A sutler or victualer is a civilian merchant who sells provisions to an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in the field, in camp, or in quarters. Sutlers sold wares from the back of a wagon or a temporary tent, traveling with an army or to remote military outposts. Sutler wagons were associated with the military, while

chuck wagon A chuckwagon is a type of field kitchen covered wagon historically used for the storage and transportation of food and cooking equipment on the prairies of the United States and Canada. Such wagons formed part of a wagon train of settlers or fed ...

s served a similar purpose for civilian wagon trains and outposts.

Etymology

The word came into English from

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...

, where it appears as ''soetelaar'' or ''zoetelaar''. It meant originally "one who does dirty work, a drudge, a scullion," and derives from ''zoetelen'' (to foul, sully; modern Dutch ''bezoedelen''), a word cognate with "suds" (hot soapy water), "seethe" (to boil) and "sodden".

Role in supplying troops

These merchants often followed the armies during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the s ...

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, American Civil War, and the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

, to sell their merchandise to soldiers. Generally, the sutlers built their stores within the limits of an army post or just off the defense line, and needed to receive a license from the Commander prior to construction. They were, by extension, also subject to his regulations. They frequently operated near the front lines and their work could be dangerous; at least one sutler was killed by a stray bullet during the Civil War. A typical transaction with a sutler is dramatized in the third chapter of

MacKinlay Kantor MacKinlay Kantor (February 4, 1904 – October 11, 1977), born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor, was an American journalist, novelist and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 novels, several set during the American Civil War, and was awarded th ...

's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel '' Andersonville'' (1955). Sutlers, frequently the only local suppliers of non-military goods, often developed

monopolies A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

on critical commodities like

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus ''Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chie ...

, coffee, or

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double s ...

and rose to powerful stature. Since government-issued coinage was scarce during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...

, sutlers often conducted transactions using a particular type of

Civil War token Civil War tokens are token coins that were privately minted and distributed in the United States between 1861 and 1864. They were used mainly in the Northeast and Midwest. The widespread use of the tokens was a result of the scarcity of government ...

known as a sutler token. Sutlers played a major role in the recreation of army men between 1865 and 1890. Sutlers' stores outside of military posts were usually also open to non-military travelers and offered

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...

drinking Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely amo ...

, and

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

. In modern use, sutler often describes businesses that provide period uniforms and supplies to reenactors, especially to American

Civil War reenactor American Civil War reenactment is an effort to recreate the appearance of a particular battle or other event associated with the American Civil War by hobbyists known (in the United States) as Civil War reenactors, or living historians. Althou ...

s. These businesses often play the part of historical sutlers while selling both period and modern-day goods at reenactments.

Honourable Artillery Company

The

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

, a regiment of the British Army, still uses the word "sutling" as an alternative to the more common "mess" or "messing". Due to the unique culture of the regiment, no social differentiation is made between officers and other ranks, and therefore the regiment does not have separate drinking and dining facilities for officers,

warrant officers Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other un ...

s or other ranks. A room in the headquarters of the regiment in the City of London is called the "Sutling Room", and it contains the main bar where all ranks meet and socialise. Often, when the regiment is deployed, a room, tent, or vehicle will be designated as the Sutling Room, Sutling Tent or Sutling Lorry, and will perform the same function.

Footnotes

References

* * *Butler, Anne M. (1987). ''Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery: Prostitutes in the American West, 1865-90,'' University of Illinois Press, 137–139. .

External links