American Civil
Food in the American Civil War
Bodies need sustenance to stay healthy and human beings in the midst of war need occasional moments of enjoyment to maintain a positive attitude. Food can meet both of those needs, preventing privation at minimum and giving pleasure when possible. Provided here are some direct accounts of the experiences of soldiers regarding food in the Civil War, through letters written from the battlefield as well as memoirs written after the war.
Captain Richard C. Derby wrote extensively from the battlefield to family and newspapers. His letters covered a broad range of subjects, including food. They were published in a book entitled The Young Captain: A Memorial of Captain Richard C. Derby, Fifteenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, Who Fell at Antietam, written by P. A. Hanaford and published in 1865.
Lieutenant Derby writing to his mother and only sister in late 1861: "We have a good board floor in both our tents, and a cast-iron stove in place of our sheet-iron one, for convenience in cooking. It is a cross between our ornamental parlor stove and a useful kitchen ditto. We had a joint of beef cooked in the oven to-day. The prunes which you sent were very nice. I told Wesley (our servant) we could have some of them stewed for supper; and he cooked them all at once, and served them up in our largest oval platter in the centre of the tea-table."
Letter written by Captain Derby from Camp Foster, January 19, 1862 to a young relative: "Every man has each day one and a quarter pounds fresh or salt beef, or three-fourths of a pound of pork; one pound of hard bread like crackers, or twenty-two ounces of baker's bread; beans or rice or hominy; sugar, coffee, or tea; candles, soap, salt, and vinegar, and sometimes molasses and potatoes. I don't mean that they eat soap or candles; but that is a part of what is called a ration."
Here is an excerpt from an article entitled 137th Regiment Infantry: Historical Sketch by Surgeon John M. Farrington, describing the lengths to which soldiers went to fill their stomachs:
"On the 29th we crossed the Rappahannock River at Kelly's Ford on a pontoon bridge laid by the Fiftieth New York Engineers, and on Thursday, April 30th, reached Chancellorsville, where we lay for a time in a wood of small growth trees. Here we started fire to cook some fresh beef, but as soon as the smoke arose the enemy sent shells whizzing and bursting down in our midst. We promptly changed our bill of fare, put out our fire, and many of us made a discovery that raw beef, well seasoned, is very grateful to the taste of a hungry man."
Captain Edward H. Underhill wrote an article entitled: Campaigning with the Light Artillery. Mr Underhill is referring to Battery E, First New York Light Artillery, from Bath, Steuben County, New York. He describes the difference it made to the men to have a good cook:
"This battery was one of the few new organizations whose men early appreciated the value of a competent company cook. A citizen of some local repute as a restaurateur was hired by the company, and paid from a fund raised by a voluntary assessment of twenty-five cents per man, per month, the officers contributing sufficient to make up the deficit. Such unheard of things in camp life as roast beef, baked ham, fried doughnuts, good, wholesome ginger-bread, and the like, made camp life much more agreeable to the men from Steuben than to any of their associate companies."
About the Author
Jim Rupp is a history buff and partner in Jiggsy Communications, LLC which operates Jiggsy, an old photo blog and Bowie Knife, a site dedicated to everything about Bowie Knives.
American Civil War: confederate generals died during the war
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