What did they do for toilet paper during the Civil War?

Answer 1

they had rim jobs back then, too

Answer 2

Leaves

Answer 3

Leaves

Answer 4

You should thank your lucky stars you live in the twentieth century, bucko. Let me tell you about ... corncobs. You may not believe this, but it was once common practice in rural America to leave a corncob hanging from a string in the outhouse for purposes of personal hygiene. The string, I gather, was to permit the cob to be reused. For those who were punctilious in these matters, or else blessed with an abundance of corncobs, a box of disposable cobs might be provided instead. In coastal regions, the cob might be replaced by a mussel shell.

For those who had access to it, paper from discarded books or newspapers was often preferred to either of the foregoing. The meteoric growth of the Sears Roebuck company, for instance, is thought to be partly attributable to the protean nature of its catalogs, which, historians tells us, might serve a family of regular habits for an entire season. As with the cob, the catalog would be hung in the outhouse on a string and pages torn off as needed. It is said the use of coated stock, which was nonabsorbent, was a source of great consternation to farm families when Sears began printing color pictures in the catalog earlier in this century.

English lords, in attempting to teach their sons to be cultivated gentlemen, often advised purchasing an inexpensive volume of verse for use in the loo. The idea, of course, was that while you were sitting there in a contemplative state you would be able to read a few stanzas, subsequent to which the paper could be put to other ends, so to speak.

For more data on this fascinating topic, see "An Irreverent and Almost Complete Social History of the Bathroom" (1983), by Frank Muir.

Answer 5

Leaves.

Answer 6

The Confederates carried around a group of slaves, they called them "butt boys". The Soldiers took care of their business and the "butt boys" would do the wiping. It's funny how facts like this get lost in History.

Answer 7

Leaves. The unfortunate ones mistakenly used poison ivy/oak leaves.

Answer 8

They used the used leaves
wet cloths
sometimes nothing
and the got the hair form horse teails and used it

Answer 9

Corn Husks.

Answer 10

Hello, Mr. Pine cone!

Answer 11

Whatever they could find that would do the trick. Usually corn cobs--many didn't use anything, you can imagine the nicotine stains.