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Hardtack and coffeeJohn Davis Billings

Hardtack and coffee

by OpenStories

Original author: John Davis Billings

CompletedPublished Updated

"Hardtack and coffee : or, the unwritten story of Army life" by John D. Billings is a memoir published in 1887. A veteran of the 10th Massachusetts Volunteer Light Artillery Battery, Billings offers an intimate look at everyday Union soldier life during the American Civil War—not the battles, but the camps, marches, rations, and routines. Enhanced by Charles W. Reed's pen and ink drawings, the book combines humor with vivid detail, revealing what it truly meant to be a common soldier in America's defining conflict.

Hardtack and coffee, by John Davis Billings. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #72532.

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23 Chapters

  1. 1.Preface1,725 words
  2. 2.Chapter XXI: Talking Flags and Torches1,035 words
  3. 3.Chapter I: The Tocsin of War4,265 words
  4. 4.Chapter II: Enlisting1,924 words
  5. 5.Chapter III: How the Soldiers Were Sheltered4,345 words
  6. 6.Chapter IV: Life in Tents3,032 words
  7. 7.Chapter V: Life in Log Huts4,668 words
  8. 8.Chapter VI: Jonahs and Beats5,246 words
  9. 9.Chapter VII9,307 words
  10. 10.Chapter VIII: Offences and Punishments5,406 words
  11. 11.Chapter IX: A Day in Camp8,307 words
  12. 12.Chapter X: Raw Recruits5,390 words
  1. 13.Chapter XI4,044 words
  2. 14.Chapter XII: Foraging5,499 words
  3. 15.Chapter XIII: Corps and Corps Badges6,013 words
  4. 16.Chapter XIV: Some Inventions and Devices of the War2,726 words
  5. 17.Chapter XV: The Army Mule4,862 words
  6. 18.Chapter XVI: Hospitals and Ambulances5,370 words
  7. 19.Chapter XVII: Scattering Shots3,307 words
  8. 20.Chapter XVIII: Breaking Camp.—on the March5,768 words
  9. 21.Chapter XIX: Army Wagon-Trains7,469 words
  10. 22.Chapter XX: Army Road and Bridge Builders3,806 words
  11. 23.Chapter XXI: Talking Flags and Torches3,730 words