“GITTIN STUFF” Equipping Confederate Armies at the Onset of the Civil War (1861 –1862)
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“GITTIN STUFF” Equipping Confederate Armies at the Onset of The Civil War (1861 –1862) BY FRED D. SETH. JR, CPPM, CF, HARBOUR LIGHTS CHAPTER PREFACE States of America (CSA). He also introduced me to Josiah his is the first of three articles on the Civil War, a Gorgas, the Confederate Ordnance General, who support- topic normally tackled by The Civil War Times ed his units and troops for four years with remarkable skill, not The Property Professional. I owe debts of grati- creativity and dedication. The Confederates had extraordi- T tude to my wife, Barbara, who presented me with nary challenges so I decided to focus on their support a Father’s Day gift of a Smithsonian workshop on turning issues in these three articles. points in the Civil War; Dr. Gary W. Gallagher (University The Civil War stands arguably as the most significant of Virginia), the workshop professor who convinced me event of our nation’s history. The genesis of such issues as there were no such clear “turning points”; and Dr. Doug the civil rights movement, race relations, women’s issues, Goetz, who agreed to publish these articles. Thanks also states’ rights, and national taxation can be found in the go to Gerald Tomasovsky, who loaned me his Mississip- events leading up to, during and after the Civil War. pi National Guard Staff Ride materials (1987) that pro- Almost as many Americans lost their lives during the Civil vided valuable information on logistics support to the War than in all of America’s other wars combined, includ- Confederacy. ing the World Wars. Napoleonic War tactics met modern During his outstanding workshop, Dr. Gallagher pro- weapons with devastating results. More books have been vided insight on the resources of the two warring nations, written about it than any other war in history, with over the United States of America (USA) and Confederate 50,000 published. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress Commissary clerks with Supplies at the Commissary Depot in Aquia Creek, April 1863. 16 NPMA Volume 16, Issue 3 – 2004 As with any organization, the management of equip- active campaign.”1 ment and supplies impact, and are impacted by, the goals This first article focuses on the South’s capability to and objectives of the whole organization, in this case the wage war in 1861 and preparation and support for early Confederate States of America (CSA). The South did not engagements through the battle of Antietam, Lee’s first have to “win” the war against the Union: It had to stave off foray North in the fall of 1862. The second article will defeat until the Union lost its will to fight and allow the address how the South built up its resources to support Confederacy to exist as an independent nation. Fortunate- armies on the Eastern and Western fronts and even imple- ly for our nation, President Abraham Lincoln ensured that mented full mobilization by 1864. Support to the Gettys- did not happen and a much stronger nation emerged. burg and Vicksburg campaigns will be covered. The final However, logistics, equipment and supply management article will document the collapse of the Confederacy’s kept the South in the war much longer than anyone could support structure under the weight of Union occupation, have imagined. the successful blockade of southern ports, destruction of For many years, southern historians have claimed the the railroad network, devastation of food sources and final- South lost because it did not have the resources to wage ly, total defeat of its armies. war against the Union. Post war southern writing empha- These articles will be presented in a modified lifecycle sized the “ragged rebel” or the “lost cause.” This may have context. Many representative examples of logistics and been true during some campaigns, especially near the end, property support issues exist. I have attempted to select but for the most part, the southern soldier was well interesting ones that demonstrate the efforts of equipment equipped, especially with arms and ammunition. Most of and supply managers. Through research, I have gained the veterans themselves never mentioned supply shortages. respect for the creativity and resourcefulness of these logis- In fact, the opposite was true as stated by W. W. Black, ticians and realize how much we can learn from them. who served with General J.E.B. Stuart. He wrote, “…In Each article includes in its title, “Gittin Stuff,” a term books written since the war, it seems to be the thing to attributed to controversial Confederate General Nathan represent the Confederate soldier as being in a chronic Bedford Forrest. He used it to describe logistics, the labori- state of starvation and nakedness. During the last year of ous process of procuring necessary items, storing them the war this was partially true, but previous to that time until ready for use and finally distributing supplies and was not any more than falls to the lot of all soldiers in an equipment among the soldiers or users.2 Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress The Confederate Seige Guns at Yorktown, VA Volume 16, Issue 3 – 2004 NPMA 17 agreed to fight for the South and only 18% could be fitted PART ONE with shoes. On May 7, 1861, Ordnance Chief Colonel INTRODUCTION Gorgas learned that the Confederates had only 159,000 weapons of all types, most of which had been seized from uring the first half of the nineteenth century, the Unit- Federal arsenals in the south. By June 1861, English ware- Ded States had gone through a period of rapid industrial houses were filled with Confederate military supplies, but growth. By 1860, industrial production heavily favored the the tightening Union navy blockade caused southern lead- North. Of the 128,300 industrial establishments in the ers concern that they could not be delivered. Early in the United States, 110,000 were loyal to the Union. Produc- war several ships successfully tested the blockade and sup- tion value of Union factories was ten times greater than plies began to flow slowly into the South. those of the South. The production of critical war supplies Limitations were felt almost immediately. By January and equipment was even more lopsided. In the United 1862, because of not guaranteeing loans in Europe, the States of 1860, northern states manufactured 97 percent of CSA was ruined financially, armies suffered from lack of the firearms, 94 percent of the cloth, 93 percent of the pig arms and supplies, and the home front felt the pinch. Con- iron and more than 90 percent of boots and shoes. The federate logisticians would have to begin to develop inter- South was short of virtually all equipment required and the nal resources to enable their armies to survive during the capability to produce more. ensuing years of the war. In manpower, the South was also at a significant disad- vantage. The North mustered 1.5 million soldiers during the war, the South 800 thousand. However, the South did ORGANIZATION have nearly 4 million slaves who did practically all of the he primary support organizations for any military force farming during the war and also provided much of the Tare commissary, ordnance and quartermaster, in that labor for construction of fortifications at New Orleans, priority. Competition for limited funds was inevitable Vicksburg, Richmond and Charleston. among the organizations. Ordnance Chief Josiah Gorgas In April 1861, CSA Quartermaster Colonel Abraham wrote that President Davis said, “For the infantry, men C. Meyers realized that southern contractors and mills must first be fed, next armed, and even clothing must fol- were unable to clothe and outfit volunteers who had low these; for if they are fed and have arms and ammuni- Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress The Confederate Winter Quarters at Centreville, VA in March of 1862. 18 NPMA Volume 16, Issue 3 – 2004 tion they can fight.” The Medical Service had a general most of the war against superior numbers and capability. precedence since it was necessary “first of all to keep the He fell in love with, and subsequently married, the daugh- hospitals empty and the ranks full.”3 The Confederacy ter of the former governor of Alabama and became a life- formed these organizations early in the war. long southern sympathizer. An excellent administrator, he demonstrated strength of character, diligence, and judi- Commissary ciousness in overcoming obstacles. His accomplishments were truly spectacular. He picked President Davis appointed Lucius Bellinger Northrop to highly qualified subordinates, organized his department, be Acting Commissary General of Subsistence in March and for four years provided arms, ammunition and other 1862. A West Point graduate, Northrop had surveyed the accoutrements to Confederate forces. To augment initially southwest for the army to identify food-producing areas in severe shortages, he acquired arms from Europe; coordinat- the winter of 1842-43. He combined medical training ed blockade running efforts; created the Nitre and Mining with extensive experience with the army. His service in Bureau that provided the basic ingredients of gunpowder many different climates provided him knowledge of subsis- along with copper, brass, iron and other essential chemi- tence needs of the soldier. Captain William Maynadier, a cals; and built a network of armories and arsenals through- northerner, was appointed as the permanent Commissary out the South. General. Maynadier remained loyal to the Union and refused the position, so Northrop was permanently Quartermaster appointed. A favorite of Jefferson Davis, Northrop was dis- liked for his hardheadedness, especially when it came to The Confederate Quartermaster Department was orga- Union prisoners. After the first battle of Bull Run, when nized by Act of Congress 26 February 1861.