"Food in the Civil War"

   -as published in "The Military Handbook and Soldiers Manual of Information by Beadle
                                  Publishers, NY,
                                    NY - 1861 

Army life is full of the classic mixture of boredom and terror. Most people assume this refers to battle -
rude people shooting guns at you, and you being expected to do the same to them.

Actually, both boredom and terror were just as likely to strike in camp as in battle. More than likely, it hit
in the mess tent (if your unit was lucky enough to have one) or around a campfire with your tentmates. So
we present for your enjoyment a few of the delectable treats that you as a soldier were encouraged to
produce for your palates delight.

PLAIN IRISH STEW FOR FIFTY MEN
Cut fifty pds. of mutton into pieces which equal 1/4 pound each. Put them in a pan and add twelve
pounds
of whole potatoes. In addition, add eight tablespoons of salt and three teaspoons of pepper. Cover all
with
water, giving about half-a-pint to each pound of meat. Light the fire and 1 to 1 1/2 hours of gentle
ebulation will make a most excellent stew. Mash some of the potatoes to thicken the gravy, and serve.

HOE CAKE
Mix a stiff dough of Indian (corn) meal, a little salt, and water (scalding is best). Flatten it on a board and
tilt it up before the campfire until brown on one side. Turn and brown the other side. When our fathers
fought the Indians, and ground their corn in mortars, they thought hoe-cake very good. It can also be
baked in hot ashes or with hot stones (southern fashion).

EGGS ON THE MARCH
Eggs may be roasted by standing them on end in hot ashes. They may be boiled hard to carry in the
pockets on forced marches.

Now after this gourmet repast, you may feel the need for something to wash it all down with. Keep this
trick in mind:
If you have any tea left, do not throw it away. Fill your canteens with it. It is infinitely more refreshing
than almost any other drink upon a hot, weary march. If, instead of filling your canteen with fresh water,
you would boil it in the morning, before starting, with enough tea to flavor it and keeping it from becoming
insipid when warmed by the sun, it would be a thousand times more healthy, and the best prevention of
dysentery. Water which has been boiled is freed from the bad effects it frequently has. The southern
people boil their lemonade, and then allow it to cool before using it. Learn from your enemies how to
protect yourselves in their climate.

Finally, no meal, no matter how wonderful the ingredients or careful the preparation, is going to be tasty
without spices. Herewith, we combine some culinary and medical advice:
If you will learn to use cayenne pepper in place of black, you will find it a preventative of dysentery, and a
cure for colds. An extra pinch of it in your breakfast will often break up a cold caught through the night;
and a smart sprinkle of it in your liquid will relieve sickness caused by bad drinking water. Black pepper
produces inflammation, red pepper heals it.