One of the most important and most impactful stories of Coffee County came by way of the Army Maneuvers that were held here from 1941 to 1944. The Joanna Lewis Museum of Coffee County History has researched this time in the history of our county and what we found wasn’t a story just about the war and the soldiers but about the impact the maneuvers had on the people who lived here.

Why Was Tennessee Selected for Military Training

General George Patton’s grandmother had lived in Lebanon, TN and, as a boy he had visited there many times. When the army was looking for suitable places for the army to conduct maneuvers, he suggested Middle Tennessee. The terrain of Middle Tennessee closely resembled the landscape of Western Europe, particularly France, Belgium, and Germany, where the majority of American combat was expected to take place.

Holding the maneuvers in Tennessee allowed soldiers to train in conditions similar to the battlefields they would face overseas; this included features like rolling hills, rivers like the Duck River, and forested areas mirroring the European terrain.

When Were the Maneuvers in Coffee County?

Military WWII Maneuvers actually took place four times in Coffee County: June, 1941; Sept-Nov,1942; March 1943; and March 1944. Soldiers began training in Coffee County in June 1941 when the U. S. Second Army established a temporary headquarters at the Manchester High School for large-scale military maneuvers across Coffee County and Middle Tennessee. General George S. Patton was in Manchester in June 1941, leading maneuvers with the 2nd Armored Division, the Hell on Wheels Division.

Everyday Living During the Maneuvers

Local residents of Coffee County (and Middle Tennessee), where the maneuvers were being held, faced much more than the average citizens of other towns and cities across the country. Because of maneuvers and operations, civilians had to adjust to blocked roads, traffic jams, crowded stores, less availability of items to buy, blackouts and driving at night without lights. The war-games made parts of the state impassable, wore out a lot of old roads and bridges, clogged up mail delivery, ran hotels out of rooms and some restaurants out of food.

It even disrupted hunting season, which was called off or delayed in war maneuver areas. Soldiers camped out on lawns and fields; many crops and fences were destroyed (without any compensation to the owners).

Blackouts

Residents living in Coffee County were not allowed to drive at night with lights on. There were many reported accidents from this restriction. Frequent orders for complete blackout conditions were put into place. This included a ban on smoking cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. Manchester and Tullahoma citizens were subject to frequent blackout tests by the military. In the beginning, advertised advance notice was given. Starting in November, 1942 blackouts were done with no advance warning. Citizens were expected to obey the blackout signal from the fire siren. The signal was five short blasts of the siren.

War-Time Rationing and Restrictions

During World War II, common household items that were rationed included: sugar, coffee, meat, butter, canned goods, processed foods, cheese, canned milk, and fats. Rationed non-food items included tires, cars, bicycles, gasoline, fuel oil and kerosene, solid fuels (like coal), stoves, footwear, and typewriters. Essentially, many staple food items and key materials needed for the war effort were restricted to ensure fair distribution. To buy these items, consumers had to present both the appropriate paperwork and the money to pay for the item.

Sugar Rationing

Sugar was the first food product to be rationed, starting in May, 1942 and the last to be taken off the ration list, in June 1947. Consumers had to register to receive a ration book which contained stamps to be torn out for purchases of a “prescribed” amount of sugar. The ration book held 28 coupons. One stamp could be traded for 12 oz. of sugar per week in Coffee County for each person in the family. A family of 5 could get 60 oz. of sugar each week. Strict oversight of sugar rationing was in place. Citizens were warned that false reporting to the government was punishable under Federal criminal code with penalties up to $10,000 in fines or ten years imprisonment.

Boarding houses, cafes and institutional units were required to register as well. During 1942, hotels and restaurants were rationed to roughly half of their average 1941 sugar usage, meaning they could only use about 50% of the sugar they used before rationing began. Honey, molasses and maple and cane sugar could be used as substitutes.

Gasoline Rationing

Gasoline rationing began in Coffee County on July 1, 1942. It was rationed by issuing different colored stickers to car owners based on their occupation, with the most common “A” sticker allowing for a limited amount of gasoline per week, while essential workers like doctors or truck drivers received “C” or “T” stickers allowing for larger allotments; all drivers had to present their ration coupons at the gas station to purchase fuel.

Tire Rationing

Tire rationing began in January 1942 and lasted until December, 1945. In Coffee County (and rural counties just like Coffee) rural postal carriers were directed to aid in the collection of scrap rubber. It was reported that service stations in Manchester were cooperating in the collection. A photo in the June 26, 1942 edition of the Manchester Times of tire and rubber collected by Spangler’s Service Station shows approximately 20,000 pounds to be donated to the war effort.

The people who lived in Coffee County and other maneuver selected counties of Middle Tennessee faced a lot of hardship. Most all the men from the county who were eligible to serve in the military were either drafted or enlisted. Left to hold the homesteads, farms, towns and communities together were women, children and the elderly. It was a daunting task but those who were left stepped up, did the work and were, in most every account, gracious and kind to the soldiers who came through our area. We should all be very proud of those that served and those who held the homesteads together in very trying times.