06/11/2019
How important was coffee in the War?
Coffee was added to the soldier's ratios in 1832 by Andrew Jackson. By the Civil War, a soldier would be issued 30 pounds of a coffee a year. Coffee and Tea were widely consumed in the North, but coffee was not as much of a staple in the South. Some poorer soldiers had never drank coffee prior to their service, and when they returned from the war they brought their love of coffee with them.
Coffee beans were generally distributed whole and roasted, though green beans were distributed too. Coffee must be roasted in order to be brewed into the concoction we know and love today. Soldiers with green coffee beans would roast them over their campfires until sufficiently dark.
Once roasted, the coffee needed to be ground. The 1859 Sharps Carbine had a mill built into the stock, for coffee as well as grain, but this weapon was not widely issued. If a regiment didn't have a coffee mill or similar grinding implement, they would just crush the beans with whatever they had on hand. Of course, the poorer equipped Confederate soldiers often even lacked forks or spoons, let alone a coffee mill.
Northern soldiers were issued with a tin cup, generally 48 oz, called a "mucket" that was used to brew coffee. It looks like a percolator, but it is really just a cup. If you're familiar with Turkish coffee, Civil War coffee would be brewed very similarly. The ground coffee would be placed in the water and boiled until ready. The addition of cooler water would cause the grounds to settle to the bottom of the mucket.
For a time, the Union issued "essence of coffee." It was coffee grounds premixed with sugar and milk that was reconstituted with boiling water. It was so foul, soldiers would not drink it, and it was discontinued.
Soldiers would use any available water to make coffee. There have been recorded instances of soldiers using muddy creek water to make coffee, water not even given to horses.
Confederate coffee became scarce following the Northern blockade of the South. Coffee was plundered or some cases traded for to***co with Northern soldiers, but Southerner could scarcely attain coffee. The lack of coffee in the South meant that Southerners would make "coffee" from a variety of plant sources. Chicory, which is still used as a coffee additive today, was brewed as well as various parts of the sweet potato plant and other plants.
Coffee was so beloved that there are stories, including one involving future President McKinley, of men consuming coffee under fire to raise morale. Coffee was regarded as a "nerve tonic" and something of necessity for the soldier.
