THE ARMY SUTLER.
The sutler was a prominent person in war times. He sold everything, from a molasses cookie to butter, at 80 or 90 cents a pound.
When the boys did not have the money they would get an order on the sutler from their captain, and the amount was charged up against their pay. The sutler would issue tickets in various amounts from 5 cents up.
The business was very profitable and many made fortunes. The soldiers used to regard the prosperous sutler with envy, but he is never heard of now, and I do not know of one who makes claim to having assisted in saving the Union in that capacity.
I remember our first pay day in Virginia. Our colonel thought it would be a fine thing to give the men a three days’ holiday, so after dress parade he made a little speech about as follows:
“My poys, I vas browd of you and I vas goin’ to gif you a tree day holiday. There vill pe no drills, no parades, no notting but fun. Haf a good time. Pe good poys and after it vas all ofer we vill go after that Sheneral Shackson and lick him like h—l.”
As the sutlers all sold beer in the early part of the war, there was pretty hilarious times for three days.
Peddlers of all sorts used to infest the camps about pay day and more than one “pieman” got his cart upset during Col. Von Wagner’s “three days’ grace.”
In the summer of 1862 gold and silver went to a premium and got pretty scarce. It was before the “shinplasters” were issued and postage stamps were used largely in lieu of small change. I remember one day I was over among McClellan’s troops, and as I was passing a wagon where ice cream and soft drinks were dispensed, I heard some loud words and pretty soon someone cried out, “Over with the wagon boys,” and over it went. The vendor claimed that someone had been treating a large crowd to everything he had to sell and then offered in payment stamps that had been once used on letters. Of course the boys took offense at an imputation on their honesty, hence the capsizing of the cart.
OLD LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE.