Hard Tack and Coffee
Or, The Unwritten Story of Army Life

Throughout history, from antiquity to the present, service in the armed forces of ones country has provided an almost endless source of material to entertain and even enlighten listeners. Military life has usually been a unique and peculiar experience for most civilians exposed to it. Originally published in 1888, Hard Tack and Coffee is the fascinating account of the everyday life of a footsoldier in the U.S. Army of one hundred years ago. John Billings describes all aspects of a soldiers life, including living quarters, foraging, wagon trains, offenses and punishments, equipment, transportation, food, hospitals, and much more. This is a detailed, comprehensive, and highly absorbing resource on the common soldiers life in the Civil War army.