Other serious weaknesses in Texas were a continued scarcity of weapons, a shortage of laborers that forced the Confederate authorities to impress slaves, and refusals on the part of civilians to sell supplies to the army that ultimately resulted in impressments.[108] As for the citizens, they were oppressed by high taxes, inflation, and shortages of basic necessities. By late 1864 shoes cost $30, watermelons sold at $5 each, coffee brought $10 per pound when it was available, and one woman reportedly paid $90 for a yard and a half of denim material.[109] Salt was so scarce that many people dug up the floors of their smoke-houses and leached the soil to regain the saline drippings. Toothbrushes consisted of the chewed ends of twigs. Whole dishes were scarce and were handled with loving care. Paper, quinine, and tea were almost impossible to find.[110] Finally, the overall unhealthy situation of the times was aggravated by unconfirmed reports of Unionist uprisings in the state, unwarranted speculation on future invasions of Texas, and dozens of extremely wild rumors.[111] FIGHTING BEYOND TEXAS: 1863-1865 After heavy losses at Gettysburg, Hood’s Texas Brigade was shifted to Tennessee in September of 1863. At Chickamauga, the First Texas, Fourth Texas, and Fifth Texas charged through artillery and small arms fire to push repeatedly against a determined enemy in well protected positions. One company of the First Texas had only a single officer and no men surviving as a result of the many days of fighting. The First and Fifth Texas had fewer than one hundred men each who were unscratched at this point of the campaign.[112] In November, the Texans in Hood’s Brigade marched off with Lieutenant General James Longstreet to capture the Federal stronghold at Knoxville. When this plan miscarried, Longstreet’s army was compelled to spend a miserable and austere winter in northeastern Tennessee. With the spring thaws of 1864, the Texas Brigade again was shifted to the Virginia front. Back in familiar surroundings, the battered regiments struggled to withstand General Grant’s hammering. At the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and other prominent Virginia engagements, the brigade continued to rely on bravery to compensate for its lack of size.