Duties of the Regimental Quartermaster
by Philip Katcher
Many reenactment units include one member who wears the stripes of a
quartermaster sergeant. Battalions and above also usually include an officer
with the rank of quartermaster on their staffs. Most of these men, however,
do little that relates to what actual quartermasters did. This need not
be; a quartermaster can be a very useful addition to any reenactment unit.
Quite possibly the most difficult and unappreciated job in any army is that
of the quartermaster. "No persons connected with the Confederate armies
received so much abuse as the quartermasters, whilst but few, if any, officers
performed more arduous and constant duties than did those of the Q.M. Department,
especially when engaged in field service," recalled Major Silas T.
Grisamore, a Confederate quartermaster. "Perhaps the simple fact that
they had so much to do was the principal reason why so many thought that
they ought to do, and be responsible for, everything."
The position itself dated from the very beginnings of American military
history. In the first pioneer days, those of the military of Queen Elizabeth
I, the quarter-master, also known as the "harbinger," was a staff
officer on a par with the trench-master, the forage-master, the scout-master,
and the carriage-master. By the formation of the Continental Army of 1777,
however, he had gained in importance, by then being responsible for encamping
and quartering the regiment and the cleanliness of its camp, and receiving
and issuing camp equipage, arms, accouterments, ammunition, provisions,
and forage.
By the Civil War his duties had been more narrowly focused, although essentially
the same as they had been in the Revolution. He was still in charge of organizing
each regiment's camp: "The camping-party of a regiment consists of
the regimental Quartermaster and Quartermaster-Sergeant, and a Corporal
and two men per company.... When the General can send in advance to prepare
the camp, he gives his instructions to the chief of the Quartermaster's
Department, who calls on the regiment for their camping-parties, and is
accompanied, if necessary, by an Engineer to propose the defenses and communications.
"The watering-places are examined, and signals placed at those that
are dangerous. Any work required to make them of easier access is done by
the police guard or Quartermaster's men."
The original Civil War quartermaster's word on camp locations was law. Captain
William Poague remembered being camped in the Valley in a timothy field
belonging to a local civilian: 'He fussed with me about trespassing on his
fine grass, but as I had been located there by the post quartermaster, he
let me alone and fell to berating the quartermaster, giving me to understand
that that individual was unfriendly to hm and that was why we had been put
on him.'
This, then is the first thing a reenactment quartermaster can do. It should
be he who lays out a camp, designating company streets, the position of
fire pits, the location of officers' tents, and the rest of it. Therefore,
he should be one of the first to arrive at each event, so that he can do
this. Before he comes, he should be given a list of those registered for
the event, with their tents indicated, so that he can do this. He should
arrive with pegs and twine or some way of marking off streets. He should
also find a source for fire wood when he arrives and make sure his unit
has an adequate supply. As well, he should tour the overall area to see
where the sinks (portapotties) and water supplies (water buffaloes) are
so he can inform the officers and non-commissioned officers of their location
when they arrive.
Originally, beyond camp installation, quartermasters still received and
issued army equipment. According to Article XLII, item 1064, U.S. Army Regulations,
"This department provides the quarters and transportation of the army;
storage and transportation for all army supplies; army clothing; camp and
garrison equipage; cavalry and artillery horses; fuel; forage; straw; material
for bedding, and stationery." The Confederate Army regulations are
virtually identical, save they drop the requirement for the Quartermaster
to supply straw, for some reason. However, later in regulations, straw issues
are described in the Quartermaster section, so they, too, were in charge
of straw issues.
Today where issues are made, such as straw at events, they should the single
individual through whom all these issues should be passed. Moreover, as
they originally were in charge of transportation, some units may want to
use their quartermasters for setting up car pools, etc. At the very least,
they can be the point of contact for people offering and needing rides to
and from events.
As well, units with authenticity requirements and which use specified suppliers
for their members can use the quartermaster as the source of this information
for new members. In some units they may keep loaner gear. Quartermasters
should keep lists of approved sutlers which can be given to new members.
They should be responsible for seeing that the men and their camps meet
unit requirements.
All of this sort of work meant that quartermasters had to be highly detail-oriented.
They had to keep careful track of what they received for their men and what
they issued. All of this called for a great deal of paperwork. One Confederate
quartermaster's clerk noted in his diary for 16 February 1863, "I have
been working verry hard to-day on abstract 'K' which I hope to be through
with by to-morrow night if I am not interupted." The troublesome "Abstract
K" was an all purpose requisition form used for everything but fuel,
forage, straw, and stationery.
Indeed this particular quartermaster's clerk found his boss, the regimental
quartermaster officer, lacking in needed ways. "His returns for the
quarter ending 31st of December, are still on hand although I made them
out the firrst thing after I got into the office," he complained to
his diary. "I have spoken to him at least a dozen times about it, but
he always puts me off by saying that he will attend to it. If he does not
send them off during this month, he is liable to be dropped from the rolls,
as he is only allowed 4 months in which to make his returns and it is expected
that he will send them on with in 20 days after the expiration of the quarter."
Moreover, the clerk complained, "He has received large amounts from
the Chief Quarter Master which have never been entered upon his books and
it is impossible for me to make a balance unless the account had been properly
kept."
Quartermasters had no place at the front during battle, instead being required
to remain in the rear to protect their supplies and be able to forward supplies
such as ammunition to the front. Captain Le Duc, a brigade quartermaster
in the Army of the Potomac in 1862, recalled a battle on 25 June: "The
firing being very lively in front, I thought it would be becoming in me
to join in the fight with General Dana, so I mounted and rode to where I
had heard and supposed he was. I found him, and Adjutant Leach, and the
aids, on foot in a clump of trees. As I rode up to them they did not seem
at all pleased and wanted to know what the devil I was there for, on horseback,
so that the enemy would take me to be some major general, and concentrate
a fire in that direction which would not be pleasant; my place, I was told,
was to be with the transportation, where I would be ready to move as directed.
As my company did not seem to be acceptable, I turned to go back by the
same way I had come."
In much the same way, Quartermaster Major Silas Grisamore was left behind
during an action during the Red River Campaign, noting that, "The camp
was deserted save by a few who were on the sick list. I was left in our
quarters by Col. Armant, in charge of the baggage and train." Later
he "obtained and had cooked during the day a lot of provisions which
was sent to the men of our regiment about sunset, and in the meantime I
loaded up my wagons with the officers' baggage and such other property as
they could carry and sent most of the other things on one of the transports
nearby." At midnight he found out that his planning had been worthwhile,
as the Confederates were retreating, and escape with his already loaded
train.
Therefore, the quartermaster was often left to follow at the rear of the
column. This was because his wagons with supplies were in the rear, but
it was often as well so that he could stop and bring any stragglers from
the line of march to the front. Major Grisamore recalled that one march
in Mississippi he "was sent back in charge of a train of 20 wagons
to bring up stragglers." This means that individuals not able for physical
reasons to keep up with the young grunts may be happier doing quartermaster
duty. However, the job is so important that it should not be given to someone
just because they are physically challenged; the individual should be intellectually
up to the varied tasks of the quartermaster first and foremost. And, indeed,
field commanders may well want their quartermasters on the field during
events to serve them directly.
Originally quartermaster troops were considered by higher commands as available
for any heavy lifting that needed to be done from time to time. For example
during the Chickahominy Campaign at one point in the Union army, "orders
were received from General ["Bull"] Sumner directing the quartermasters
of the corps to turn out with every available man in camp, camp guard and
officers, servants-and all the sick able to do anything-to help the artillery
through the mud and across the Chickahominy."
The Quartermaster officer also could serve as an aide when needed, too.
For example, Captain Le Duc reported to his brigade commander, whom he found
with only an adjutant and another aide de camp with the rest of his staff
missing. "He asked me if I could ride out and find Sedge wick and Richardson
and tell them where to find him. This I did, having gotten a fresh horse,
and riding back and forth across the fields of Berkeley and Shirley, I found
Sedgewick, and from him learned the position of Richardson, and told them
where General Sumner was."
Confederate quartermasters doubled as paymasters. According to Confederate
Army Regulations, "The Quartermaster General shall take care, by timely
remittances, that the Quartermasters have the necessary funds to pay the
troops, and shall notify the remittances to the Quartermasters and commanding
officers of the respective pay districts." Quartermaster Clerk Private
Robert Patrick in garrison in Port Hudson, Louisiana, recalled on 22 October
1862 that that day, "I must collect the amounts due the Commissary
from the officers." For Confederate troops doing living history, then,
the quartermaster could hold a pay call during the event, something civilians
always find interesting to watch.