4. Both sides traded with each other, though it was against regulations to do so
The advance pickets of both armies, especially along the front lines in Virginia, communicated with their counterparts on the other side. Tobacco in the Union army was relatively expensive, available from the camp suppliers known as sutlers. Coffee on the other hand was rationed liberally to the troops. On the Southern side the opposite held true, with coffee a rarity but tobacco available in plenty. Soldiers of both armies exchanged tobacco for coffee, as well as trading other items, including alcohol. The trading was officially against regulations on both sides, but was so widespread that the officers of each army largely ignored the practice.