Customer Reviews

"The Supply for Tomorrow Must Not Fail": The Civil War of Captain Simon Perkins, Jr., a Union Quartermaster

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This is a tremendous addition to a little studied area of Civil War military science - supply and movement of the wherewithal. A 1990 find still bound in government 'red tape', these records provided rich background on the incredible paperwork and labor needed to supply the hay, grain, horses and mules, ordinance, hospitals, quarters, and the myriad other items needed by a fighting force. We tend not to comprehend the millions of pounds of grain and hay required for just one campaign, for example, nor do we think of the civilian clerks, laborers, teamsters, and others that helped carry out the quartermaster function. This activity was replicated wherever Union soldiers served. All this plus fascinating background on the 23-year-old Captain Simon Perkins, Quartermaster in the Western Theater.

This book is one that should be on the shelf of every serious student of the Civil War and major libraries. It covers in depth through the use of primary documents the story of one US Army Quartermaster officer during the Civil War. CPT Perkins served in a variety of roles in the Western Theater, shedding light on how the forces in the field were supported. It discusses his challenges and his sucesses. I found it interesting to read about how much correspondence he received every day; we in the email age think we get a lot, but he certainly got a lot more. This book gave me a much better understanding of what it took to maintain a Civil War era army in the field.