Episode Ten: Warfare and Coffee Part One – The Civil War
When I say the words, “Civil War” what are the first things that pop into your mind? If you’re from the United States, it’s probably things like slavery, Abraham Lincoln, or Gettysburg. But, in fact, the thing Civil War Soldiers journaled about more than anything else was coffee. War has a way of making people appreciate the small pleasures in life. Coffee, as it turns out, is one of the biggest small pleasures that exists. Over the next several episodes we’ll be exploring the intersection of warfare and coffee, beginning this week with the American Civil War. Episode Ten Sources: * “If War Is Hell, Then Coffee Has Offered U.S. Soldiers Some Salvation,” NPR Morning Edition, https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/07/25/485227943/if-war-is-hell-then-coffee-has-offered-u-s-soldiers-some-salvation * “How Coffee Fueled the Civil War,” by Jon Grinspan, The New York Times, https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/how-coffee-fueled-the-civil-war/ * “General Reub Williams’s Memories of Civil War Times: Personal Reminiscences of Happenings that Took Place from 1861 to the Grand Review,” by Reub Williams and Sally Coplen Hogan, https://books.google.com/books?id=4KwyAQAAMAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=coffee * “Leaves & beans of History: The Civil War,” by Matt Foster, Barista Guild of America, http://www.baristaguildofamerica.net/leaves-beans-of-history-the-civil-war/ * “Soldiers Loved a Refreshing Cup of Coffee,” by Kim A. O’Connell, HistoryNet, https://www.historynet.com/soldiers-loved-a-refreshing-cup-of-coffee.htm * “Civil War Facts,” American Battlefield Trust, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/civil-war-facts * “Civil War Technology,” by History.com editors, History.com, https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/civil-war-technology * Music * “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” lyrics by Julia Ward Howe. * “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” lyrics by Patrick Gilmore. * “BLACK V: CROW” by, how the night came http://freemusicarchive.org * “YELLOW V: Love’s Labour’s Lost” by, how the night came http://freemusicarchive.org * “YELLOW: II As You Like It” by, how the night came http://freemusicarchive.org * “Moment of Truth” by, David Hilowitz http://freemusicarchive.org Episode Ten Transcript: Over the course of United States’ history, nothing has had a bigger impact on its economy and culture than the wars that its fought in. This shouldn’t be a huge surprise – war has a way of stripping away all the superfluous extras in a culture. Things like celebrity gossip and trendy clothes pale in comparison to having to consider the value of human life. For many Americans, wars are deeply personal. Whether it’s a grandfather who served in World War II, an uncle that served in the Gulf War, or a friend that deployed to Afghanistan,
