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.

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