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What The Soldier Ate

© Michael J. Swogger

During the Civil War, the soldiers' daily life was far from easy. They spent the least of their passing of time in actual battle. When not engaged with the armed and physical enemy they were at odds with other major forces-disease, unsanitary conditions, unbearable heat or stifling cold, and sometimes just plain, good old fashioned boredom.

But what of the food they were forced to take in day in and day out? Could we at all consider this to be yet another one of those awful components of soldierly existence? Or could the food they took in be thought of as rare and delicious delicacies enjoyed by one and all, adding pleasure to the otherwise trying reality called the army life?

Well unfortunately for the soldiers, the latter description was not their experience. So what was it that these guys subsisted on for four years of perpetual maneuvering and seemingly endless bloody struggle? When the Civil War started, it quickly became clear that both sides would have the support of their respective legislatures on being afforded ample daily rations. "The mandated daily ration for a Federal soldier ion 1861 included at least 20 ounces of fresh or salt beef, or 12 ounces of salt pork; more than a pound of flour; and a vegetable, usually beans" (Robertson, 1984, p. 85). Also dished out "no pun intended) were rations of coffee, sugar, vinegar, and salt. The Southern government made sure its troops were equally well stocked with such necessities.

But these allocations did not last very long, for both sides would see the effects of having large armies on the go, moving about the countryside with impressive alacrity. With such heavy movements would come the over-consumption of their supplies. Living off the land as a means of conserving their own rations was common for both sides, especially in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. In 1864, General William T. Sherman's famous march to the sea in Georgia and rampage through the Carolinas was almost entirely fueled by the farmlands over which they marched.

But when they couldn't depend on the land itself they had other means. First we have the meat family. Beef and pork, usually salted/pickled (so much as to preserve the meat for up to two years), would have to be soaked in water to de-salt their meals. Of course, the soaking also stole most of the nutrients inside the meat. Then they would often throw the meat onto a frying pan and fry it in gobs of grease.