Sutler Store

History

The sutler was a government-appointed merchant who supplied garrisons with food, clothing, tools, and other items not provided by the military. The sutler’s store served as one of the garrison’s few links to the outside world as goods, news, and mail came through the store. Based on surviving records, historians have found that tobacco and alcohol were the most commonly purchased items in the store. The store also served as a social space where the enlisted men played cards, smoked and chewed tobacco, and visited in their few hours of free time. 

Archaeology

Archaeology provided details such as the location of the sales counter and examples of merchandise. One crate of clay pipes, for example, had been dropped in shipment; dozens of identical, new-but-broken pipes were found in the excavations. And coins found in the ground showed where the sales counter had once stood.