US Civil War 2024 May Sutler's Challenge

Question

                        

The May Sutler's Challenge is from May 1st to May 31st 

Sutlers were traveling civilian storekeepers authorized by the military to follow the troops and sell them goods and foods that were not part of the Army’s daily ration. Almost every regiment, barracks, fort, camp, hospital and prison had its own appointed sutler.

As a group, sutlers were notorious for charging high prices. And if a soldier did not have money to spend today, the sutler would accept a promissory note against the soldier’s next paycheck. Hard coinage was scarce during the Civil War. Sutler’s tokens and scrip, spendable only in the sutler’s store, were used in lieu of coins. Examples of promissory notes, tokens and scrip have survived and can be quite valuable.

The purpose of the Sutlers Challenge is to research and document the lives of these individuals. Who were the Sutlers? What can we learn about these sutlers' lives before, during and after the Civil War? Who were their ancestors and their families? Who were their descendants?

Join the Sutler’s Challenge and be part of the investigation!!!   

To Read the Instructions and sign-up for the May Challenge Click:  USCW Challenge Worksheet 

                                 

Please join us in the May Challenge!!!!

Comments

A fun article that will show the humor of such a Rebel retreat…in the wake leaving a mess of Sutler stores…

“Occupy till I come.” Yours retreating, but not cowed. Crescent Blues.

Litchfield Enquirer, March 27, 1862, Page 1.

It appears the Crescent Blues a regiment out of Louisiana? Left the plaque hanging up for the Union Forces 

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Nice, I've heard of the Crescent Blues, some are buried in the Cypress Grove Cemetery No. 2  

Answer 1

Hi Pam,

I would like to work on the CT regiments of sutlers and maybe I’ll be able to help in this area. 

The name I chose is M. Kingsbury and it is limited on much more than the coinage however I believe we can piece this together 

Im curious if any of the Sutlers were Female/Women? 

I found a interesting newsclip article of a H. Kingsbury of the 18th Connecticut 

“The Connecticut veterans had a pleasant experience with an old lady who lived near the camp In the valley of the Shenandoah. This old lady heard there were some men from Connecticut there and she searched abont the tents until she came across General Dickinson of Hartford. She wanted to buy one of the Japanese lanterns which took a part in the nightly illumination of the camp and offered In payment some coins which she said was Connecticut money. The general Instantly recognised the coins as sutler's checks They were marked “H Kingsbury sutler Eighteenth Connecticut regiment 25 cents In goods" see The Meriden Daily Republican, September 29, 1885, Page 4

I am researching M. Kingsbury but maybe there was also a H. Kingsbury of the 18th Conn?

I’ll add more to this post as I work with this name and it’s Sutler history 

Any advice or guidance or even comments is appreciated 

Thank you

My first goal is to get the proper first name 

The 18th Regiment, Connecticut Infantry was Organized at Norwich August 22, 1862. Mustered out at Harper's Ferry, W. Va., June 27, 1865.

See also Familysearch for the 18th Conn Vols

I was hoping to find something mentioned about the Sutler M. Kingsbury in the Diary of Charles H. Lynch who served in the 18th Conn Vols…Bu he doesn’t seem to mention M. Kingsbury 

Comments

Hi Andrew, thank you joining the Challenge.  Here is a link to some pictures that concern Sutlers: Search media - Wikimedia Commons  one of them is a woman, Mary Tippee who was a sutler for the 114th Pennsylvania.  So there definitely were women sutlers.  I'm going to work on some Ft. Leavenworth sutlers, I've got some Kansas roots 

I think we'll all need to give each other hints on this challenge.

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Thank you Pam

I found an interesting 1850 census of a Major Kingsbury. Most of the names on the list are merchants or clerks. Looking at all the M. Kingsbury in Ct in 1865 born before 1850. This name doesn’t appear as Major Kingsbury anywhere else in records. There was a fruit peddler another man named Kingsbury in another census. This might be tougher than it appeared. 

Name: Major Kingsbury
Sex: Male
Age: 55 years
Birth Year (Estimated): 1795
Birthplace: Connecticut
Race: White
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1850
Event Place: New York New York, United States (New York New York, United States)
Household Identifier: 1900
House Number: 550
Line Number: 39
Schedule Type: 1850 Population
Affiliate Publication Number: M432
Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

See link 1850 census 

"United States Census, 1850", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCT7-P9D : Fri Mar 08 17:23:21 UTC 2024), Entry for William C Anderson and Mary Anderson, 1850.

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You need to look at the occupation, they tend to be merchants of some sort before and after the war

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Says U.S. Army occupation but his name is Major Kingsbury I don’t think his first name was major https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCT7-PS6?cid=fs_copy

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I’ve been looking for merchant 

One name is a George M. Kingsbury see 1860 census a fruit peddler 

Memorial https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115851271/george_nelson-kingsbury

Ironic his wife is a Burdick and Charles Lynch mother in law was a Burdick maybe a connection 

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Here is a link that might help: National Archives NextGen Catalog    I haven't looked at the records on it, so I don't know how much info it has.

Love that picture on the memorial, what a mustache 

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Found him! An article about him so he existed!

The first week in January fitted up  Sutler Kingsbury's tent for a chapel…see link Here

I  working on it need his name still…

This leads to the Reverend E. Cushman who turned the Sutlers tent into a chapel  see the Rev obit here and he is buried in the same cemetery as Cpl Lynch who wrote the diary! I think the good Reverend might have just wrote something also in his writings about the war? I believe this is the correct Reverend see FindAGrave Memorial

Added to Wikitree Elisha Cushman (1813 - 1876) he had direct interaction with Sutler M. Kingsbury and the 18th Conn Vols!

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Sutler got a scare? I wonder what that was about? See Here

See Facebook for the 18th Conn Vols if anyone does FB it might be resourceful 

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Did you see p. 176?  Suiter instead of Sutler.  Maybe the scare involved gunfire!

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I would guess the same! 

Answer 2

Hi Pam,

What a great challenge!  I was really hoping to work on the sutler for the 103rd Ohio since that is the regiment I've been working on completing profiles for, unfortunately they don't have one listed.  Neither do either of the regiments that my 3x great grandfathers served in (the 17th and 178th Ohio). 

However, there are sure a lot from Ohio!  I chose to do P. Merwin, 8th Ohio.  The 8th Ohio Company B is a living history-reenacting unit dedicated to preserving the memory of the original 8th OVI based in Northeast Ohio (Cleveland area) where I live and I know several members of the 8th Ohio. When I finish his profile I'll move on to the Johnson Island sutler since that is only an hour drive from me.  Good luck everyone! 

Comments

Thank you David for joining the challenge.  It should be fun.

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https://www.bgsu.edu/library/cac/collections/manuscript/civilwar.html

MS 22 mf Johnson's Island (Lake Erie). Military Prison
Records, 1862-1864.
Financial ledgers of the camp sutler, a receipt book of William Pierson, first commanding officer of the camp, and three autograph albums, signed by many of the Confederate prisoners. 3 rolls of microfilm

Answer 3

Hi Pam,

I’m also going to work on Unknown Alvord, 19th Connecticut Regiment aka “Second regiment of Connecticut volunteer heavy artillery, originally the Nineteenth volunteer infantry, in the civil war”

The main reason is they are all intertwined. Reverend Elisha Cushman…Cpl. Charles H. Lynch…Sutler M. Kingsbury…now Alvord

See this news clip from the Hartford Courant, December 1, 1874, Page 2.

I’ll add here what I can find…

Edit: fixed broken link to obit 

See the 19th Connecticut Regiment on Familysearch

“Camp Dutton, Sept. 2d, 1862. Sutlers and Peddlers…” 

See: Litchfield Enquirer, September 4, 1862, Page 2.

See page #65 only place it mentions the word “Sutler” in The county regiment; a sketch of the Second regiment of Connecticut volunteer heavy artillery, originally the Nineteenth volunteer infantry, in the civil war,

Newsclip of likely Sutler (unknown Alvord) 

“Our sutler got into the habit of being too costly in his charges, (at his old tricks, you and I know of.)…” 

see: Litchfield Enquirer, October 30, 1862, Page 2

Apparently the strong gust of wind or tornado threw his pies and herring all over the place and he didn’t seem well appreciated as their Sutler

I believe Mr. Alvord went to another regiment and J.P  Stevens took the Sutlers job… see full article HERE not sure he will be tracked from here. 

Possibly the new Sutler of 19th Conn Vols Dr Jonathan Humphrey Pettibone “J.H.P.” Stevens

The regiment also suffered a disaster at Battle of Cold Harbor

Comments

I see you have him already attached to you on the sign-up chart :)    I'm doing the same with the ft. Leavenworth sutlers, I've found info on my two so far.  It's really fun to find out about these men.  There's even a ghost story that involves one of them.

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Oh that is the best part of the story is the mystery and the history! I love a good ghost story!

I’m not 100% sure it’s the same Mr. Alvord yet but to rule it out I created profile for C A Alvord (1813 - 1874). He was born in Winchester, CT yet the Mr. Alvord who is a Sutler is Barkhamsted which is about 15 miles from Winchester so very well could be same man. The obit mentions “He had a taste for historical and genealogical research and was especially interested in matter connected with the history of Hartford and his native town Winchester.”

Well he is a Notable! See Wikipedia is it possible a Sutler could be a notable…more research needed will look into the 19th Conn Vols

Note: Barkhamsted and Winchester are in the same county of Litchfield and the newsclip on the challenge worksheet also is out of Litchfield…

Ohhh the 19th Conn Vols were also the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment and at the Battle of Cold Harbor took very heavy losses!’

Page 145 Feb. 21. One hundred gun salute for fall of Charleston and capture of two hundred guns. Nails thirty-five cent-s per pound at  sutler 's. See Here

Answer 4

Hi Pam,

I’ve started research on John Robert Bostwick (1820 - 1897) Sutler with Connecticut roots who was with the 11th New York Cavalry “Scott’s 900” 

See: Category: 11th Regiment, New York Cavalry, United States Civil War

There is also a Category: Sutlers

I’ll be adding more research to his profile…here

The other two I’m researching are M. Kingsbury (very limited sources) and (Unknown Alvord) also very limited sources.

This Sutler had enough resources to build a profile confidently

See archive “John  Bostwick, Sutler 171”

”J. R.  Bostwick was the regimental sutler from the beginning to the end. He kept a large variety of goods that soldiers recpiire, such as gloves, blacking, polishing stuffs, thread, needles, pipes, tobacco and cigars. He was a very accommodating man, and charged good prices for his wares, but they were not exorbitant, considering the risks which he took. At Camp Relief he furnished the officers' mess and had money to lend for a fair rate of interest; he trusted the men for two dollars' worth of tickets per month, to be paid on the first pay-day, and would give a still larger credit if a man asked for it.” See archive Link

Comments

Hi Andrew, yes there is the category Sutlers, plus now we have categories for CSA and USA Sutlers so they can be with the side they were on.

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Fold3 had a couple of records on one of my guys, enough that I got his name.

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John Robert Bostwick is now connected to the main family tree 

I always forget about the tracker when it comes to the challenges 

Answer 5

In researching Victor Beaudry, I ran across an obituary of Benjamin Lafayette Brown, which reads in part “Mr. Brown was born in Batavia, N. Y., in 1824, and while yet a minor removed to Wisconsin, in which State he resided until the bresking out of tha war in 1861, during which he was attached to the Federal army in the Southwest, in the capacity of sutler.  At the close of the war he, in company with Mr. V. Beaudry, cameto this valley in 1866, since which time he has been a continuous resident of this county.”

So while not on the list, I will work building out a WikiTree profile for him.

Comments

And one Sutler Victor Beaudry led to another Sutler Benjamin Lafayette Brown.  This leads to 2 more …

“The Bay City Press”, (Green Bay, Wisconsin), 7 Sep 1861, page 3 — Harry F. and B. Lafayette Brown, two more of our boys left on Monday for Cape Gerardean to take employment in the Commissary Department under citizen Goodell.  They'll do.

The 2 more being Harry F. Brown and Nathan Goodell.  

Is anyone else seeing a Sutler cluster like this?

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I've got the Fr. Leavenworth sutlers falling in line also.

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Adding to the sutler-ness of it all, Nathan Goodell was a sutler’s clerk for Oliver Newberry in 1830.

Answer 6

Hi Pam! I signed up on the worksheet. Thanks for the challenge!

Here's an interesting story. Sutlers created the first dog tags. http://sidneycivilwar.org/sutlers-one-of-the-civil-wars-necessary-evils/

Comments

That is a pretty good story abt the dog tags, I've wondered how the soldiers were identified.  Those probably helped.

Answer 7

I've just written the biography of Col. Andrew G. Ege, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ege-74 he was a very interesting man.  He was a slave owner both in Maryland and Kansas.  Yet, he managed to become the Sutler for Fort Leavenworth from 8 January 1862 to 29 May 1862.  

Comments

I am curious about how he came to be call Colonel. I guess that will remain a mystery. Pretty astonishing that a slave owner could have been appointed sutler.

My guy, Joseph Spiegel (founder of Spiegel's Catalog) was a Prisoner of War. Held at Camp Ford, Texas.

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He was believed to have been in the Mexican-American War and received his rank there.

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After doing a little more research on Fort Leavenworth's history, it was surrounded by those who wanted Kansas to be a slave state.  So it probably isn't surprising that Ege could have managed to get the sultler position for those five months. Fort Leavenworth | Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865 

Answer 8

I've got Edward Fenlon - WikiTree Profile begun, so on his newspaper obituary it refers to him as a Major.  But, during the Civil War he was the Sutler and Postmaster at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  How did he become a Major?  

Comments

Prior to becoming a sutler, Felon was in the 5th US Artillery.

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Edward Felon post sutler filed complaints with the Adjutant General's Office. He complained that regiments were being formed there and appointing regimental sutlers while there, thus infringing on his business.

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Did the military record have his rank?

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I've been working on Joseph Spiegel, sutler for the 120th Regiment, Ohio Infantry.

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Very interesting, that's one very known family.

Answer 9

I've been working on Joseph Spiegel, sutler for the 120th Regiment, Ohio Infantry. Joseph was the son of an German immigrant.

Spiegel was probably the most successful of the Civil War sutlers. His business became what we know as the iconic Spiegel Catalog.

Marcus Spiegel was Colonel in command of the 120th Regiment, Ohio Infantry. He was well aware of the problems, such as sutlers gouging soldiers with high prices. To solve the problem of finding an honest sutler for his regiment, he appointed his brother Joseph Spiegel. The Spiegel family had a history of peddling.

In 1864, the 120th Regiment while on an unarmed transit boat was ambushed on the Red River in Louisiana. Colonel Spiegel died of wounds received in the ambush. Joseph Spiegel was captured along with the 120th Regiment. He spent the remainder of the War as a Prisoner of War at Camp Ford in Texas.

After his release in 1865, Spiegel opened a store in Chicago. When his sons became old enough, they joined his business. Spiegel began offering home furnishings by mail-order catalog in 1888. Spiegel added installment credit sales to his business. (Josph was originally opposed to this, but his sons convinced him of the merit.) The Spiegels became a pioneer in the installment credit sales business. They expanded beyond home furnishings to women's fashion (and eventually virtually everything else). The Spiegel company was known for it Spiegel Catalog. The Spiegel Company was family run for about 100 years after Joseph started it in 1865.

Beyond being the big mail-order business, the family has many interesting members.

One of Joseph's sons, was an early producer in American silent films. One of the industry's pioneers. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (Did you know the original capitol of American film was New York and not Hollywood?)

One grandson (a World War II veteran) was president of the American Psychiatric Association and an expert of violence and combat stress. Another grandson married the 1925 Miss America.

Answer 10

I'm working on John W Christy, sutler for the 37th Indiana Infantry.

John Christy served a short term in the 7th Indiana Infantry and was discharged for medial disability in early 1861. That fall he became the sutler for the 37th Regiment.

After the war, Christy joined his brothers as dealers in grain.  The firm appeared to do quite well. Then a financial scandal was exposed. They had been speculating in the grain market at Chicago and had huge losses. To secure additional loans, they had issued false grain receipts. All the principals of the firm were arrested. They were charged with issuing false receipts and embezzlement. One of the members agreed to testify against the others. His charges were dropped. After several days of trial, the preliminary hearing bound them over to the Grand Jury to bring in an indictment.

However, the Grand Jury and the Prosecuting Attorney did not proceed with the case. There were rumors of a pay-off. The case against them never went to trial.

John Christy spent his last few years in an old soldiers' home in Ohio. He died there in 1916.

Answer 11

Hi Pam,

While researching the Sutler (unknown Alvord) 

I found a Sutler in my research which I’m not researching currently, but anyone who is researching might appreciate this article.

A. Scherzinger see Litchfield Enquirer, January 28, 1864, Page 2. …”One sutler named A. Scherzinger, lost $35,000 in money,…” mentions another Sutler named A. Grier

Comments

That’s quite an article!  He even lost his boots which he had just removed!  

It appears these are CSA sutler’s. I can add them to the master list to give som one this article as a starting point.

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“They also relieved a one armed sutler of about $1,000“

It appears the Rebels were desperate as the confederacy was in short supply of the basics for their soldiers

That would be a great idea to add them to the master list 

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I added them to the “Sutlers for whom the Regiment is Unknown” section and designated CSA.

Answer 12

While researching sutler Byron Soper [[Soper-2316]], I found that his brother, Edward [[Soper-2324]], was an enlisted member of the same Co C 22nd Regt. Conn. Vols

Comments

Hi Cathy,

I added a few sources you might appreciate to this Connecticut Sutler’s profile for Byron Pinney Soper (1830 - 1877)  

He died fairly young in his 40’s of heart disease it appears but he was also helpful with the charity for the hungry as he donated on at least one occasion. He left a life insurance policy per his estate in just over $10k. He seemed well liked in the community and a giving person working in the grocery and furniture business.

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TYVM, Andrew!

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Your welcome…I can only imagine how it must of been in 1877 a furniture business on Asylum Ave, Hartford, Conn…which today could never compare to those times…amazing history!

Edited: added Wikipedia link to Asylum Ave district…his world would of been something to view through his eyes.

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Hi Cathy,

I also added a few more sources and updates for our Connecticut Civil War veteran Edward B. Soper (1844 - 1906) who served as you mentioned in the 22nd Conn Vols

Note the Pinney name in Ct has deep roots which is his others maiden name…so much intertwined in genealogy and history 

Hope this helps

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Really super, Andrew! Much appreciated!

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I don't see the source for this: "GAR voted to attend funeral… They will have a special car which will start from the corner of Hanover street. ^[3]"

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Not sure why the reference tag isn’t working I added it though. See Record-Journal, April 4, 1906, Page 10

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The 22nd Conn Vols was a (9 month) duration. 20 died of disease illness.

Edited: added link

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Fixed it!

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I see! Thank you. I’m curious about the type of car. In 1906 it might not of been mechanical but maybe horse drawn. Too bad they didn’t elaborate but the point is clear they paid their respects in a very proper manner.

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https://www.earlyamericanautomobiles.com/1906.htm

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Good link I can picture this being the type of “car” they used…very much like a buggy but no horse