Chestnut and Pine: Civil War Era Campaign Furniture in St. Louis

By John Koenig

An in-depth look at the history and construction of campaign furniture during the Civil War, told through the lens of the frontier city of St. Louis. The book covers the history of the St. Louis armory and the firm Warne, Cheever, and Co.

Includes step-by-step plans on constructing a replica 1861 ammunition crate, as well as an officer's campaign liquor chest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667161488

John Koenig

John Koenig is a video maker, voice actor, graphic designer, and writer. Born in Idaho and raised in Geneva, Switzerland, he created The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows in 2009, first as a blog at DictionaryofObscureSorrows.com before expanding the project to YouTube. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and daughter.

Book preview

Introduction:

Necessity, the saying goes, is the mother of invention.  War, it seems, is the mother of necessity.  It’s no surprise, then, how the United States Civil War shaped the manufacturing enterprise of the country leading up to the beginning of the industrial revolution.  The story of one firm, Warne, Cheever, and Co., is a story of how this period manifested itself, tangibly, in the way furniture was created.

If the idea of a non-fiction book about a mercantile enterprise during the Civil War doesn’t excite you, let me assure you that this book has something to offer the casual student of history, reenactors, and lovers of reproduction woodworking alike.

Economically, the Civil War proved to be a battle between the old economy (focused on slavery, plantation farms, and agriculture) and the advent of the industrial north.  Steam-powered, steel-clad ships fought among sail driven vessels.  Railways proved to be major supply lines for both armies, however the draft horse remained the powerhouse of mobility for both sides. 

Campaign furniture (so called because of its role in the traveling campaigns of armies) has a long history of use.  Kings, knights, and lords would travel with folding tents and large troupes of servants.  Uniquely, the Civil War happened during a time in which much of this furniture is incredibly well documented, or at least accessible still through archives and museums.  Large-scale printing of advertisements, newspapers, and patent information allows us a level of detail and insight into this furniture that is uniquely preserved.  Additionally, our country’s continued obsession with the history of the Civil War has helped preserve many artifacts that may otherwise have been lost to time; at the time of publication, there are no fewer than 25 dedicated Civil War museums in the United States, in addition to 91 National Parks dedicated to battlefields and places of importance. 

Though substantially all of the major battles of the Civil War happened in the eastern part of the United States, the portion west of the Mississippi river, know as the Trans-Mississippi Theater, was unique in its isolation and type of warfare.  In fact, according to Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri During the American Civil War The state of Missouri witnessed the most widespread, prolonged, and destructive guerrilla fighting in American history. A horrific combination of robbery, arson, torture, murder, and swift and bloody raids on farms and settlements.

The battles in Missouri were mobile.  Looking at a map of the battles, almost the entirety of the state was involved in a constant stream of skirmishes.  Missouri was a hotly contested state; though the state officially declared for the Union, it was by no means a unanimous conclusion.  The middle-eastern part of the state, which includes St. Louis, may have been the only portion of the state that remained loyal to the Union throughout the war.  Soldiers would then be sent to St. Louis, outfitted, and then deployed into the field of battle throughout Missouri.  Their equipment needed to be light, sturdy, and functional.  Major Union military operations, including the St. Louis Arsenal, were strategically located in the city because of its position on the Mississippi River. 

In the shadow of this massive military complex lay a significant operation which is much less known to history.  This firm, then known as Warne, Cheever & Co, was a producer of campaign-style furniture for the Union Army and its officers.  Among some of the most well preserved campaign furniture items in the western theatre bare their stamp.  Surprisingly, very little has been done to document this firm.  When I started researching for this book, it was intended to be focused only on the types, materials, and means of construction for Civil War campaign furniture.  It became immediately apparent, though, that a book which discussed these items without first examining the extensive influence of WC & Co, and its young inventor Charles Irwin, would do a great disservice to the reconstruction of these items.

The history of the Warne, Cheever & Co. enterprise serves simply as a background to the reproduction of three Civil War Era projects.  Starting with an ammunition crate based on Union Army specifications, I will explore the techniques and materials of the time.  This book will spend some time exploring the best ways to source lumber and hardware for these projects.  Then, I will move on to an officer’s liquor chest, reproduced from first-hand research of preserved liquor chests from Warne, Cheever, & Co.

The Gateway to the Western Front:

My search to understand the role of Warne, Cheever, & Co. and the city of St. Louis in the Civil War was driven by a request my brother made, offhandedly, in the Fall of 2018.  He’d mentioned wanting an ammunition crate in which he could carry some of his reenacting gear.  My brother majored in Civil War History at Gettysburg College, and has been reenacting for almost two decades.  I’ve never had