The Confederate States of America established the Quartermaster Department in 1861 at the start of the American Civil War. The department was responsible for the logistics and supply needs of the military, including the procurement, storage, distribution, and transportation of supplies, equipment, and provisions. It was headed by a Quartermaster General appointed by the President of the Confederate States of America and managed by field and depot officers who oversaw transportation networks, maintained supply depots, and supplied troops with clothing, equipment, and rations. By the end of the war, the department was severely strained due to the prolonged conflict, blockades, and Union advances into Confederate territory. It ceased operations in spring 1865.

Major Henry Thomas Massengale (1835-1888) was born in Wrightsboro, Georgia, to Henry White Massengale (1806-1883) and Rebecca Ann Lowe (1808-1881). He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1852 and worked as a teller for the City Bank of Nashville before joining the Confederate States Army in July 1861. He served as Paymaster, Assistant Quartermaster, and Quartermaster for the Quartermaster Department in Atlanta, Augusta, Knoxville, and Richmond. After the war, he worked in the grain commission and milling business in Nashville and St. Louis. Massengale was married to Mary Virginia Whitfield (?-1876), and they had four children.