that which is most frequently used against an enemy, it is highly important that it be rendered perfectly familiar to the troops. The instructor will, therefore, give it almost exclusive preference, and labor to cause the men to aim with care, and always, if possible, at some particular object. As it is of the utmost importance that the men should aim with precision in battle, this principle will be rigidly enforced in the exercises for purposes of instruction.

230. The instructor will cause the several files to be executed to the rear, that is, by the rear rank. To effect this he will command:

At the first command, the captain will step out and place himself near to, and facing the right file of the company; the covering sergeant and file-closers will pass quickly through the captain’s interval, and place themselves faced to the rear, the covering sergeant a pace behind the captain, and the file-closers two paces from the front rank opposite to their places in line, each passing behind the covering sergeant.

At the third command, which will be given at the instant the last file-closer shall have passed through the interval, the company will face about; the captain will place himself in his interval in the rear rank, now become the front, and the covering sergeant will cover him in the front rank, now become the rear..

The company having faced by the rear rank, the instructor will cause it to execute the fire by company, both direct and oblique, the fire by file, and fire by rank, by the commands and means prescribed. The captain, covering sergeant, and the men will conform themselves, in like manner, to what is prescribed.

The fire by file will commence on the left of the company, now become the right. In the fire by rank the firing will commence with the front rank, now become the rear.

At the first command, the captain, the covering sergeant, and the file-closers will conform to what is prescribed above.

At the third command, the company having faced about, the captain and covering sergeant will resume their places in line.

In this lesson, the instructor will impress on the men the importance of aiming always at some particular object, and of holding the piece as prescribed in the school of the soldier.

The instructor will recommend to the captain to make a short pause between the commands aim and fire, to give the men time to aim with accuracy.

Please note: There are 6 Cedar canteens in the manufacturing stage and the wool and uniform situation is proceeding along as quickly as possible, keeping quality as the number one priority.

“non importa dove state andando, quando ottenete là, là siete” –Old Italian saying

”Il gaul conquistato Ceasar perché gli non ha avuto spingitoi di carta con” –from the wisdom of Pvt Gregory

“The cook of my mess would not leave Fredericksburg, and at Game Point we determined to cook for ourselves. I will never forget the first meal. We made a fire under the shade of a tree, made up our bread of meal (the government commended to give it to us this early), sliced our fat meat, and commenced to cook and in about two minutes both meat and bread were burned black one side! We took them off the fire, cooled them, and tried again, and succeeded very well in burning the other side. We finally cooked everything we had and sat down on the ground to eat. The bread had no salt in it, no one had thought of that; the meat was so salt we cont eat it. We were disgusted, but the next day we had better success, and in a few days we got along all right.”[i]

The above quotation gives us a starting point for our article. Worsham; along with many of his comrades faced the dilemma of cooking for themselves for the first time. In antebellum America cooking was the province of women. Soldiers leaving for home had depended on the womenfolk to keep the inner man filled and now had to fend for themselves.

As the soldiers arrived at training camps some were lucky in that some training camps were central messing facilities staffed by local citizens doing their patriotic duty. However, in some camps it was all the government could do to just issue rations much less provide messing facilities. So it was up to the soldier to learn quickly.

Pvt. Spencer Talley of Company F, 28^th Tennessee recalled that during their initial training the men drilled most of the time and then spent the rest of their days “taking lessons in cooking.” As in so many things the Confederate Government failed to provide its troops with some type of instruction in the art of cooking.

Of course cookbooks were known before the war. Housewives had relied upon Godey’s Lady Book and Mrs.N.K.M. Lee’s The Cooks Own Book. Undoubtedly some copies of these or other books found their way to the training camps where they helped budding chefs prepare their rations.

Since we are primarily concerned with the campaign impression; how did Confederates prepare their food while on campaign?

Despite what you might have seen on the Iron Chef® there are really only four ways to prepare food; Baking boiling, broiling and frying. Which method is used depends upon what food was available and what the soldier had available to cook with.

Think of the System

In our previous article on haversacks it was mentioned that a soldier would be issued a plate, a cup, and a set of cutlery. Whoa Mohamed[ii]! Where’s the cooking gear? How was the soldier to prepare his issued rations?

It was all in accordance with a system. The army regulations of 1825 specified, “in every squad, one man be detailed for cooking.” The regulations did not give a length of time that each man was to serve as a cook although thirty days was the usual time. The regulations also gave general guidelines concerning cleanliness of cook wear and approximate cooking times. These guidelines were intended for the garrison so how did the army prepare its food for campaigning?

Well it’s simple. While on campaign the army took its cooking equipment with them. Carried inside wagons that were provided, were mess kettles, and mess pans.

Mess kettles were heavy sheet iron cylinders that ranged from thirteen to fifteen inches high. Diameters could vary from seven inches to 12 inches around. They were designed to fit inside one another to take up less space in the wagon. On campaign they could serve a variety of useful purposes from boiling coffee, making stew and doing the laundry.

Mess pans were cousins of the kettles. They were made of tin or sheet iron. Usually six inches high and twelve inches in diameter at the top, they served admirably as baking dishes.

Generally mess kettles and pans were issued every eight to ten men. Now I can just hear everyone now, “Why they didn’t have room for these things in the wagons?” “Au contraire mon frère “

“On the 6^th we made another long hike through mud and rain, and the dim old roads we traveled were so badly cut up and narrow that part of our provision train failed to reach us until next morning. The wagons hauling our flour and bacon came in about ten o’ clock at night those loaded with cooking utensils were stuck in the mud many miles behind us.”[iii]

“Throughout his memoir, Worsham makes frequent references to the cooking utensils being carried in the wagons. In the early part of the war, the wagons were used to carry mess chests, which a fine example of can be found at the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe. Of course as the war wore on, the mess chests were left behind but cooking utensils continued to be carried on the wagon.

I can hear it now “But Oh revelator of revelators, if wagons were not available; they did not have these things on the march.” Study the paragraphs below and report to the woodshed.

A big strapping fellow by the name of Tennessee Thompson always carried bigger burdens than any other five men in the army. For example, he carried two quilts, three blankets, one gum oil cloth, one overcoat, one axe, one hatchet, one camp kettle, one oven with lid, one coffee pot, besides his knapsack, haversack, canteen, gun, cartridge-box, and three days rations.”[iv] An example of an oven with a lid is shown on page 103 of Soldier Life, a Time-Life book available at most public libraries.

Skillets and frying pans were very evident during marches. Observers of the Confederate army on the march noted more than one man carrying a fry pan with either the handle jammed down his musket or lashed to his musket.

What if the utensils weren’t there?

“The country where we camped that night was densely wooded with red oak. Pine, sugar maple, and beech. It was in the spring, and sap was up, so the boys peeled the bark off of many of the trees and made trays to knead their dough. Then they wrapped the dough around the their ramrods and cooked it before the fire and broiled their bacon on the coals. Maybe that’s why Confederate soldiers were called “doughboys.”

“An epicure would shudder today at such grub, but when a fellow is in the army, young healthy and hungry, it is the finest eating in the world.”[v]

Now we have several interesting quotes to consider. Val Giles has given us evidence for the continued usage of cooking utensils while on campaign. He also shows us that the men improvised when the cooking gear was not available. There are accounts of using slabs of tree bark as a mixing bowl going all the way back to the earliest settlers in America.

What if they didn’t have the wagons, cooking utensils, or trees nearby? "When they camp for the night the nearest field supplies them with thousands of small bake ovens, in the shape of corn husks. Each man procures an ear of corn in the shape of corn with the husk still on it; the husk is slightly parted at the top to allow the fingers to be inserted, the ear is twisted around until it breaks loose at the bottom, and is then drawn out, leaving the husk a clean and complete cup. In this the flour is mixed and seasoned, and after closing the top of the husk again, it is buried in the hot ashes for half an hour, after which it is drawn out and the charred husk pulled off, disclosing a fresh hot roll." [vi] One modification to the above might be to wet the shuck before you put in the coals. In addition to the above methods, there is mention of men using their oilcloths as mixing boards; using the hollow of a log or stump; or a flat rock might be pressed into service.

Something else we need to think about is a unit’s composition. Units from the rural areas of the south probably had a lot more field craft skills than a unit made up primarily of city folk (Company F).

I can also hear it coming. “Oh Mango Bob, they might have had these items during a stop in the march, but not in actual combat”

Well let us take our selves back to Val Giles and an account of the fighting at the Devil’s Den. “About daylight on the morning of the 3^rd old Uncle John Price (colored) brought in the rations for Company B….. I crawled up to the camp kettle of boiled roasting ears and meal sack full of iron clad biscuits.[vii]

So even though we do the campaign impression, kettles and mess pans would never be out of place in an encampment.

Now with the soldier on the march the most likely items for use in cooking was the skillet, the spider, a boiler, cup, or tin can.

What was a spider? A spider was a cast iron pan somewhat deeper than a normal frying pan. It could have a lid. What set it apart from a skillet that there were generally legs attached to the bottom of the pan so that it could rest directly in the fire. The basic design goes back to early colonial America where the spider would be used as a bake oven. Worsham makes frequent mention of the spider being used to prepare meals. In fact he mentions searching for one to purchase after the mess loses theirs.

The spider was a versatile cooking utensil. It could be used to fry and to bake and could be pressed into service to prepare stews.

To the best of my knowledge there are no reproduction spiders available on the market. The best bet would be to look in antique stores or flea markets. A search in these areas may lead to a suitable spider. An example of a spider is shown on page 97 of Soldier Life.

The company has period correct frying pans and skillets available for sale, so consult the Company Quartermaster. Just remember smaller is better. You do not need a skillet the size of the Monitor’s turret to do your cooking.

Another popular item for cooking while on the march is the canteen half. It could be used for frying your salt pork or other light cooking chores. During the flooding from Hurricane Floyd; some of my reenacting gear stored in a shed got deluged. Among the items was a federal smooth side canteen purchased at a going out of reenacting sale. The wool covering was ruined and somehow the canteen developed a serious leak. Rather than try to reseal it, a few minutes work with a propane torch gave me two canteen halves. I took one to a friendly blacksmith who does some work for Colonial Williamsburg. He attached a broken shovel blade socket and with the use of a stick I have a fairly useful field skillet.

Well… What to Cook?

All right now is the time for some instruction and common sense so gather at the knee of the master and pay attention.

As a veteran of the antediluvian times of reenacting I have learned a great deal and one of the things I learned is that you have to organize yourself if you want to make the reenactment enjoyable. So I organized my gear for easier packing and preparation for the event.

A yard sale yielded a Rubbermaid tote storage container for a couple of bucks. In this I keep all my cooking utensils. Included in the storage container are my period rations. Shopping at yard sales and flea markets brought a collection of Tupperware and other storage containers. These containers hold a variety of foodstuffs. I keep coffee beans; navy beans, hardtack (in a Rubbermaid bread storage container), peas and rice, cornmeal and various sundries.

I shop for my reenacting supplies separately from my regular household groceries. There are two reasons for this. The first is so that my wife doesn’t get upset because I took to a reenactment some item she needed for dinner. The second reason is that I have a receipt for the groceries that I can claim it on my taxes.

So when it comes time for us to attend the annual battle of Starving Locust all I need to do is plan out my menu; then fill the ration bags and haversack and with a hey nonnie nonnie; my food needs are taken care of. All that is left to do is go up to reefer and cut off some chunks of slab bacon; cook them and then freeze it until it is taken to the event.

This upcoming season I intend to add desiccated vegetables to my larder. A yard sale yielded a Ronco® dehydrator. So I will be dehydrating some vegetables. I do not possess the capabilities to press it into blocks but it will close enough for government work.

During the winter I take the opportunity to bake up some hardtack and store it until needed during the season. Corporal Perry’s article has a nice hardtack recipe for your use. Now here’s a key when you are baking your own hardtack; the longer you bake it, the longer it will keep.

Corn meal was a staple issue item to hungry Confederates. A picture of Texas troops stationed at Quantico in the winter of 1861 shows one Confederate proudly showing off his homemade “pone” and skillet.

The preparation of corn meal comes under many terms. “Hoe cake”, “Ash cake” and other terms mean roughly the same thing but are prepared in slightly different ways.

Field preparation of corn meal involves only water and maybe some grease from your meat ration if available. You are going to have to be careful with the water, as you want the dough to be somewhat thick.

If you are cooking ashcakes and have placed your efforts close to the fire; be prepared for some ashes to cover it. A note of caution when you are cooking corn meal products; there is a tendency for corn meal products to quick cook on the outside and be somewhat underdone in the middle. So for the sake of your intestines make sure that any corn meal products are thoroughly cooked.

What are some other examples of food the men might have prepared?

Skillygallee: Soak hardtack in water. Fry to a golden brown ( I always add a pinch of salt when doing this)

I have made all these in the past and they have turned out all right. It’s actually interesting to try to duplicate the efforts of soldiers in the field.

Okay, we are all a bunch of rough and ready types. We spend approximately 40 hours or so on weekend trying to emulate the life of a Civil War Soldier. So it is no big hardship to do what they did. It will give you a greater appreciation of what they did and how they did it. At the end of the event we can jump into our vehicles and it’s off to the nearest fast food or restaurant to satisfy inner man.

If you want to try some of these techniques and recipes I recommend that you try it at home first.

Whoa Mohamed! I highly recommend that you stay out of kitchen lest you incur the wrath of she who rules the house. A good experimental area could be the barbecue. This way you get to feel manly while getting the experience of cooking over an open fire under controlled circumstances.

Hey guys, this is (Name Withheld) “Preacher” Price here. I just wanted to say hi and offer a short explanation as to why I haven’t been attending many events recently. As some of you know, I was involved in a near-fatal car accident in August of 2002. This left me physically impaired for a time (not to mention without a car!) and I had to have some minor plastic surgery on my forehead. This, combined with several other minor disasters (when it rains, it pours), is the main reason I haven’t been in the field with you. I felt the need to explain all of this because there were several people at Cedar Creek who thought I was a new member! This October will mark my tenth year with F Company and I plan to make my presence known. I just wanted to let y’all know that I hadn’t forgotten about you and still love you as much as I did ten years ago! I hope you had the happiest of holiday seasons and look forward to joining you in the field once more!

Editor’s note

Captain Jones. It has been my highest privilege to, not only serve under your command, but to know you as a man. Your total dedication to the company is something books should be made from. As each year got closer to your decision to step down, it became apparent that your other commitments in life were becoming more pressing and your prioritizing had to drastically change. I, as a selfish individual, apologize for adding to those pressures. I knew where you were headed, and I turned my head to your desires and asked time and time again, to be there, to stay on another year, and that was unfair. The writing was on the wall. I just refused to read it, and now, I know as surely as I always should have and as surely as I’ve always preached, “family and work” must be in the forefront of everyone’s life. I want to make you a solemn promise. We will endeavor to remain a unit to be proud of, a unit that strives to do the best we can, and to shine whenever possible. There are a lot of people out there who desire to know about the history of the common soldier and the units they served. It is our job to give credit to those brave souls who believed in what they were doing, no matter what the present day interpretation is of those values, commitments, and dedication for honor. I’m positive that I speak for the entire unit, both past and present in saying to you: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for instilling the values and lessons that are almost fatherly”. It almost made me forget that I’m older than you…well, and that I’ll always be the “boot boy”.

Sources Consulted For Secret Diaries

[i] "New Method of Cooking for Soldiers" July 21, 1863, by the Atlanta based newspaper, the "Memphis Daily Appeal".

[i] Worsham, John H. One Of Jackson’s Foot Cavalry Neale Publishing Company, New York , NY 1912

[ii] Traditional battle cry of British Airborne

[iii] Giles, Val C. Rags and Hope, The memoirs of Val C. Giles, Four years with Hood’s Brigade, Fourth Texas Infantry, 1861-1865. Mary Laswell editior, Coward-McMann Press New York, NY 1961.

[iv] Watkins, Sam “Co Aytch” Macmillian Publishing New York, Ny 1962

[v] Giles, Val C. Rags and Hope, The memoirs of Val C. Giles, Four years with Hood’s Brigade, Fourth Texas Infantry, 1861-1865. Mary Laswell editior, Coward-McMann Press New York, NY 1961.

[vi] "New Method of Cooking for Soldiers" July 21, 1863, by the Atlanta based newspaper, the "Memphis Daily Appeal".

ITEM	QTY	EACH
Cartridge Box	9	$90.00
Cap Pouch	6	$24.00
Bayonet Scabbard	12	$40.00
40” Belt-Ga.Frame & Forked	2	$37.00
44” Belt-Ga.Frame & Forked	2	$37.00
46” Belt-Ga.Frame & Forked	2	$37.00
Kepi (7” ¼)	1	$75.00
Kepi (7” 3/8)	1	$75.00
Haversack (Federal)	1	$45.00
Haversack (Confederate)	2	$45.00
Wood Canteen(no sling)	0	$72.00
Tin Canteen(no sling or cork)	5	$40.00
Tin Plate	3	$15.00
Tin Cup	2	$15.00
Wool Blanket	4	$25.00
Cotton Socks	13 pr.	$8.00
Small Va. Buttons	7	$0.75
Large Va. Buttons	10	$0.90
Script I Buttons	50	$1.00
Hemp Rope	alot	1.00 pr ft
Hemp Twine(rolls)	28	$5.00
Frying Pan	1	$30.00
Shell Jacket(on hold)	1	$142.50
Trousers(on hold)	1	$125.00
Trousers(repaired as is)	1	$80.00

Commander’s Column

Gilham’s Manual

Article IV – School of the Company

Think of the System

What if the utensils weren’t there?

Well… What to Cook?

What are some other examples of food the men might have prepared?

Editor’s note