Soldiers of both armies arrived into Maryland and Pennsylvania looking for their foe and to fight for their beliefs. Present day people have to remember though that they had to forge for their food and their shelter once they made camp. Thousands of soldiers looking for food, with the lack of water. There was plenty of food for the animals, like the horses and the donkeys, but not enough for the walking soldiers.
Confederate Corps were in Cashtown, Carlisle, and Chambersburg. Union Corps were just south of Gettysburg, the 11th Corps in Emmitsburg (0), and the remainder Union Corps in northern Maryland.
Soldiers would look through the farms and the orchards in search of harvested food. Food was plentiful across Adams County in late June and early July. Farmers would have had apples, grapes, corn, onions, cherries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, plums, dandelion greens, zucchini, cucumber, possibly some early pumpkins for picking as they walked through fields. Some of the meat they could have taken were fish, turkeys, chickens, cows, and lame horses.
However, not having enough fruits in your diet caused soldiers to have scurvy. Early symptoms generally include the lethargy, fatigue and painful limbs especially the legs. In more advanced stages, receding gums and loss of teeth can occur.
One Union soldier from the 157th New York, from a diary entry from Captain William Saxton, stated that “The constant use of salt meats and hard bread, with scarcely any vegetables, had a great tendency to produce scurvy or at least its symptoms.” Fruits such as strawberries, dewberries, and apples made the symptoms disappear due to vitamin C to grow healthy bones and feel better overall.
