Cooking in the Union Army

Cooking in the Union Army

By Robert OBrien Pvt. 27th CVI

What was the food like to the soldier during the Civil War? Was there enough food for the soldiers to eat and was it really edible? These questions have been asked since the closing of the hostilities in 1865. Many times assumptions have been made as to the quantity and quality of the food. One of the biggest falicies that has been passed down to us is that the soldier never had enough food to eat. The Confederate soldier many times had to rely apon the region he was in and his own ingeinuity to come up with something palitable to eat. Sometimes for the union soldier, the case was very similar. The following is an example of Union foraging written by Captain R.W. Burt from CO. H 76th Ohio. It was written for The National Tribune, published November 3, 1898. The article is entitled:

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Any old soldier who served three or four years will call to mind that he felt more secure from danger when with the main body of the army than when on any detached service. When on picket-guard a mile or more from camp, or on the skirmish-line in advance of the line-of-battle, or with a detail of foragers when on the march, he felt that his life was in greater peril than when in the ranks with his company and regiment. The love of adventure, however, made it desirable for the more reckless.

The day after Sherman's army left Atlanta on the march to the sea, the Colonel's Orderly came to my quarters in the early morning and informed me that I had been detailed to take command of a brigade foraging party of 50 men, and that I should turn over the command of my company to my First Lieutenant.

I felt that it would be a position attended with great risk of being captured by the enemy, and a chance between Andersonville Prison and death, as there was an intense hatred of foragers; but I did not hesitate to accept it, as any officer should who cared for his reputation and "sand." >Not being aware of this move we went on to Elliotsville and remained there that night. Thinking the corps would arrive there that day, I concluded to forage further on, and near night we met Gen. Terry's army coming up from Wilmington, and my forage party was the first of Sherman's army to meet them. We turned back the next morning and stopped that night at Elliotsville, and from a Union man residing there heard the first news of the battle of Bentonville, and that our corps was there. R.W. BURT, CAPTAIN, CO.H, 76th OHIO, Peoria, Ill. The National Tribune, November 3, 1898

This is not to say that the soldier always had food on hand nor that he always had to forage the country to find food. What is to be said is that the United States Government did a fairly decent job of supplying its army with food. This statement is backed up by John D. Billings, a veteran of the Union Army, in his book "HardTack and Coffee", states: " I should be very much surprised if a soldier said he was without food for a period longer than twenty-four or thirty hours". He goes on to say "I would grant that he himself might, perhaps, have been so situated as to be deprived of food a longer time, possibly when he was on an exposed picket post or serving as rear- guard to the army, or doing something which separated him temporarily from his company; but his case would be the exception and not the rule". In a letter dated May 21,1863, Sgt. Charles Wickesberg of Co. H, 26th Wisconsin writes to his parents , "Dear parents, you write about my only having half enough to eat. We now have as much to eat here as we can swallow. The talk got started when we went to Fredericksburg for the first time. On our trip there, we got five crackers and one ration of fresh meat in two days, once. But, of course, there we were far away from the railroad, and marching for a whole week because the road was so bad. Otherwise, we would have enough to eat." Another example comes from Galuti York who fought with 114th N.Y. regiment. while in Camp he writes in a letter to his parents "..well I suppose you want to know it all so I will tell you how we live, we have potatoes twice a day, wheat bread 3 times a day, beef twice a day, pork and beans once a day, rice and molasses once a day or if they dont have rice we have mahominy and sugar, some cheese and coffee twice a day, and that is enough for any body. I begin to grow fat". This description gives the impression that the rations were extremely adequate.

The quality of the food, on the other hand, at times, left something to be desired. Many times the soldiers were rationed out stale beef or "salt-horse". Also the infamous "hardtack", riddeled through with maggots and weavels. There were many reasons for this. Billings states "Unwholesome rations were not the fault of the government but often the intent of the rascally, thieving contractors that supplied them, for which they received the price of good rations: or, perhaps the inspectors, who were in league with the contractors, and who therefore did not always do their duty". Hardtack many times was often packed in crates warm, right after cooking, then left on a shipping dock or railroad platform out in the elements to mold. Billings generally feels that " the government did well, under the circumstances, to furnish the soldiers with so good a quality of food as they averaged to recieve".

Proper rations for the Northern forces ideally consisted of 3/4lbs of pork or bacon, or 1 1/2lbs of fresh or salt beef, 18ozs of flour or bread, or 12ozs of hardtack or 11 1/4lbs of cornmeal. Added to this a daily issue to each 100 man company, 8 quarts of peas or beans, or 10lbs of rice, 6-10lbs of coffee or 1 1/2lbs of tea, 12-15lbs of sugar, 4 qts of vinegar and 2 qts of salt. Fresh vegetables, fruit and dairy were entirely absent from government rations. It was up to the men to aquire these in their localities (From The Civil War Cookbook, William C. Davis.) Galutia York further states an example of this"...well it is 12 oclock and I must go and get my dinner I am going to have an oister stew for I bought a mess of oisters this morning oister ar cheap down hear we can get a quart for 5 cents I have had quite a number of good messes. my money begins to run low". It is obvious that some items were affordable but all in all, the pay didnt last very long when buying your food from outside the army. Another way soldiers recieved food was in the form of boxes from home. Newton Scott briefly describes this in a letter to his parents "I als Recd.. the Butter & Berries that Mother Sent Me.. Wm.. P. is well He is gone after His Cans that you sent to Him By Dr Ivens"

Billings listing of rations is almost the same as Davis's but has a few differences. He states single rations while in camp consisted of 12oz's of pork or bacon, or 1lb 4oz's of salt or fresh beef, 1lb 6oz's of soft bread or flour, or 1lb of hardbread, or 1lb 4oz's of cornmeal. With every 100 single rations should be distributed 1peck of beans or peas, 10lbs of rice or hominy, 10lbs of green coffe or 8lbs of roasted or ground or 1lb8oz's of tea, 15lbs of sugar, 1lb 4oz's of candles, 4lbs of soap, 2qts of salt, 4qts of vinegar, 4oz's of pepper, 1/2 bushel of potatoes when available and 1qt of molasses. Dessicated compressed vegetables might be substituted for beans, peas, rice, hominy or fresh potatoes. Vegetables, dried fruits, pickles and pickled cabbage were ocassionally issued to prevent scurvy but only in small quantities. Marching rations were much less. These cosisted of 1lb of hardbread, 3/4lbs of saltpork or 1 1/4lbs of fresh meat, sugar, coffee and salt. Beans, rice, soap, candles etc. were not issued when on a march because the soldier could not carry them. Billings stated these rations " as best as he can recollect" but they are so similar to Davis's list, it makes an excellent base for the reenactor that wants to make an attempt at creating an authentic ration. These are the two best references I found concerning the rations of the soldier. The preparation of food. Gen. Silas Casey was ahead of his time when it came to the preparation of food for the men. He was the first to suggest that the conditions in which food was prepared be improved. He thought that unsanitary practices were contributing to the high level of dysentary so prevelent in the army. He realized the importance of a healthy diets affect on the fighting man. He required that daily inspections be made of kitchen kettles and utensils to make sure that they were clean. Most other commanders did not put the same practices into effect. The duty of preparing the food in Gen. Casey's command, as well as a few others was done by assigning permanently, two men from each 100 man company, one as chief cook the other as an assistant. Most other outfits did their cooking in 20 man squads, informally choosing their own cooks and often rotating the duty. The Civil War Cookbook from which this information comes does not state whether this breakdown of duty was all the time or just in set camp. However, Billings states " When the army was settled in camps, company cooks generally prepared the rations". So far, I have not found any concrete evidence as to who cooked the meals while on the march. Many times I have heard from people that the men would team up with a few pards and marry their rations or just cook them by them self. This seems to be believable due to the mobility neccessary while on a march. No time could be spent to set up company kitchens. Billings though, makes an interesting observation that sheds a little light on this subject. He states " One of the most interesting scenes presented in army life took place at night when the army was on the point of bivouacking. As soon as this fact became known along the column, each man would sieze a rail from the nearest fence, and with this additional arm enter the proposed camp ground. In no more time than it takes to tell this story, little camp fires, rapidly increasing to the hundreds in number, would shoot up along the hills and plains, and as if by magic acres of territory would be luminous with them. Soon they would be surrounded by soldiers, who made it an almost invariable rule to cook their coffee first, after which a large number, tired out with the toils of the day, would make their supper of hardtack and coffee and roll up in their blankets for the night". One would be led to believe that the ones that didnt turn in for the night might proceed to cook their rations. I have found no evidence of this but it seems rational.

As a point of interest the commissioned officers faired better in camp than the enlisted men. Instead of drawing rations like the men they were issued a monthly cash allowence from which they could by their supplies directly from the brigade commissary. It was the commissaries job to keep stores on hand for this purpose.The officers monthly allowances for infantry officers are as follows. A Colonel would recieve six rations worth $56 for him and two servants; Lieutenant-Colonel, five rations worth $45, and two servants; Major, four rations worth $36 and two servants; Captain, four rations worth $36 and one servant; First and Second Leiutenants would recieve together the same as a Captain. In addition the field officers recieved an allowence of horses and forage in proportion to their grade.

Cooking Methods. The men found many ingenious ways to prepare their food. They did anything they could to make the food more palitable. The utensils were often their tin cup, a tin plate or a canteen half. A stick that was split on the end was used to place and remove a plate or canteen half from the fire. With the few ingredients that were rationed to them and what they could forage or buy from the sutlers, the men came up with many ways to cook a decent meal.

Meat: The staple of almost every diet was meat and it was eaten in a variety of ways. This includes freshly killed, preserved by pickling in brine, smoked, dried, sugar cured and canned in tins. It was cooked by roasting, frying or most often boiled, frequently in stews with vegetables(dessicatted or fresh when obtainable). If vegetables were to be had they were often cooked with some sort of pork or bacon fat for flavor. Seasoning rarely went beyond salt, pepper and an occasional bay leaf. If the beef was pretty "solid" it was usually prepared in one of two ways: fried in pork fat if fat was to be had or impaled on a stick or ramrod, salted and peppered then broiled in the flames of the fire. Sometimes it might have been thrown on the coals to cook. Another form of meat that the soldiers on occasion recieved was the "salt horse". It was made by taking a piece of beef and have it thoroughly penetrated with saltpetre. When cooked it made an awefull stench and tasted even worse. Most of the times the soldiers would not eat it and cocnsidered it to be the worst ration distributed. At times the soldiers would even go as far as to have a burial party called and march to solomn music to see it to its final burial place. If the men did eat the ration, it was not uncommon for them to tie apiece of string to one end and throw it in the brook over night in an attempt to reduce the amount of salt in the meat. 

"Salt-Pork": Salt-pork was the principle ration distributed by the Army. The government had an enoromous pork proccessing plant in Chicago from which many of the armies pork rations came. This ration proved to be invaluable to the soldier because it had multiple uses. It could be fried and the grease used to cook with, broiled and eaten with hard bread or eaten raw sandwiched between two pieces of hard tack. The company cooks always boiled it as well as used it as an ingredient in baked beans, soups and stews.

The Army Bean: The army bean was probably the most appreciated ration to the soldier. Although they were cooked in above ground stone ovens, by far the most popular method was to bake them in the ground. When the bean ration was distributed to the men, invariably this is the way they would cook them. It was not practicle to cook a single ration like this so the men either saved their rations until a good baking could be made or 10 or 12 of the men would combine their rations to make one big pot. Many men saved their cooked bean rations for a couple of days to make it last, so valued as it was.

Bread: Bread in the Army meant many things. There were two basic forms of bread rationed to the men: soft bread and hard bread. Soft bread for a time in 1861came from the vaults underneath the Capitol which were convereted into bakeries. Sixteen thousand loaves of bread were baked daily in these ovens. Up until 1864 most of the bread rations came from Washington, Alexandria and Fort Monroe in Virginia which could produce thirty thousand loaves a day. Hard bread or "Hardtack" Hardtack has been made famous by the soldiers of the war. They often refered to them as "sheet iron teeth dullers" or "worm castles" due to the fact that it was often infested with maggots. This bread was nothing more than a flour and water biscut. Billings measures them at three and one eighth by two and seven eighth inches and about one half inch thick. The most common way of eating hardtack was to break it up into coffee, soups or stews. To break it up some men used the butts of their muskets. Do this at your own risk. Most of the time the bread was soaked in water, animal fat or milk if they had any, before frying. It was called "skillygalee" when it was fried in fat after soaking. Some men just placed it in the ashes until heated through. I have made hardtack at home with pretty decent success. Fortunatly it is not hard to make and looks really good at events. To make it at home combine 5 parts flour to 1 part water. You can add a little salt for taste but in the real rations, it was rare. Mix the flour and water together with your hands until you have a really stiff dough. Take the dough out and place it on a floured counter. Roll it out until it is aproxamatly 3/8 of an inch thick. Use a rolling pin. It will make it alot easier. Cut out squares aprox. 3 inches by 3 inches (or use Billings measurements above). Poke nine holes in rows of three all the way through the dough with a tooth pick. Place on a cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven and cook for aprox. 35 min. at 325-350 degrees until browned. Keep an eye on it. This will produce a great representation of hardtack, and I do mean hard.

The Whiskey Ration: Opinion varies as to the whiskey ration and whether or not the soldiers received it on a regular basis. According to Billings the government issued a whiskey ration to the men on rare occassions, and then only by order of the medical department. His company recieved whiskey only three or four times and then only during a cold rainstorm or after an unusually hard stretch of service. Captain N.D. Preston recalls only one time when he was ordered by the brigade commander to issue a light whiskey ration to his men. Billings was told by other men in the Army of the Potomac that they recieved whiskey on a much more regular basis. This would lead one to believe that the whisky ration was not as uncommon as we would think. Sgt Wicksberg of the 26th Wisconsin writes to his family on January 1, 1863, "Brigade General Krzyzanowski had given our regiment a barrel of whiskey and many a soldier was a little tipsy. Especially our officers". This was New Years eve. In another letter to his parents Galutia York describes his whiskey ration."...we began to draw whiskey rations yesterday each man draws a gill which makes a cup in the morning and a swallow at night and I think it will do us more good than anything we get". Whiskey was often issued medicinally by the regimental doctors but sometimes the soldiers went out and obtained it themselves when the doctors wouldnt give them any. Newton Scott from Company A,36th regiment of Iowa volunteers writes, "for my part I went to the Store & Bought me Some Whiskey at $1.00 a pt & alot of *illegible* & have been Doing my own Doctoring & I feel about as well as usual for the past few days.." Although this was against regulations it seems that obtaining whiskey, although expensive, was not impossible.