Gum Blankets in the Civil War - by Jo-Ann Roberts

 

I am not a fan of camping...I'll admit it. My idea of "roughing it" on vacation is a hotel room with Netflix and a hot shower! 

The one and only time we did go was in 1980-something when our children were small and at the invitation from friends. It was the hottest weekend of the summer, and my husband and I shared the top bunkbed in the camper, our noses about eight inches from the ceiling.

We've never gone again.

So, when I was plotting out my newest work in progress set during the Civil War, I had a scene where the MMC offers the FMC protection from a rainstorm. Knowing a blanket or a quilt would get soaked, offering no protection, I did some digging.

Today, we would think of these blankets as a type of tarpaulin, made of plastic to keep moisture from wicking through. In the mid-19th century, plastic was many decades away, and rubber, the top-of-line material for these blankets, was just coming into fashion. Developers in various parts of the world worked on developing rubber so that it would not become brittle at below freezing temperatures or begin to melt and get sticky at higher temperatures.

Civil War soldiers left their homes for camping trips which went on for four long years. Plastic tarps didn't yet exist, but most Union soldiers had a rubber blanket, sometimes called a gum blanket, or poncho with a slit to allow it to be worn over the body in wet weather. Soldiers could use the rubber blankets as ground cloths, or several soldiers to turn rubber blankets into a tent or just put one over the entrance to the tent.

 

The waterproof blankets issued during the Civil War generally had a cloth foundation layer, often cotton duck or muslin, which was then coated on one side with a waterproofing base. While some of these blankets may have been made with varnish, most were rubberized. Manufacturers of rubber blankets began by rubberizing both sides but soon switched to rubberizing only one side of the blanket. This This change kept costs of the blankets down and reduced the weight of items carried by soldiers as they marched from camp to camp or battle to battle, a factor that sometimes meant life or death. There were two variations on the rubber blanket--ponchos, which had a reinforced slit, so they could be put over the head, and simpler blanket, measuring 71 x 44 inches without the slit.

Soldiers were quick to recognize the value of rubber blankets. They would frequently abandon their heavy knapsacks, shedding unnecessary weight, and carrying only a bed roll around what few personal and valuable items they could not bear to be parted from.

The issuance of a rubber blanket to a Union soldier was even used as a recruiting inducement. One regiment in Philadelphia was particularly aggressive in using gum blankets as an inducement to voluntary enlistment by placing a classified advertisement in October 1862.

AVOID THE DRAFT --Join the 157 Regiment, Colonel WM. A.Gray

 Complete outfit, one month's pay in advance, all the bounties and a gum blanket

 Call at No. 627 Chestnut Street

Civil War ground cloths were more than just protective coverings--they were vital tools for soldiers in the field. Whether used for sleeping, sitting, or as part of a shelter, these rubberized blankets provided essential comfort and protection against the elements.

120th Anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake by Zina Abbott

Today, April 18, 2026, is the 120th anniversary of an event that is considered one of the deadliest natural disasters to strike California—the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. 

Map of destroyed section San Francisco, 1906

This earthquake began on a Wednesday morning at 5:12a.m. local time when many were still in bed and others were starting to prepare for their workday. The main shaking lasted forty to sixty seconds—long for an earthquake in this state. Between the destruction to buildings caused by the quake itself and the fires that followed, over eighty percent of San Francisco was destroyed, and 200,000 people were left homeless. 3,000 people perished.

California is known for its earthquakes. I have lived through several, including one in February of 1971 when I lived in Santa Monica, one in November of 1988 when I was visiting family in Orange County (my infamous “rocking sideways toilet” tale), and the well-known October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which interrupted the World Series in Oakland and collapsed two major sections of San Francisco Bay Area freeway. I felt it where I lived over one-hundred miles to the southeast while sitting in my car at an intersection waiting for the light to change. The quake was strong enough that I suffered motion sickness before it ended. That one was 6.9 on the Richter Scale at its epicenter in the Santa Cruz Mountains just south of the San Francisco Bay area.

The Richter Scale did not exist until 1935. However, from the geological studies performed at the time, it is estimated that the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was about 7.9 on the Richter Scale, with a rupture about 296 miles in length along the San Andreas fault. The epicenter was just south of San Francisco.

 

Waiting in a provisions line

Many affected residents who were able, dressed as quickly as they could in their best. However, because they feared the aftershocks might cause additional damage and trap them inside their buildings, few gathered many of their belongings to take with them as they fled their homes.

Below is a pictorial history of this earthquake.

Damage to homes:

 

Rescuing people from ruins

Houses on Howard St. (Now S. Van Ness) near 17th Street

 Damage to roads and infrastructure:

Overturned locomotive

Fissure in street

Union Street streetcar line damage

Damage to the Summit Tunnel shows how far the ground shifted

Road damage to Union Street

 Fires started as a result of the earthquake:

Sacramento Street. With nowhere to go, many residents in shock watched the fires approach, moving back as the flames grew closer.

Many structures that survived the earthquake fell to the flames

Firefighters fought the flames

 

Soldiers were called in to maintain order and guard banks. A few were caught looting.

 

Winchester Hotel burns after the earthquake. The Hearst Building (left) was dynamited to use as a fire break between the fire and the rest of the city.

The fire marshal ordered several buildings torn down to stop the fires.

Chinatown was destroyed

Refugees:

 

Food was sent from surrounding cities

Food lines

Food stored at Moulder Warehouse

Food received for Moulder Warehouse

Street kitchens

Refugees gathered at the Dewey Monument

After the destruction ends:

Post and Grant Avenue, looking NE

Observatory in ruins

View from Kearny Street

Market Street

Refugee housing:

Many San Franciscans crowded the ferries to cross the bay to Oakland, where structures still stood and the telegraph was still available. 

For a silent movie of San Franciscans riding the ferry to Oakland, which was filmed at the time, please click on the link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:San_Francisco_earthquake_and_fire,_April_18,_1906.webm

For those who stayed, temporary housing was provided.

Jefferson Street Refugee Camp

1 of 11 refugee shack camps

Refugee cottages preserved in Presidio Park

Refugee housing

 Rebuilding: 

Cleaning bricks

 

Clearing away debris

This as a disaster known across the nation, and one to which the nation responded with support as the city rebuilt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are still with me, my upcoming release is dated between 1903 and 1908. My hero grew up in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, and returns to check on family once he learns of the earthquake.

Ardith Yosemite Bride is scheduled for release on May 6, 2026. To find the book description and pre-order link, please CLICK HERE

   

 

 

 

Sources:

Wikipedia

Wikimedia Commons 

Sometimes the Smallest

Post (C) Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Image (C) Doris McCraw

 “The minor events of history are valuable, although not always showy and picturesque.”  Mark Twain

I find this quote by Mark Twain particularly applicable. It is the little things that add up to a rather amazing whole.

Dr. Susan Anderson

If Dr. Susan Anderson’s father had not moved to Cripple Creek in the 1890s, she would not have returned there after medical school. When establishing a practice in that town did not work out, she eventually went to Fraser, where she met the woman who would later write her story, Doc Susie.

Winfield Scott Stratton

Winfield Scott Stratton, Cripple Creek’s first millionaire, rose from the ranks of prospectors. Through his influence and financial support, many miners and mine owners owed their livelihoods to him. The labor strike of 1893–94 ended with miners securing an eight-hour workday and $3.00 per day pay. After he died in 1902, the miners’ union lost the 1903–04 strike. Were the two events connected? Again, Twain’s idea of “minor events” holds weight.

My Father

In 1930, my father was born at home, three months premature. He weighed 2 pounds, 9 ounces. To keep him warm and alive, they placed him in a shoebox on the oven door. They also gave him a shot of whiskey every hour. Those actions likely saved his life. Something as minor as a shoebox, a bottle of whiskey, and a warm oven made all the difference.

Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell

When Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in the United States to graduate from medical school, was accepted into Geneva College in New York, it was considered a joke. She chose not to see it that way and graduated in 1849.

The next time you look at history, whether personal or national, consider the minor events. See where their story leads you. You might be surprised.

The same can be said for the stories we read. The smallest thing can lead to unexpected results. What is the smallest thing in a book you read that led to something wonderful?

Until next time,

Stay safe and keep reading and writing.

Doris

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon

Orphan Trains: The Journey Was only the Beginning

 By Kimberly Grist

Spring brings thoughts of fresh starts—but in the mid-1800s, many U.S. cities had large populations living in poverty.

As a result, thousands of children lived on the streets of several major cities, and it is estimated that over 10,000 homeless children lived on the streets of New York City at any given time.

[Photos by Jacob Riis, taken in the 1890s]

The children searched for food and shelter, selling rags, matches, and newspapers to survive. Many joined gangs for protection and were often arrested—some as young as five were placed in lock-up facilities with adult criminals.

In response, Charles Loring Brace, a minister and founder of the Children’s Aid Society, saw the need for something different. Orphanages were often overcrowded and offered little education or preparation for the future. He believed children would be better off in homes rather than institutions and proposed sending them west to live with pioneer families.

Brace trusted that those families would welcome the children, take them in as their own, and offer them not only a place to work but also a place to belong. In his view, the arrangement would serve both sides, helping families on the frontier while giving children a chance at a new beginning.       

Orphan Trains as a precursor to the foster care system

And so began what became known as the orphan trains—part of a broader effort at the time called the “placing out system,” which relied on existing passenger trains to carry children west at reduced fares.



Some found loving homes.
Others found something far different.

Those who started the program felt that relying on the kindness of strangers was a better alternative to a life in an institution or on the street. However, the results were mixed. Reportedly, for some, being chosen from the crowd and taken in as part of a family was the moment where their life began. Unfortunately, others served as unpaid laborers and were not even allowed to sleep in the house. Others' fate was even worse.

 

Photo courtesy of https://orphantraindepot.org/history/

 A Frontier Reflection

For an orphan, the chance for a fresh start hinges on the choice of those willing to welcome them. This delicate balance—between necessity and compassion—served as a key inspiration for the hero in my latest release, Brady’s Burden.

Taking in orphaned boys to work a ranch may seem a practical arrangement at first. Yet what begins as need soon grows into something deeper—shaped through hardship, patience, and shared purpose.

New Release Now available on Amazon—and in Kindle Unlimited.
If you enjoy stories of second chances, chosen family, and adventures on the frontier, you won’t want to miss my latest release, Brady’s Burden—where the past lingers, and a new path must be forged.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G2NRSBZK

If you enjoy a stubborn rancher set in his ways and a woman with enough warmth—and humor—to challenge him… this is a story where storms don’t always get the final say.