With cattle rustling and meat theft on the rise in the United States, I thought it would be productive to retell the story of one of the largest cattle thefts in American history, the so-called Beefsteak Raid of 1864, especially as we observe the heist’s 159th anniversary this weekend.

Students of military history know all too well the monumental task of moving men, material, and supplies. The American Civil War was no exception. From the outset of war in April 1861, Northern quartermasters held an advantage over their Southern counterparts because the North boasted a cohesive rail system, better roads, canals and waterways, more factories, mechanized agriculture, and a much larger population. The one logistical advantage the South held over the North was cattle supply, simply by Texas cattle inflating Southern numbers. According to the U.S. Census of 1860, for example, for every 100 people in New England and the Middle States, there were 83 head of cattle. In the South, that number clocked in at 104 cattle per 100 people.

But feeding Union and Confederate soldiers presented unique problems for Northern and Southern quartermasters, and cattle, with larger carcass weights, provided much-needed protein to large armies instead of salted beef. Cattle and other livestock trailed armies at the rear of the column and civilian contractors or commissary soldiers drove cattle. In some cases, commissary officers paid landowners to pasture animals or sometimes requisitioned animals. As supply lines improved, cattle for the Union troops were shipped by rail to the frontlines from Chicago, and later in the war, processed meat was shipped in box cars top loaded with ice, the precursor of the refrigerated boxcar. Cattle for Southern troops were sourced from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Texas. Confederate forces also rustled cattle from the Five Civilized Tribes in the Southwestern theatre of war.

But as the Civil War progressed, the ability of Confederate quartermasters to provide for their soldiers became particularly acute as Southern agricultural centers such as Tennessee and ports such as New Orleans, Louisiana, and Natchez, Miss., fell to Union control. Despite these blows to Confederate supply lines and agricultural centers, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was still able to supply his forces with food and materials.

Knowing this, Union Commander Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant, after failing to pin down Lee and his forces in Virginia, decided to cut off Lee’s supply and communication lines outside of Richmond, Va., the Confederate capital. Grant turned his sights to the rail center in Petersburg, Va., which was about 20 miles west of Richmond. Grant and his troops established an operational hub at City Point, Va., on the James River and besieged Confederate troops at Petersburg, Va., in the summer of 1864. By early fall, the Army of Northern Virginia was starving.

General Lee asked his subordinates for solutions, and one scout, Sgt. George D. Shadburne of the so-called Iron Scouts, reported to Major General Wade Hampton on Sept. 5, 1864, that several cattle were grazing on Edward Ruffin’s plantation at Coggin’s Point on the James River. The herd was behind Union lines, but as Shadburn intimated, the cattle were only guarded by a few hundred men and contracted civilians. Hampton saw an opportunity to provide relief to war-weary and hungry Confederate troops, and he presented a plan to General Lee on Sept. 8. Lee expressed concern about driving behind Union lines and suggested that Hampton and his troopers circle Union lines to the southeast. Lee also expressed that he believed in his general to make the 50-mile trip to Coggin’s Point, but Lee wondered if they would be able to return the same route with so many cattle and wagons.

Hampton gathered approximately 3,000 Confederate cavalrymen, some of whom heralded from Texas cattle ranches, and set out on Sept. 14 towards Coggin’s Point. They bivouacked the nights of Sept. 14 and Sept. 15, and their presence had gone unnoticed by Union troopers. Separating into three columns, Hampton and his men set out before dawn on Sept. 16. The middle column caught the First District of Columbia Cavalry sleeping in their bedrolls, and they were able to capture approximately 300 hundred Union troopers and their mounts. The other two columns proceeded on flanking maneuvers and all three columns converged on the prize of 2,468 head of cattle at Coggin’s Point in broad daylight. Hampton’s cavalrymen successfully drove back the cattle and evaded their Northern pursuers, and the “beeves” were safely ensconced behind Confederate lines on Sept. 17.

Hampton’s raid proved to be a success. Confederate casualties were minimal: 10 killed, 47 wounded, and four missing. The Beefsteak Raid also resulted in providing much-needed protein for starving Confederate soldiers, and more importantly, it boosted the morale of Lee’s 40,000 soldiers. As Confederate cavalry Capt. Chiswell Dabley recounted, “We then proceeded to have the greatest beefsteak feast ever known in the Army of Northern Virginia... . We snatched the victory right out of their mouths.” Confederate troops, too, often reminded Union troops within earshot about the raid when they offered to trade beef to trade for coffee.

The Beefsteak Raid greatly embarrassed Union leaders, but they also recognized that their tactic of attrition was working since the raid was both daring and appeared desperate. “Last night and this morning,” Gen. Robert McAllister told his family on Sept. 16, “The enemy drove in our cavalry pickets and drove off our beef cattle—it is said a large number.” President Abraham Lincoln reportedly labeled the raid as “the slickest piece of cattle stealing” he had heard of in his lifetime. General Grant, in his memoirs, labeled the raid as “fair capture” and greatly “needed by the Confederates.”

However, the beef from the raid only lasted about two weeks, and it did not solve the long-term issues in supplying the besieged Confederate army. The siege lasted a total of 292 days and directly led to Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia on April 9, 1865.

“The Slickest Piece of Cattle Stealing:” The Beefsteak Raid of 1864

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