eating irons

[daz]

Hi guys,being relatively new to campaigning,what type of eating utensils would be ideal for an early war impression,a knife/fork/spoon or one of the available k/f/s combinations?


cheers
daz Wilson
118th Pa(UK)

[Michael Comer]

Re: eating irons

Personally I carry a pocket knife and a fiddleback spoon and that's it. I use to carry a fork but got tired of it poking through the haversack and into me so I took it out and found I don't need it. Between the pocket knife, spoon and my fingers I've got all the bases covered.

[lukegilly13]

Re: eating irons

Good point michael. One can also learn the art of eating with a bayonett! They make great forks!

[flattop32355]

Re: eating irons

I, too, often ditch the fork, and very rarely carry a utinsel knife, making do with the pocket knife and spoon.

I bounce between a canteen half plate and regular tin plate.

I have taken to carrying a small tin cup as well as my boiler, which is usually filled with items in the haversack. The small cup is easier to get at when needed, either strapped on the outside of the haversack or inside at the top.

[Charles Heath]

Hi guys,being relatively new to campaigning,what type of eating utensils would be ideal for an early war impression,a knife/fork/spoon or one of the available k/f/s combinations?

Looking backwards, this triad of immediate post-war comments shed some light on the subject, on a little larger scale. In the first quote, he references "Shaker Gridirons," and if anyone has a photograph or knows where one of these devices is located, this is a good time to pipe up. If one looks closely at those LOC archival images, there IS something that looks a lot like a modern reenactor firegrate in one of them. One image does not a case make.

“In camp, camp kettles and mess pans are used (the allowance being five mess pans and two camp kettles to every 15 foot or 13 mounted men), in which soups and coffee may be made and meats boiled or fried. I have found that what are known as Shaker gridirons, made of wire, are very convenient and useful to broil meats in ; they are light, very easily carried, not liable to get out of order, and would, in my opinion, be a decided acquisition to the cooking utensils now allowed and in use. – Bvt. Lt. Col. John L. Hathaway, 1 August 1865, Washington Monument Cattle Yard.

“For field service the simplest cooking utensils, and the fewest that can be made to answer, are the best. A few camp kettles of about 5 gallons capacity and a frying pan or two is all that are needed for each company, and can be carried slung under the wagons, or on a mule. While each man should be provided with his tin cup, knife, fork, spoon, and plate, and also with a small kettle of about 1 quart to boil his coffee in, it not always being practicable to use the large camp kettles, those are all the cooking utensils needed; anything beyond the above-mentioned articles are soon lost or destroyed.” – Capt. N.J. Sappington, Elmira NY, 28 June 1865

“Marching ration. — Three-fourths of a pound of bacon, ham, or smoked beef (half ham or bacon and half smoked beef) ; 1 pound of hard bread; full rations of coffee and sugar; half rations of salt. Hard bread might be made in thicker crack ers; more like navy bread, say, eight to the pound (six to the ration), and the coffee and sugar put up in 100-ration bags; salt in bags of 15 pounds (400 rations) and packed in barrels. Every soldier should be provided with three bags, large enough to hold ten days' rations each of coffee, sugar, and salt.” - Respectfully submitted. W. P. MARTIN, Louisville, 18 Jul 1865

What to really bring? A dipper can suffice as boiler, cup, and plate. A spoon is useful, and a pocket knife is good for a myriad of tasks, to include sharpening a twig for use as a fork. Twigs may be the original disposable dinnerware. Less is more. A canteen half is useful, and if you flatten the bottom, then it becomes even more useful. One of the most overlooked items is the coffee cooler, which isn't much in the way of a cooking device (it wasn't intended for boiling, but it can be used for such -- just mind the liquid to keep the solder from melting), but it can be good for food prep, even for a 3-4 man mess.

You mention the 118th Pennsylvania aka "The Corn Exchange Regiment." Many moons ago, I was happy as a pig in slop to captain a little herd of reenactors in a typical company size unit based on these fellows. You have some good reading ahead of you, and the USAMHI bibliography is a good place to start, if you haven't already done so:

USAMHI
Ref Branch
Aug 1999

118th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

Bates, Samuel P. History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot, 1993. Vol. 6, pp. 1310-42 (17 photocopied pages). E527B32.1993v6. (Brief history and roster of the regiment).

Cattell, Alexander G. An Address at the Unveiling of the Monument Erected by the Commercial Exchange Association of Philadelphia, (Late Corn Exchange Association) to Commemorate the Heroic Services of the Corn Exchange Regiment.... Phila: Commercial List Prtg House, l884. 30 p. (15 photocopied pages). E527.5.118th.C37.

Donaldson, Francis A. Inside the Army of the Potomac: The Civil War Experience of Captain... [Ed by J. Gregory Acken] Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 1998. 500 p. E527.5.118th.D66.

Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Vol. 2. Dayton, OH:
Morningside, 1979. Ref. See pp. 1612-13 (2 photocopied pages) for a concise summary of the regiment's service.

McGrath, Thomas. "The Corn Exchange Regiment's Baptism of Fire: The Battle of Shepherdstown, Sept. 20, 1862." Blue & Gray Mag (Fall 1998): pp. 22-26 (5 photocopied pages). Per.

Peck, H. T. Historical Sketch of the ll8th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers: "Corn Exchange Regt." n.p., l884? 34 p. E527.5.118th.P43.

Pennsylvania. Gettysburg Battlefield Comm. Pennsylvania at Gettysburg: Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Monuments Erected by the Commonwealth.... Vol. 2. Hbg, PA: Wm S Ray, 1914. pp. 636-46 (7 photocopied pages). E475.53P422v2. (Addresses delivered at the dedication of the regimental monument and a photo of that monument at the Gettysburg National Military Park).

_____. 118th Inf Regt. Antietam to Appomattox with 118th Penna. Vols., Corn Exchange Regiment, with Descriptions of Marches, Battles, and Skirmishes...Roster and Sketches of Officers and Men.... Phila: J.L. Smith, 1892. 746 p. E527.5.118th.P452.

_____. History of the 118th Pennsylvania Volunteers, Corn Exchange Regiment, From Their First Engagement at Antietam to Appomattox, to Which is Added a Record of Its Organization and a Complete Roster. Phila: J. L. Smith, l905. 743 p. E527.5.118th.P453.

118th Pennsylvania Infantry (p. 2)

Sauers, Richard A. Advance the Colors!: Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flags. Vol. 2. Hbg, PA: Capitol Preservation Comm, 1991. pp. 386-89 (4 photocopied pages). E527.4S38.1991v2. (Brief unit history with emphasis on the regimental flags).

Snell, Mark A. "Baptism of Fire: The 118th ("Corn Exchange") Pennsylvania Infantry at the Battle of Shepardstown." CW Regts Vol. 6, No. 2: pp. 119-42 (13 photocopied pages). Per.

Taylor, Frank H. Philadelphia in the Civil War. Phila: By the City, 1913. pp. 130-32
(2 photocopied pages). E527.97P54T39. (Brief history of the unit).

Our Photo Archive includes images of individuals of this unit.

The following pertinent personal papers are in the Institute's Manuscript Archive:

Lincoln, Francis H. - LeighColl Bk 36: 21-34 (Enlisted man's letters, Aug 23, l863; Dec l7, l863) Pennsylvania ll8th Infantry Regimental Papers - Brake Coll (Sergeant's letter and transcribed diary, Jul l-7, l863) Smith, John L. - CW Misc Coll (Corporal's letter (Jul 29, l9ll) and newspaper clippings, Jul 5,
l863)

The scan leaves much to be desired, so here is the link to that page:

USAMHI's Corn Exchange Regiment Bibliography

This particular file hasn't been updated since 1999, but if you only read one book from the above list of resources, this one is well worth enjoying:

"Donaldson, Francis A. Inside the Army of the Potomac: The Civil War Experience of Captain... [Ed by J. Gregory Acken] Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 1998. 500 p. E527.5.118th.D66."

Donaldson didn't mince words, however, he wasn't with the 118th PVI during the early days of the war, but that epoch (especially Ball's Bluff) is worth reading about, too.

Mess furniture is an individual preference in many cases. One item I find indispensible is a 4" square of blanket scrap. It makes for a great insulator between your skin and whatever may be too hot to handle in the coals of the mess fire. If, for some reason, you haven't poked around in the articles section of the website (of which this forum is a subset), take the time to read some of the articles relating to food, mess furniture, and what really fills a haversack.

Yeah, a spoon works.

[ephraim_zook]

Forks

Having stuck myself in the hindquarters any number of times when my fork poked its way through the haversack, I simply obtained a cork and embedded the tines in it when not using it. Voila -- no more prong holes in my body. One of my sons (why did I never think of this myself?) lashed a fork to a stick with some twine and thus could overreach the fire into a company-sized frying pan. But you are right -- a knife and a spoon will suffice.

Ron Myzie

[Charles Heath]

Re: Forks

And this isn't a bad article, although it has some age to it:

Dining With Texans

[Arch Campbell]

Re: eating irons

Daz, more important than early war/late war is length of time in service of the unit you are portraying at the time you are portraying. The shorter amount of time in the army, the more likely they would have been to carry actual, individual knives, forks, and spoons, as well as to have more tinware in general. As their time in the army passes, they become more likely to purchase one of the various combo pieces that are out there, to cut down the tinware to a minimum, and possibly employ one of the many ingenious solutions these fellows have posted here.

[Jimmayo]

Re: eating irons

Personally I carry a pocket knife and a fiddleback spoon and that's it. I use to carry a fork but got tired of it poking through the haversack and into me so I took it out and found I don't need it. Between the pocket knife, spoon and my fingers I've got all the bases covered.

I agree.

My digging experience has been that the spoon and a pocket knife are items commonly found in temporary camps and battle sites no matter if they are early war or late war. Forks are found but not nearly as often as the spoon and knife. You can't rule out the combination spoon, knife tool. The had them but they are not frequently dug.

Seems like the yankees had silver spoons and iron spoons seem to be common in CS sites. I wonder where those Yankees got those silver spoons?

You also have to consider what you will be eating on campaign. Slush, beans etc from a cup, hardtack or corn bread. All it takes is a stick to hold a piece of pork over the fire. Hard to eat beans from a cup with a fork.

[marine05]

Re: eating irons

While not necessarily era specific modern field rations, old C rats and new MREs come with a spoon only. For years on active service I was able to subsist with a spoon and pocket knife.

For ACW puposes, even though I have a knife, fork and spoon, I find myself using my spoon the most. About the only thing I cannot do with it is stab, but my fingers work well there.

To echo Mr Campbell, don't carry what you don't need.

S/F

DJM

[jmbyrnes]

Re: eating irons

A simple suggestion to solve the poking fork problem... buy, using some spare change you'll find in the couch, a cork.

[Michael Comer]

Re: eating irons

A simple suggestion to solve the poking fork problem... buy, using some spare change you'll find in the couch, a cork.

Did that. Still didn't need the fork. I quit carrying it.

[Rob]

Re: eating irons

The shorter amount of time in the army, the more likely they would have been to carry actual, individual knives, forks, and spoons, as well as to have more tinware in general. As their time in the army passes, they become more likely to purchase one of the various combo pieces that are out there...

It's the other way around. One of the first things I got hold of was a knife-fork-spoon combo. I soon put it away because of its weight. Now, like most of the folks here, I use a spoon and a pocket knife. (I sharpened one side of the spoon in case I get a tough piece of meat or a burnt egg.)

"One of the first products of their genius which I recall was a combination knife-fork-and-spoon arrangement, which was peddled through the state camping-grounds in great numbers and variety. So much convenience in so small a compass must be taken advantage of. It was a sort of soldier's trinity, which they all thought that they understood and appreciated. But I doubt whether this invention, on the average, ever got beyond the first camp in active service."

- John D. Billings, Hardtack & Coffee

[JustRob]

Re: eating irons

I get a lot of milage out of my fork/spoon combo. I leave the knife half at home and just use my pocket knife. It has held me in good stead for 10+ years.

[Arch Campbell]

Re: eating irons

No offense to anyone, but I think most of you have taken the OP's question of "what is appropriate mess gear for early war impressions" as "what advice would you give me, a newer reenactor, on what is practical for me to carry."
All the advice you have given is sound, but still off the mark of the original question.

As to the Billings quote, I absolutely submit that it contradicts me completely. However, when you reference it to the original question it loses some weight. I have read Billings, but it has been a long time- the experiences of a Potomac artilleryman have only so much relevance to an Army of the Tennessee infantryman. As I recall he served in the 10th Massachusetts Battery, which was a Fall '62 outfit. Presumably then, he did not actually serve during the early part of the war (unless he served in a 90 day outfit, which is certainly possible, again I make no claims as to my command of his bio.) By the time he enlisted, a whole industry had sprung up to fleece new soldiers of their money for whatever gewgaws could be dreamt up and marketed as "essential to the soldier." I just don't think this industry was quite up to speed in the earliest days in the war- at least as to things that actually could be useful. They sure did a good job saving lives with those ironclad vests, though. :tounge_sm

I freely admit I don't have any specific documentation for this, it's just a gut feeling I have. Others could feel differently.