The Civil War has often been called a war of brothers versus brothers. The fact that all the soldiers were Americans was exemplified by moments of fraternization like depicted in this sketch. Pickets were soldiers stationed at the front of an army as an early warning system of an enemy attack. Often opposing pickets would talk to each other. Sometimes they would arrange to meet between the lines to barter. Newspapers might be exchanged. But more importantly, Yankees craved Southern tobacco and Rebels wanted Northern coffee because the Union blockade cut off the South’s supply of the beverage. If there was a river separating the pickets, they might float their items across on homemade boats.
https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/between-the-lines-trading.html
Civil War pickets trading between the lines
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