Merchant who provisions an army in the field or camp
A Dutch female sutler with her baby and dead husband during the
Battle of Waterloo
. Painted by
Jacobus Josephus Eeckhout
.
Sutler's tent at the
Siege of Petersburg
during the
American Civil War
A
sutler
or
victualer
is a civilian merchant who sells
provisions
to an
army
in the field, in camp, or in quarters. Sutlers sold wares from the back of a wagon or a temporary tent, traveling with an army or to remote military outposts.
[1]
Sutler wagons were associated with the military, while
chuckwagons
served a similar purpose for civilian wagon trains and outposts.
[2]
Etymology
[
edit
]
The word came into English from
Dutch
, where it appears as
soetelaar
or
zoetelaar
. It meant originally "one who does dirty work, a drudge, a
scullion
," and derives from
zoetelen
(to foul, sully; modern Dutch
bezoedelen
), a word cognate with "suds" (hot soapy water), "seethe" (to boil) and "sodden".
Role in supplying troops
[
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]
These merchants often followed the armies during the
French and Indian War
,
American Revolution
,
American Civil War
, and the
Indian Wars
, to sell their merchandise to soldiers. Generally, the sutlers built their stores within the limits of an army post or just off the defense line, and needed to receive a license from the
Commander
prior to construction. They were, by extension, also subject to his regulations. They frequently operated near the front lines and their work could be dangerous; at least one sutler was killed by a stray bullet during the Civil War. A typical transaction with a sutler is dramatized in the third chapter of
MacKinlay Kantor
's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
Andersonville
(1955).
Sutlers, frequently the only local suppliers of non-military goods, often developed
monopolies
on critical commodities like
alcohol
,
tobacco
,
coffee
, or
sugar
and rose to powerful stature. Since government-issued coinage was scarce during the
Civil War
, sutlers often conducted transactions using a particular type of
Civil War token
known as a sutler token.
[3]
Sutlers played a major role in the recreation of army men between 1865 and 1890. Sutlers' stores outside of military posts were usually also open to non-military travelers and offered
gambling
,
drinking
, and
prostitution
.
In modern use, sutler often describes businesses that provide period uniforms and supplies to
reenactors
, especially to American
Civil War reenactors
. These businesses often play the part of historical sutlers while selling both period and modern-day goods at reenactments.
Honourable Artillery Company
[
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]
The
Honourable Artillery Company
, a regiment of the British Army, still uses the word "sutling" as an alternative to the more common "mess" or "messing". Due to the unique culture of the regiment, no social differentiation is made between officers and other ranks, and therefore the regiment does not have separate drinking and dining facilities for
officers
,
warrant officers
,
sergeants
or other ranks. A room in the headquarters of the regiment in the City of London is called the "Sutling Room", and it contains the main bar where all ranks meet and socialise.
[4]
Often, when the regiment is deployed, a room, tent, or vehicle will be designated as the Sutling Room, Sutling Tent or Sutling Lorry, and will perform the same function.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911). "
Sutler
".
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 171.
- Lord, Francis A. (1969).
Civil War Sutlers and Their Wares
. T. Yoseloff.
ISBN
0-498-06805-6
.
- Butler, Anne M. (1987).
Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery: Prostitutes in the American West, 1865?90,
University of Illinois Press, 137?139.
ISBN
0-252-01466-9
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Sutlers
.