BLUF
Union soldiers were issued 36 pounds of coffee annually, which boosted their morale and overall well-being. On the other hand, Confederate troops found it difficult to obtain coffee. In the fiscal year 2022, the US military consumed an estimated $94 million worth of coffee, which probably also helped to improve morale.Summary
Jeff Schogol writing in Task and Purpose, makes the following points:
- By blockading the Confederate South, the Union Navy prevented Brazilian coffee from reaching the rebel states.
- Coffee (more like today’s Turkiye /Turkish coffee) was the most talked about subject in soldiers’ letters home.
- In the Union Navy, steam vents were used to heat coffee.
- Today’s US Army Combat Feeding Directorate also provides different rations that include caffeine for mental alertness.
References
- MILITARY HISTORY: INDEX of PAGES AND COLLECTIONS ON THE RAAF RUNWAY
- NOV 2008 A Brief Overview of the American Civil War-American Battlefield Trust
- DEC 2020 HOW COFFEE MAY HAVE STARTED — AND ENDED — THE CIVIL WAR-Coffee or Die
- JUL 2021 How to Make Coffee Like a Civil War Soldier-AOM
- Coffee and the Civil War Soldier-American Battlefield Trust
