What Does 'Coffee Coolers' Bring to Mind?
Maybe you think of foofy drinks. Or you geek out like some latter day microscopist. Ooh, I know: you think of plug-n-play gadgets. But me, I think of Bartles & Jaymes. I was programmed in the '80s. My automatic response to the word "coolers" has everything to do with those old guys catching a fruity buzz, and nothing to do with... war.
In Civil War slang, "coffee coolers" were soldiers who shirked
combat, hiding on the fringes while their comrades fought in the
horrific conflict that cost over 600,000 lives. Depicted in a copper
etching by Brooklyn artist Edwin Forbes
(1839-1895), a few infantrymen ducked behind a thicket to enjoy a pot of
coffee. Their battalion marched toward imminent carnage.
I stumbled across the image in the Library of Congress print collection. Poking around the web for background, I saw repeated references to James McPherson's "For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War" (New York Times review). McPherson read letters and diaries of over a thousand soldiers, studying their motives and coping strategies.
I've often wondered whether I would have any guts, or retain my essentially pacifist convictions, if I was pulled into war. Some say that when the bullets start whizzing by your face, you just want to find a way home to Mama. And you do whatever it takes. Fight, hide, whatever.
By the way, why "coolers"? I guess the term referred to the tin bowls that were used for drinking boiled beverages -- with a wide diameter exposing lots of surface area to cool coffee faster. Search for "coolers" on that page and you'll see some originals and reproductions.
I stumbled across the image in the Library of Congress print collection. Poking around the web for background, I saw repeated references to James McPherson's "For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War" (New York Times review). McPherson read letters and diaries of over a thousand soldiers, studying their motives and coping strategies.
I've often wondered whether I would have any guts, or retain my essentially pacifist convictions, if I was pulled into war. Some say that when the bullets start whizzing by your face, you just want to find a way home to Mama. And you do whatever it takes. Fight, hide, whatever.
By the way, why "coolers"? I guess the term referred to the tin bowls that were used for drinking boiled beverages -- with a wide diameter exposing lots of surface area to cool coffee faster. Search for "coolers" on that page and you'll see some originals and reproductions.
Latest Photos
Daniel Dec 7, 2008 – 3:55 AM
That term brings to mind either foofy wine coolers in those awesome cone-like bottles, or an awful drink from Coffee People, a now closed Portland coffee chain. It was a mix of Toddy, water, milk, and Monin coffee flavored syrup. It was not terribly good, but people loved the hell out of it.
Also, I did a crossword today that had a clue very relevant to this post. A "goldbrick" is someone, especially a soldier, who shirks their duties. Odd that I would see these on the same day.
Lisa Dec 7, 2008 – 7:47 AM
For some reason, this post reminds me of reading the Little Home on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. How did coffee travel out to the western frontier? How is it that coffee became part of a common part of every day Americana, to the point that as a little girl, it never once occurred to me that Pa Wilder, in his trips to various general stores, was buying something that had traveled farther than he himself.
Pablo Honey Dec 7, 2008 – 9:00 AM
As a fellow Gen-X-er, the B&J reference resonates. But more so the connection between "cool" and slacking/shirking. Did the Fonz have a job? No. Could he, the consummate lumpenprole, ever be mentlaly hijacked by ideology, or pressed into the service of killing his fellow man for something so trivial as the Union?
No, for all his machismo, Winkler was a lover, not a fighter. Is it treasonous pacifism to ignore the call of the Man, or simple common sense? Call me a coward but I prefer to enjoy my stimulants as a free man. These six dudes seem like they would make better company than the nearby carnage, no matter how noble (or stupid) the sacrifice.
General Lee Dec 7, 2008 – 2:02 PM
Apparently Civil War soldiers loved coffee so much they'd chew whole beans if they didn't have time to stop and brew a pot.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/10/29/mf.coffee.confederacy/index.html
And you think you need your morning cuppa joe....
Jason Dec 10, 2008 – 8:30 AM
I like this notion of "coolers" being shirkers. For me, that makes a nice bridge to Bartles and Jaymes drinkers. As I remember, those wine coolers were posed as nice afternoon drinks. Relax with a wine cooler instead of working. While it's a bit glib to make comparisons to 90s wine culture and the civil war, maybe we need to reappropriate the term to refer to those who sit on the sidelines and watch while others toil in the trenches. As in, "that Jeff, he's such a cooler." It's my word of the month.