Eyewitness to the Battle of Gettysburg - Tillie Pierce

Gettysburg, PA, 3-day battle, July 1 - July 3, 1863

Gettysburg was a small town in Pennsylvania, with rolling hills of corn and wheat fields and only 2,400 inhabitants.  The residents seemed unaware that two huge armies, about 170,000 men, were converging on their sleepy little town.  The fiercest battle of the war was about to ignite.  The Battle caught the residents of Gettysburg completely by surprise. 

Tillie Pierce:

Tilllie Pierce 16 years old at the time of the Battle.  Her father was a butcher and the family lived above his shop in the heart of town. She was attending the Young Ladies Seminary school when the cry is heard "the Rebels are coming!"

Soon Confederate soldiers were streaming through the area.

"Rushing to the door, and standing on the front portico we beheld a dark, dense mass, moving toward town.  Our teacher, Mrs. Eyster, at once said:  'Children, run home as quickly as you can.'  It did not require repeating. ...  I had scarcely reached the front door, when, on looking up the street, I saw some of the men on horseback.  

What a horrible sight!  There they were, human beings!  Clad almost in rags, covered with dust, riding wildly, pell-mell down the hill toward our home!  Shouting, yelling most unearthly, cursing, brandishing their revolvers, and firing right and left.

Soon ...ransacking began in earnest.  They wanted horses, clothing, anything and almost everything they could conveniently carry away.  Nor were they particular about asking. Whatever suited them they took.  They did, however, make a formal demand of the town authorities, for a large supply of flour, meat, groceries, shoes, hats, ... ten barrels of whisky; or, in lieu of this, five thousand dollars."

At the urging of her family, Tillie and some friends left the town and went to what they thought would be a safe place, Jacob Weikert's farmhouse.  

"During our flight over to the farm-house, and when about half way, Mrs. Weikert happened to think of some highly prized article of dress, that in our sudden flight she had never thought of. Nothing would do but that her husband would have to go back to the house and get it. Thus in the midst of the confusion of battle, Mr. Weikert started back. Just as we were reaching our starting point, we met him coming out with the treasure; a brand-new quilted petticoat; and we all went panting into the house. During the whole of this wild goose chase, the cannonading had become terrible! Occasionally a shell would come flying over Round Top and explode high in the air over head."

Sometime between 4 and 5 p.m. that afternoon, Tillie Pierce and her friends were caught between the opposing forces.

"On this evening the number of wounded brought to the place was indeed appalling. They were laid in different parts of the house. The orchard and space around the buildings were covered with the shattered and dying, and the barn became more and more crowded. The scene had become terrible beyond description."

Over 700 wounded and dying soldiers found shelter in the farmhouse and barn during the battle.  Tillie provided water and food to the soldiers and assisted the surgeons and nurses caring for the wounded.

The battle raged for 3 days.  "It seemed as though the heavens were sending forth peal upon peal of terrible thunder, directly over our heads; while at the same time, the very earth beneath our feet trembled. The cannonading at Gettysburg, has already gone down into history as terrible." 

After the battle:  "We were all glad that the storm had passed, and that victory was perched upon our banners.  But oh! the horror and desolation that remained. The general destruction, the suffering, the dead, the homes that nevermore would be cheered, the heart-broken widows, the innocent and helpless orphans! Only those who have seen these things, can ever realize what they mean."

"The whole landscape had been changed and I felt as though we were in a strange and blighted land."

Civil War Sweetener - Sorghum

Sorghum Arrives in America

The first sorghum arrived in North America on slave ships.  Sorghum is an ancient grain that was cultivated by the Egyptians.  In America it was used as livestock fodder and by enslaved people for food with its juice used to make syrup as a sweetener, an alternative to expensive sugar. 

Civil War

During the Civil War, the northern blockade of southern ports begun in 1861, caused many food shortages.  The Civil War scarcities led to replacement crops — chicory root for coffee, field pea mash for flour.  Among the scarce items was sugar.  Northerners  wanted to avoid supporting the sugarcane industry in the South and chose sorghum. Southerners turned to sorghum in place of cane sugar, because it was cheap and plentiful in the south.  

Sorghum is a grain that grows tall like corn.  From a distance it looks like corn. 

However, you’ll find no ears and there is a reddish tinge to the leaves, stalk and ripe seed head. Stalks stand up to 10 feet tall.

Sorghum holds a sweet juice extracted by crushing the cane. That sweet juice is then reduced until it runs slow as molasses, but boasts a deeper, more complex flavor. 

The Camel of Crops

Sorghum  is known as “the camel of crops” because it doesn’t need much water and grows in soils other grains won’t. It's a plant for tough times, and tough places.  

Much of the world is turning hotter and dryer these days, and it's opening new doors for sorghum.  Some farmers are looking for crops that aren't so "thirsty".  Aquifers are getting lower in areas, and crops such as corn need much more water than sorghum. Compared with corn, for instance, sorghum needs one-third less water, and it doesn't give up and wilt when rains don't come on time. It waits for moisture to arrive.

It flourishes in dry areas.  It’s an important crop in dry areas such as Ethiopia.  It is used to make a popular Ethiopian flatbread, injera, beverages, and feed farm animals.

Sorghum is Trendy

Sorghum has become a "trendy" food.  Sorghum is naturally gluten-free.  Some sorghums are high in antioxidants, which are believed to help lower the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease.  It is an ancient grain relatively untouched by modern agriculture.

Holiday Food Civil War - Idiot's Delight Cake

Food was scarce for the South, but they tried to celebrate Christmas and the Holidays.  Here is a frugal recipe used for party cakes in the South.

CIVIL WAR IDIOT'S DELIGHT CAKE Idiot's Delight Cake Ingredients 1 c. brown sugar 1 c. raisins 1 tbsp. butter 1 tsp. vanilla 4 c. water 7 tbsp. butter 1/2 c. white sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 c. milk 1 c. flour Boil together the first 5 ingredients. Make a batter of the second 5 ingredients. Drop the batter in a greased pan by spoonfuls. Pour first mixture over it and bake in a moderate oven until golden brown.  Source:  Cooks.com    It was popular because it used only a few, inexpensive, easy to obtain ingredients and is fool-proof. Even an "idiot" can make it.

Southern Women Outwit Yankee Soldiers

Hiding Valuables

As in any war, there was much theft and plunder by Yankee soldiers.  Southerners, however, had 2 advantages which helped ensure their survival:

1. Yankees did not recognize the patches of sweet potatoes, thinking they were weeds, and overlooked them.

2. Southerners knew their local terrain.  They knew its hiding places, and hid livestock such as pigs, and valuables in swamps and forests.

Diary of Nancy Emerson  
Staunton, VA  July 13, 1864
"They told us that Crook's men were a great deal worse than they, & that was true, but they were bad enough & worse at some other places than with us.  At one of our neighbors, they took every thing they had to eat, all the pillow cases & sheets but what were on the beds, & the towels & some of the ladies stockings.  One of them made up a bundle of ladies clothing to take, but his comrade shamed him out of it.                 

They then poured out their molasses, scattered their preserves & sugar & other things about the floor, & mixed them all together & destroyed things generally."

Diary of Estelle Laughlin 

"Word was sent by a neighbor's young houseboy ... that the Union soldiers were foraging, and so they had a little time to hide things.

All the keepsakes that they felt the Union soldiers might take were hastily dumped into a large, dark-colored bag.  Uncle Adam suspended it down into the well by the long rope.

The Union soldiers arrived and took the chickens, and some other things, but when they went through the house, they couldn't seem to find anything of value.

When the soldiers stopped at the well to draw up a bucket of cold water, the hearts of the watching family were in their throats, but by good fortune they didn't notice the rope suspended into the well, or else thought it was merely something put down in the well to be kept cold, as was the custom, and so the family treasures were saved."

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Frugal Civil War Cooking: Oatmeal Pie recipe

There were many food shortages caused by Civil War blockades.  The following recipe provides flavors that substitute for pecans, which were hard to find.  A very frugal recipe and tasty.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Pie

Ingredients:

1 (9 inch) pie crust
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light corn syrup (sorghum or molasses during Civil War)
1/8 to 1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal (uncooked)

Directions:
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Beat eggs until frothy. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl. Add eggs and mix well. Add corn syrup, melted butter and vanilla. Mix oatmeal. Pour into uncooked pie shell. Bake for 45 minutes. 

Oatmeal pie is also known as “poor man’s pecan pie” or “mock pecan pie.”  Another time in U.S. history when oatmeal pie was popular was during the Great Depression when everything was in short supply. Oatmeal pie is made with basic ingredients that were and still are in most of our pantries. 

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Civil War Frugal Recipe: Cabbage Stew

Civil War Recipes 

During the Civil War finding sufficient, edible food was challenging.  Devastated landscapes with no one to farm them, insufficient labor, and blockades and barricades prevented access to provisions. Much like settlers headed out West or poverty-stricken people during the Great Depression, Civil War civilians and soldiers resorted to whatever they could find to eat. The following recipe reflects the creativity men and women undertook in the kitchen and at the campfire. 

Cabbage Stew

Ingredients:

1. - one head green cabbage
2. - onions (slice the cabbage and onions - approximately ½ & ½)
3. - salt pork (cut the salt pork into small cubes)  NOTE:  a modern    Vegan substitute is tempeh or tofu
4. - stewed tomatoes
5. - salt, garlic salt, pepper, cajun seasoning or ground red pepper

Fry the salt pork in a very large, hot, cast iron pot 

   until well browned (do not drain).
Turn the heat down (move to a cooler fire area).
Add cabbage and cook until wilted
Add onions and cook until wilted

Let cook approximately 1 hour (low fire).  Add tomatoes to more than cover.  
Let cook ...simmer... The longer the better, the flavors will blend nicely the longer it cooks.

Add garlic salt (small amount), then add salt and pepper to taste.
Add a very small amount of cajun seasoning or ground red pepper. Be sure to taste after adding each time. It takes the seasoning a few minutes to make themselves known. Better to add too little than too much.  Stir occasionally.
After approximately 2-3 hours, start tasting then season/cook more if necessary. 

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Source:   Total Gettsburg

Folk Medicine in the South during Civil War

Shortage of Medicines

Much of the suffering in the war was because of a rapidly declining supply of medicine in the South as blockades restricted importation of all essentials.

Speculators: When enemy camps were overrun, speculators raided the medical stores capturing morphine, quinine and chloroform to resell at 50 times their original value. It was such a problem that General Lee called upon the secretary of war to put an end to the practice.

A well known manual on indigenous substitutes written by surgeon Maj. Francis Perye Porcher was “Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests, Medical, Economic and Agricultural.”

Published in 1863, the 600-page book was distributed to medical officers to help aid the sick and wounded. It is said to have helped so many that Confederates were able to hold off the Union Army for two additional years.

Malaria was a major problem in the South.  Malaria became a constant problem where insects swarmed like a plague in swamps, marshes and bayous. 

Union surgeons had ready access to quinine, which is derived from the bark of the cinchona tree, to treat malaria.  Confederate doctors improvised with boneset, dogwood berries, willow, poplar bark or the wahoo tree bark as substitutes.

Eupatorium, known as boneset, was a substitute for quinine.  It is also known to be used by slaves of the southern plantations to treat typhus.

Other medicinal substitutes used by Confederate surgeons included blackberry roots, charcoal, wild lettuce, peach leaf tea, rhubarb and a cordial made from persimmon and sugar to treat diarrhea and dysentery. These substitutes were undoubtedly less toxic than Union medical personnel’s affinity for mercury, used to treat everything from dysentery to headaches.  

Read Porcher's book Online: 

Museum of Civil War Medicine

article source:  TimeRecord News, Wichita  Falls, Texas