The tin cup and plate were basic dishes used for consuming meals. Each solider was required to carry his own plate and cup for his meals. Soldiers needed a cup to drink from and a plate to eat their food on. Cups were carried on or within a haversack. Soldiers sometimes use their cups as digging tools or scoops. A good strong tin cup was better than a canteen because it was easier to fill at a well or spring, and was serviceable as a boiler for making coffee when the column halted for the night. 

Hardtack, a dense, square cracker made from salt, flour, and water, was one of the primary staples for both Union and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. This hard cracker was approximately 3 inches square and ½ inch thick, with nine or ten pieces issued per ration. During active campaigns, soldiers rarely received more than basic staples unless they foraged for additional food. Of all issued rations, hardtack was the most common. 

Four basic types of currency circulated in the Union during the Civil War. Private Issue currency was produced by railroads, utilities, manufacturers, and banks. Shinplasters were promissory notes issued by businesses in place of unavailable coins, redeemable only at the issuing merchant. Postage stamps filled the gap left by the coin shortage, while Fractional Notes, printed on perforated sheets, offered a more convenient alternative. Federal Issue notes, known as greenbacks, ultimately became the national standard of exchange after the war. Before the war, most trade relied on barter or metal coins. As conflict escalated, the government printed paper currency to pay soldiers and purchase supplies. Inflation quickly drove gold, silver, and copper coins above face value, causing them to disappear from circulation through hoarding. With no viable alternative, paper money became the currency of necessity.

Letter writing was the lifeline between Civil War soldiers and their families back home. In their correspondence, soldiers described daily experiences, shared opinions on local affairs and politics, and offered reassurances to worried loved ones. The arrival of mail in camp was cause for celebration, and its delay met with considerable grumbling. Quill pens were issued as part of the army's quarterly stationery ration,  twelve quills per quarter, or one steel nib pen in their place. A single quill was expected to last roughly one week under normal use. Soldiers needing additional paper, envelopes, ink, or pens could purchase them from a sutler. All writing supplies were kept in a haversack, ready at hand whenever the opportunity to write arose.

Card playing was a popular pastime on both sides of the Civil War, offering soldiers a welcome escape from boredom and the monotony of camp life. Faro, Poker, Euchre, and Chuck-a-luck were among the favorites, and gambling ran rampant — when money ran out, buttons, matches, or corn kernels stood in as currency. Officers routinely banned the practice, but enforcement was futile; a soldier losing an entire month's pay on a bad hand was no rare sight.

Many soldiers kept private journals throughout their enlistment, writing candidly for themselves alone — no need to edit, embellish, or manage impressions. The result is some of the most honest firsthand writing the war produced, unflinching even when events reflected poorly on the author. Officers, meanwhile, were often required to maintain daily logs of mission-relevant events. Together, these diaries give historians an intimate window into everyday soldier life: camp routines, eating habits, illness, troop movements, battle strategy, prison conditions, weather — details that would otherwise be lost to history.

Personal necessities — sent from home, brought by family, or purchased from sutlers — made camp life tolerable, many of them devoted to hygiene and grooming. On the march, laundering was impossible. For months at a stretch, soldiers went without a change of underclothing, their uniforms caking with grease, dust, and sweat. The resulting filth turned military camps into hotbeds of disease, with hospitals the worst offenders. As one soldier put it, he'd sooner risk battle than the hospital ward. 

Coffee was among the most prized staples a soldier carried. Men ground the beans however they could — crushing them between rocks or with a rifle butt — and brewed the strong drink wherever they camped. Union soldiers were generally well-supplied, but Confederates often made do with substitutes from peanuts, potatoes, peas, or chicory. 

Most Civil War ammunition came pre-mixed from government arsenals, issued to troops ready to use. Early in the war, powder flasks saw some use — riflemen carried them in the field, and officers often acquired pistol flasks for their revolvers, whether issued or personally purchased. Both military and civilian flasks were pressed into service throughout the conflict. 

A canteen was among a soldier's most personal possessions. Slung from a shoulder strap and stopped with a cork, it was his lifeline to water — essential during the punishing physical demands of military life and campaign. 

Many soldiers carried a "housewife" in their haversack — a small sewing kit stocked with thread, needles, buttons, scissors, and fabric scraps for mending the inevitable tears and missing buttons that came with hard wear. 

Soldiers tended to neglect their teeth, and professional dental care was beyond most privates' means. Yet good teeth mattered on the battlefield — a soldier needed at least six opposing teeth to bite open the powder cartridges used in muzzle-loading rifles. It was often the only incentive to keep his mouth in working order.

Early enlistment terms ranged from 90 days to five years before settling at three years for volunteers. As casualties mounted and armies needed more men, both North and South turned to the draft. Short absences required a pass; extended leave required a furlough form. At the end of his service, a soldier received a discharge certificate. 

The Confederate government and private printing firms alike produced forms for soldiers, officers, and doctors. Printed on whatever paper was available, these documents included enlistment papers, medical and standard discharges, passes, and Appomattox paroles.

From the industry's earliest days, railroads occasionally needed to move people without charge — touring officials from other lines, prospective shippers inspecting facilities, workers heading to a job site. The mechanism for managing this was the pass: typically a small piece of cardstock, roughly the size of a modern credit card. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War, state currencies were already in wide circulation. The Confederate government moved to issue its own national currency, with clerks signing and numbering notes at offices in Montgomery and Richmond. But with insufficient gold reserves and cotton as the only alternative backing, the currency was vulnerable from the start. When cotton was embargoed, inflation struck hard and Confederate notes quickly lost their face value.

This china pattern was used by the Lincolns in the White House. The Haviland china service was decorated in royal purple and double gilt, with the United States coat of arms emblazoned on each piece.

In the 19th century, letter writing was the primary means of communication. A well-equipped traveler carried a portable writing chest like this one, which included a wooden stylus, various nibs, a glass writing pen, bottles of ink, sealing wax, and envelopes.

Clothing can tell us a great deal about social values in a given period, and a shawl was a telling indicator of a woman's social class. At least one shawl was included in every upper-class trousseau, especially in the 1850s, when shawls became increasingly popular alongside the widening of women's skirts. Mary Lincoln, an avid follower of fashion, owned several shawls made from lace, paisley, llama hair, and camel hair. The shawls ranged in price from $50 to $2,000.

For wealthy women throughout America, parasols were considered an essential accessory of fashion. They were as much a part of a well-dressed lady's outfit as her gloves, hat, shoes, and stockings. Perhaps the chief reason for the parasol's popularity was the Victorian admiration for a fair complexion. It was more than a sign of beauty — it proved to the world that a woman was a lady who did not have to work outdoors like her 'common' counterparts. As a young woman, Mary Todd was a great flirt with no shortage of suitors. She would have used a parasol to hide her expression, disguise her glances, signal her changing moods, and camouflage her imperfections.

Fans were cherished gifts marking important occasions in a woman's life. Mary Todd, while being courted by Abraham Lincoln, would certainly have used a fan as an essential fashion accessory. A language of the fan developed, and phrase books were published to translate a lady's gestures. For example, a half-closed fan pressed to the lips meant you may kiss me, while dropping the fan meant we will be friends. 

n the 19th century, handkerchiefs were considered the ultimate fashion accessory. A woman was not properly dressed without a clean, freshly pressed handkerchief in hand, with the finest reserved for special occasions. 

From 1840 through 1880, Victorian bags abounded in many shapes, sizes, materials, and degrees of workmanship. They were adorned with tassels, fringe, lace, piping, ribbon, and silk pompoms, and many were elaborately embroidered. Some were made of striped silk, perfumed leather, or silver links; others had clasps of rare semi-precious stones, tops of mother-of-pearl, or carvings of coral in floral and cupid designs.

Gloves were worn whenever a woman ventured out. Mary Lincoln loved gloves and owned many pairs — a store clerk claimed to have sold her ten pairs alone, offering this detail as evidence during her insanity trial in 1875. As with the fan, Victorian women used their gloves to convey messages. For example, holding the fingertips of the gloves downward meant I wish to be acquainted, while dropping one glove meant yes. 

Throughout history, hair arrangement has proclaimed age, economic standing, and even marital status. In the mid-nineteenth century, women's hair was expected to look sleek, shiny, and healthy. Styles were elegant and more demure than in previous eras. Hair was combed, smoothed with oils, and for younger women, curled into long ringlets. Later in the century, hair was often plaited and wound into heavy coils pinned neatly to the nape of the neck. Neatness was the order of the day, and loose hair was considered vulgar.