The following letter was written by John Barr Bell (1837-1930) who served as the Commissary Sergeant for the 85th Pennsylvania Infantry from mid-May 1863 through December 1863. He had been acting in that capacity since Mid-May 1863. Prior to having been promoted to this staff position, John was a private in Co. A. John was the son of Robert Bell (1801-1890) and Susanna D. Tidball (1809-1881) of Thompsonville, Washington county, Pennsylvania. He wrote the letter to his younger brother, Robert Boyd Bell (1840-1918).

In 1863, the regiment moved to Folly Island, South Carolina, to participate in the Union siege operations targeting Fort Wagner, Fort Sumter, and the defenses of Charleston Harbor. As such, they were a part of Gen. Gilmore’s command and received his congratulatory orders for the taking of Morris Island.

Two more of John’s letter may be found in the Auburn University Digital Library (See John B. Bell letters (1862-63). Apparently John kept a diary during the war which was referenced heavily when Luther S. Dickey was compiling the History of the 85th Pennsylvania.

T R A N S C R I P T I O N

Folly Island, South Carolina
29 November 1863

Robert,

I have not had time to finish the letter I commenced the 31st day of October for we have moved down to near the same place where we were camped before. We moved to Morris Island last July. We have been very busy for a few days and I had to try and get rations for the regiment and I only succeeded in getting them today after the regiment had been three days without & I expected to hear plenty of complaining but they did not complain any.

I got a letter from Sarah yesterday dated 22nd ult.

There was a man in Co. G died yesterday from the effect of drinking so much Jamaica Ginger. ¹ He drunk about 20 bottles in a few days. It is not the first man in the 85th [Pennsylvania Infantry] that was killed by using Jamaica Ginger. It is worse than whiskey for if men get to using it, they soon get that they cannot quit. I have saw men drink a bottle down without putting any water with it. ²

I will stop for tonight. I will send you a copy of Gen. Gilmore’s congratulatory order. We are now in the 3rd Brigade of Gen. [Alexander] Schimmelfennig’s Division. — John

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¹ I was unable to locate any member of Co. G that “died” or was “discharged” in November 1863.

² I believe that the “Jamaica Ginger” John refers to was actually “Essence of Jamaica Ginger” which was commonly called “Jake.” It consisted of a certain type of ginger, known as white ginger, and was sold as a medicine. Advertisements by Frederick Brown, a druggist and chemist of Philadelphia who manufactured the article, highly recommended it for the soldier heading off to war: “In ordinary diarrhea, incipient cholera, and in all cases of prostration of the digestive organs, the medicine has been found a sovereign remedy, and we therefore feel it to be a humane suggestion to the multitudes who are now about exchanging the comforts of home for the exposure of the camp, to recommend them to supply themselves with this invaluable medicine. Let all our readers interest themselves in carrying out this suggestion, by seeing that every soldier who leaves our city is provided with this simple, but effectual safeguard against sickness and suffering.” Brown recommended a dose of one teaspoonful for a grown person, half a teaspoonful for a child 10-12, and 15 to 20 drops for a child 2 to 5 years old. However, because of its extremely high alcohol content (88%), it was frequently abused by alcoholics.