John Davis Billings

author

John Davis Billings

1842–1933

Best known for a vivid classic of Civil War memoir, this Union artillery veteran wrote about the everyday reality of army life with detail, humor, and a soldier’s eye for what history books often miss.

1 Audiobook

Hardtack and coffee : or, the unwritten story of Army life, including chapters on enlisting, life in tents and log huts, jonahs and beats, offences and punishments, raw recruits, foraging, corps and corps badges, the wagon trains, the Army mule, the Engineer Corps, the Signal Corps, etc.

Hardtack and coffee : or, the unwritten story of Army life, including chapters on enlisting, life in tents and log huts, jonahs and beats, offences and punishments, raw recruits, foraging, corps and corps badges, the wagon trains, the Army mule, the Engineer Corps, the Signal Corps, etc.

by John Davis Billings

About the author

Born in 1842 and living until 1933, John Davis Billings was an American Civil War veteran who served with the 10th Massachusetts Volunteer Light Artillery Battery. His firsthand experience shaped the writing he is remembered for today.

Billings is best known for Hardtack and Coffee, a lively account of ordinary Union Army life rather than battlefield strategy alone. The book became an enduring favorite because it focuses on the small, telling details of camp routines, food, marching, equipment, and the habits of soldiers.

He also wrote a regimental history connected to his battery service. For listeners interested in personal narratives of the Civil War, his work stands out for being practical, observant, and deeply rooted in lived experience.