Hardtack, Artificial Oysters, and Goober Peas: Making Do on the March and in a Civil War Kitchen
By Jane Kosa
Food was abundant at the beginning of the war, but it soon became scarce for Southern soldiers as well as for the civilians. Behind the Blue and Gray: The Soldier's Life in the Civil War by Delia Ray provides graphic descriptions of the rations that the soldiers received:
"With the lack of fresh food, the Federals resorted to satisfying their hunger on flour-and-water crackers called 'hardtack.' These biscuits were a half-inch thick and so hard they earned names such as teeth dullers' and 'sheet-iron' crackers.' Even worse, the hardtack was frequently infested with worms and weevils. One soldier counted thirty-two worms in a single cracker."
(p. 31)
Times were hard for civilians, too. In addition to family recipes, The Robert E. Lee Family Cooking & Housekeeping Book describes some of the conditions during the war and how the Lee family coped. For Home and Country: A Civil War Scrapbook by Norman Bolotin and Angela Herb provides a graphic account of situations both on the battlefield and at home.
The price of what foodstuffs could be found in Southern markets grew outrageously as the war dragged on. When This Cruel War Is Over by Duane Damon states that flour prices rose from $40 a barrel in August 1863 to $700 a barrel in January 1865 in Richmond. Read more about food scarcities and exorbitant prices in the article, "The Richmond Bread Riot of 1863", which appeared in Virginia Cavalcade, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 41-47.
The following Web sites and books contain recipes or describe the conditions that were prevalent in the South from 1861-1865.
Image credits: Union and Confederate artifacts featured in an exhibit entitled "The Daily Life of the Civil War Soldier" on the first floor of the Headquarters Library. These Civil War artifacts were on loan from the White Oak Museum in Stafford, Virginia.
On the Web
Civil War Food
http://www.nps.gov/gett/gettkidz/hardtack.htm
This page from Gettysburg National Park contains recipes for food that soldiers on both sides ate regularly. If you prepare the hardtack, remember to soften it before eating.
Civil War Food Woes
http://www.foodhistory.com/foodnotes/leftovers/dstorm.htm
Desert Storm Recalls Civil War Food Woes
This 1991 article recounts the hardships encountered on both sides. Creative substitutions helped them cope with food scarcity.
Confederate Receipt Book
http://docsouth.unc.edu/receipt/menu.html
This is the online version of Confederate Receipt Book: A Compilation of over One Hundred Receipts Adapted to the Times. Richmond, Va.: West & Johnston, 1863.
In addition to discovering recipes for pumpkin bread, peas puddings, learn how to make apple pie without apples and artificial oysters.
The CWI Civil War Cookbook
http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/cookbook.htm
This interactive cookbook contains over 550 authentic Civil War recipes. View a variety of sections: breakfast, breads, desserts, drinks, poultry, meats, game, soups, sauces, or seafood.
Hearts at Home: Hard Times
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/exhibits/hearts/hard.html
Read the digitized accounts of how women coped during the war with shortages and the substitutes that they developed.
A Virginia Girl in the Civil War
http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/avary/avary.html
A Virginia Girl in the Civil War, 1861-1865: Being a Record of the Actual Experiences of the Wife of a Confederate Officer.
Read her descriptions of the food during this time.
Virginia Tech Civil War Resources
http://spec.lib.vt.edu/civwar
The letters, papers, and memoirs in these Civil War manuscripts contain descriptions of food available during this time.
In the Library
Addy's Cookbook: A Peek at Dining in the Past With Meals You Can Cook Today by Rebecca Sample Bernstein ... et al.
This book contains some interesting tidbits! The first grocery store chain, the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (later known generally as the A & P), opened for business in 1864. Learn how cookbooks from the 1860s differed from those of today: instructions were given for cooking both in a fireplace and on a stove. Instead of telling how long to cook a dish, recipes provided descriptions for doneness such as "fry until golden brown" or "simmer the water to half a pint."
The Civil War Cookbook by William C. Davis.
The enlightening introduction provides the tone for this examination of the cuisine both on and off the battlefield.
Culinary Gems from the Kitchens of Old Virginia by Irene Lawrence King
A compilation of recipes that were handed down from generation to generation. There are sample menus in the back that may be indicative of typical meals enjoyed by the more fortunate in pre-war days.
Food and Recipes of the Civil War by George Erdosh
Part of the Cooking throughout American history Series, this book briefly describes some of the foods eaten in the North and South before and after the Civil War and the impact of the war on what foods were available and how they were prepared.
The Robert E. Lee Family Cooking and Housekeeping Book by Anne Carter Zimmer
Packed with recipes, shopping lists, and other domestic jottings, the notebook opened an intimate window onto an earlier way of life. The food shortages even affected the Lee family while General Lee was away. Correspondence between the Lees states that Mrs. Lee and her family lived on 1/4 lb. of bacon and 1/2 pt. of meal per day.
Two Centuries of Virginia Cooking: The Haw Branch Plantation Cookbook by Gibson Jefferson McConnaughey
Read transcripts of recipes and accounts from the original manuscript cookbook that the Haw Branch Plantation women kept for six generations.
