This is the Jocco podcast civil war excursion number five with JD Baker and me jocco willing good evening JD good evening jocco

For much of its course between the two armies the rapahannic was less than 150 yards wide

Said to be an easy

hollering distance and the opposing pickets wasted little time

declaring an unofficial truce

It would remain in force unviolated for

Four and a half months inevitably a good deal of banter was exchanged not long after the Fredrick's Berg battle a

Federal crossed called across the picket to the 37th North Carolina to ask if there was a

Sorry corporal over there. They would be willing to trade for general burnside

If not he said would they accept the general?

In an even swap for a broken-down horse

Following the mud march the rebel pickets were quick to ask the sod and men of the six core

When you come in over again

Have you gotten your mules out of the mud?

They were frequent there were frequent good-natured comparisons of rations and the discomforts of picket duty and the merits of their respective officers

Who's not long before the pickets were trading more than talk?

Sergeant Edmund S. Stevens of the ninth Louisiana explained a new trade to his parents

We taken boxes and other such articles as what answer fixed sales to them and send them across the Yankees in exchange tobacco and cigars for coffee and tea

Newspapers were another popular medium of exchange of exchange one lucky federal encounter to rebel so desperate for coffee

That he would trade whiskey for it

More typical was the transaction recorded by a Pennsylvania soldier on January 6th two pounds of union coffee

for ten of Confederate tobacco

...