16 Civil War Recipes Made for Soldiers (2024)

FAQs

What was a typical meal for Civil War soldiers? ›

These rations allotted just over a pound of meat, likely beef or pork, just under a pound of "hard bread," and a small collection of dried vegetables.

Gail Borden's invention of condensed milk was very helpful for the Union army. Soldiers would also regularly drink coffee, however it was not always entirely coffee beans. Dandelion root served as a supplement or Ersatz good when coffee beans were scarce.

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, soldiers were given two meals a day. This was usually simple, slow-perishing food like salted pork or boiled beef, along with some bread. They also received a morale-boosting daily ration of a pint of wine or a third of a pint of rum or gin.

In 1817, William Underwood, a canner from England, immigrated to the United States. The William Underwood Company of Boston became prominent, supplying canned food to expeditions and Civil War combatants.

During the Civil War one of the most common meals for soldiers was a cracker-like food called hardtack. Hardtack is made from flour, water, and salt.

Whiskey, gin, beer, and wine were the favored drinks. However, drunkeness was not tolerated in either Federal or Confederate camps.

Meals often consisted of beef, eggs, hot biscuits, corn bread, hot cakes, porridge and seasonal vegetables and fruits. Coffee, tea, water or cocoa were consumed in “large quantities.” Whiskey, inexpensive and readily available, was the most popular alcoholic beverage, Cooper recorded, especially in the South and West.

The average Confederate subsisted on bacon, cornmeal, molasses, peas, tobacco, vegetables and rice. They also received a coffee substitute which was not as desirable as the real coffee northerners had. Trades of tobacco for coffee were quite common throughout the war when fighting was not underway.

A ringing statement, for which unwitting support can be found from no less than the beau ideal of the Confederacy. Lee, who loved his black cook's fried chicken, once said that all he wanted was "a Virginia farm — no end of cream and fresh butter — and fried chicken.

The post-war canned ration, evolved out of the ww2 C Ration, is the “Ration, Combat, Individual”, but are commonly called C ration as well. The C Ration in 12-ounce cylindrical cans exhibited here as three meals. From left to right: Meat & Vegetable Hash, Meat & Vegetable Stew and Meat & Beans.

What was camp food for soldiers? ›

Each ration contains: canned meat, small can of meat spread, crackers, instant soup, cereal bar with fruit, a chocolate bar with nuts or caramels, instant coffee, orange juice powder, sugar, salt, a heating kit with disposable stove and alcohol-based fuel tablets, disposable butane lighter, resealable plastic bag, ...

For the rest of their food supplies, the Vietcong cultivate manioc, bananas and papaya trees and catch all the fish they need in the rice swamps. AT nightfall, Nhanh, the camp commander, would assemble the boys for their hour of political education and patriotic songs.

During the Civil War, the Union Army had two types of rations: "marching rations" and "camp rations." Marching rations consisted of sixteen ounces of hard bread, also known as "hardtack"; twelve ounces of salt pork or twenty ounces of fresh meat; and sugar, coffee, and salt.

During the Civil War, an estimated 2 million Union Soldiers ate jerky with relish.

If there was any left over we took it to our tents…and saved it for the next meal. The dinners consisted of a tin cup of soup (generally bean or other vegetable), a small piece of meat…on which a little vinegar was poured to prevent scurvy.

Breakfast was usually a large and hearty meal. Even in town, Americans maintained the farm practice of fortifying oneself for a hard day of work. Middle-class Americans ate beefsteak or pork, eggs, fried potatoes, fruit pie, hotcakes and coffee. In cold weather, porridge became popular.

War taxes continued to rise as counties in North Central Texas distributed salt, wheat, corn, cornmeal, beef and bacon supplied by Confederate Commissaries. Most of the indigent wives and children of soldiers were able to obtain the most basic staples such as pork and cornmeal.

THE FULL CAMPAIGN RATION OF THESE MEN IN THIS LITHOGRAPH IS ONE POUND OF HARDTACK, THREE-QUARTER POUNDS OF SALT PORK, OR ONE AND A QUARTER POUNDS OF FRESH MEAT, SALT, SUGAR, COFFEE. THIS EQUATES TO ROUGHLY 4000 CALORIES. YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE CALORIC INTAKE OF WHAT OUR MODERN TROOPS SHOULD BE GETTING. PER DAY.

On the battlefield, most soldiers ate rations of bacon, Jonny cakes, imitation coffee, and molasses. Bacon was plentiful and boiled for almost every meal and alongside it was Jonny cakes. Jonny cakes are the confederate version of hardtack made of cornmeal and milk.