Mitchell wanted hardtack remembered,
all the way to his grave and even beyond

Joseph (Dudley) Mitchell’s tombstone in the Greensburg (Ill.) Fairview Cemetery is at least unique.

In the top corner of the granite headstone is a small glass box. Inside the box is a piece of authentic Civil War hardtack.

Mitchell, a member of the Mounted Infantry, Company A, 123 Illinois Regiment, is known as a “friendly neighbor who never complained” and who appreciated the small things. Hence, the commemorative hardtack, the hard and very dry bread that was a staple for Civil War soldiers.

Maybe Mitchell really did appreciate the hardtack, which was often described as solid enough to break or crack teeth.

Hardtack was easy to carry, filling, nutritious and cheap to produce. It was thought to last so long, early Civil War (1861-1865) hardtack rations were actually leftovers from the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). It sustained soldiers like Mitchell and his brigade when perhaps nothing else did.


It’s speculated that Mitchell may have wanted folks to realize that it’s the simple things that truly sustain us during the darkest and worse days of our lives.

Repairs have been made to Mitchell’s headstone during the years to keep the original piece of hardtack from deteriorating. Former cemetery sexton Ed Schoenberger said that he had repaired the glass a few years ago and made some restorations. Behind the thick piece of glass, which has been resealed to keep out moisture, is a brass box. The hardtack sits inside of it, though moisture from the porous granite has removed the original adhesive. 

“Heck, that thing might still be edible,” according to Schoenberger, former editor of The Kiowa County Signal.

Mitchell was a member of a company known by many different names, including the “Wilder Brigade,” led by Union Brig. Gen. John T. Wilder. It was then Col. Wilder and his brigade that opposed and surrendered to the Confederacy at Munfordville on Sept. 17, 1862. Mitchell probably was with Wilder, who commanded the Union garrison at Munfordville.

A native of Charleston, Ill., Mitchell died in 1915 at age 79, survived by his wife, Emma Henderson Mitchell. It’s assumed that Emma had the hardtack box placed on the tombstone at her husband’s request.