The Sutler's Wares.

[flyinglentris]

A Sutler is a licensed civilian merchant who traveled with military units in the 19th century, selling provisions, from food to clothing, off a wagon or out of a temporarily set up tent.

I can't imagine what food provisions they may have sold as they likely could not travel with anything that would spoil or perish. It would have to be canned (which canned foods did exist then) or was a dry good, like beans, rice, flour, etc. The foot infantry soldier or Calvary horse soldier of those days could not have had a healthy diet. But then, it is said that the Roman soldier traveled and fought, subsisting only or mostly on Cheese.

 

[Burt Blank]

We had similar to this when on 12 hour "fox hole" duty. For soldiers away from the base and in the field, manot krav, field rations, are the primary source of sustenance: a cardboard box of canned goods that are endearingly familiar to every soldier, whether on guard duty or in battle.

 

[flyinglentris]

We had similar to this when on 12 hour "fox hole" duty. For soldiers away from the base and in the field, manot krav, field rations, are the primary source of sustenance: a cardboard box of canned goods that are endearingly familiar to every soldier, whether on guard duty or in battle.View attachment 56917

I think everybody has heard of the WWII K-Rations. They didn't look like what you show.

 

[flyinglentris]

The tradition of a suttlery goes beyond the military today. In colleges and Universities, book stores and food courts appear on campuses, managed and licensed to contractors, even though the schools run their own cafeterias. At airports, restaurants and bars or saloons show up in the spirit of a suttlery. Further, some big businesses, like Google and Apple have put in contractor run cafeterias in their buildings for their employees. This of course did not bode well for the folks who run the food trucks (roach coaches as we affectionately call them in the US). Shopping Mauls have food courts too. Cafeterias and Souvenir Shops in Museums, Snack Counters in Theaters and mobile caterers at outdoor festivals are other examples. There are likely many others. Consider those food facilities at your local service station.

Today's military in the US uses contract stores for their PX (Post Exchange) and cafeteria offerings, in addition to the chow hall or mess setups run by cook ratings. The PX today is comparable to a Walmart or Costco in some cases.

All of this has roots in the original Sutlers of the 19th century military, particularly during the US Civil War. What is true, is that most people have never even heard of the term 'sutler'.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I've heard of that. They used to, or still do come out to East Boston. I used to get some canned goods & other things from them. In the evening, they came out.