The Blue & Gray Almanac:

The Civil War in Facts & Figures, Recipes & Slang

“Help[s] readers to examine this period in history with a more cultural perspective than other books have . . . clear, concise, and crisp . . . fascinating” (San Francisco Book Review).

• During the final days of the war, some Richmond citizens would throw “Starvation Parties.” These were soirees where elegantly attired guests gathered amid the finest silver and crystal tableware. However, there were usually no refreshments except water.
• Union Rear-Admiral Goldsborough was nicknamed “Old Guts.” This was not so much for his combativeness as for his heft. He weighed about three hundred pounds. He was described as “a huge mass of inert matter.”
• 30.6 percent of the 425 Confederate generals, but only 21.6 percent of the 583 Union generals, had been lawyers before the war.
• In 1861, J.P. Morgan made a huge profit by buying five thousand condemned US Army carbines. He sold them back to another arsenal. He also took the army to court when they tried to refuse to pay for the faulty weapons.
• Major General Loring was reputed to have a very rich vocabulary. One of the men remarked he could “curse a cannon up hill without horses.”
• Many militia units had a favorite drink. The Charleston Light Dragoons’ punch took around a week to make. The Chatham Artillery required a pound of green tea leaves to be steeped overnight.
• Five former presidents were alive when the Civil War began. Seven veterans of the war went on to serve as president. One draft dodger also became president.
• These stories and many more are available in this treasury of anecdotes, essays, and trivia. It also includes numerous illustrations. These elements bring this historical period to vivid life.