Cast Iron

[Johan Steele]

A question has emerged recently about the authenticity of Cast Iron fry pans, kettle, bean pots etc.

I had always thought of them as garrison equipage & occasionally "borrowed" items in winter camp. Am I wrong in the assumption that Cast Iron was around but mostly only in use by civilians?

I understand the weight consideration of not wanting to carry a cast iron fry pan but would these items find their way into baggabe wagons etc? I would have thought thewm fairly common, especially in the early war period.

Any info or documentation would be appreciated.

Thank You

[MoFed]

Re: Cast Iron

In regards to large kettles, I know of two examples of their use by the army during the war.

Cyrus A. Petersen's "Pilot Knob: The Thermopylae of the West," contains a reference by a soldier in the 47th Mo. or 14th Iowa to borrowing an iron wash kettle from a civilian to cook a hog. This was at Leasburg, during the retreat from Ft. Davidson.

Years ago (20+) the Polk Co.(MO) Historical Society had a large cast iron kettle that was recovered from a Union campsite during the war. The museum has moved since that time and I have no idea if it is still there.

In both cases it would appear that the kettles were borrowed or otherwise appropriated for a short time and then abandoned. They are simply too large and heavy to move conveniently.

Although they would be PEC for a civilian on a farm, their use with the army would be very limited.

Charles D. Hoskins

[Enfilade]

Re: Cast Iron

A question has emerged recently about the authenticity of Cast Iron fry pans, kettle, bean pots etc.

I had always thought of them as garrison equipage & occasionally "borrowed" items in winter camp. Am I wrong in the assumption that Cast Iron was around but mostly only in use by civilians?

I understand the weight consideration of not wanting to carry a cast iron fry pan but would these items find their way into baggabe wagons etc? I would have thought thewm fairly common, especially in the early war period.

Any info or documentation would be appreciated.

Thank You

The problem with Period Cast Iron is that it was made more crudely than modern cast iron. Therefore, it is not authentic to use modern cast iron. The method was changed around 1880ish. It is much heavier now and not as crudely made as period examples. Therefore, the best item to use is sheet iron kettles or fry pans. I would love to use a cast iron spider, but nobody has the correct type. Do a search on the history of cast iron and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Mark Berrier

[DonSmithnotTMD]

Re: Cast Iron

not trying to be difficult (and keeping in mind I don't have a clue what modern cast iron looks like other than Walmart cook pots) but the stove looks pretty good. Although the pot is pretty primitive. odd, the pot didn't show up. well it looked sort of rough and unfinished.

here's an article I found

http://members.lycos.nl/cvdv/abstracts/abstrhistory.html

Don Smith

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Cast Iron

I have seen many period examples of cast iron in local museums and antique stores...what are peoples sources/bases for saying that they are more crudely made? In making cast iron the only way they could be more crudely made is in the purification of pig iron. Cast iron is just that "cast" and not sotterred or welded.

Paul B. Boulden Jr.

RAH VA MIL '04

[Hank Trent]

Re: Cast Iron

We have several pieces of cast iron from the gate-mark era. There's one hanging skillet that I would call crudely made, since the interior bottom is rough and uneven--making it hard to clean. :( One hole for the bale is also drilled off-center, so it hangs crooked.

The other pieces are just as nicely made as modern ones. They are noticeably lighter than similar modern pieces, however.

That's a small sample, but it does show a variety in workmanship.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Cast Iron

Realizing there is always the exception....but is it possible that the bottom might be uneven due to years of use and possibly misuse? Of course I suppose that the hole for the bail being off-center is just a mistake, which we see sometimes from day to day in our modern era.

Paul B. Boulden Jr.

RAH VA MIL '04

[County Militia]

Re: Cast Iron

Marrtyn Cheavens of the Missouri State Guard wrote in his diary of his messmates prucuring cooking utensils along the march towards Springfield to assault Lyon's army.

He writes:

“John Brown brought us a fine kettle for cooking, and I found some roasting ears, which the owner gave me.” ....“One of our number several hours in our rear brought some pants and frying pans.”

Now, whether or not the kettle and frying pans were of caste iron, I have no idea. It is said, however, that they were given by sympathetic civilians.

[DukeRPSC]

Re: Cast Iron

Cast iron pre-dates the CW era substantially. Cast iron wood stoves date back to the late 1700s-early 1800s. I have viewed a spider-legged skillet attributed to Wade Hampton's camp equipage circa CW era. It was available, but I suspect folks' reservations then were the same as now in re: the common soldier, to wit the stuff is heavier than hell and rusts like a sumbitch. Stamped steel or tin would by far be preferable if one had to live with it and tote it day in and day out.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Cast Iron

Realizing there is always the exception....but is it possible that the bottom might be uneven due to years of use and possibly misuse? Of course I suppose that the hole for the bail being off-center is just a mistake, which we see sometimes from day to day in our modern era.

Maybe someone who knows more about the casting process than I do can recognize what the problem is/was and how long into the item's use it would typically show up, if it wasn't there at the start. But the unevenness doesn't look like the usual pitting due to rust, and none of the other pieces show the same pattern. What it looks like is icing spread unevenly on a cake with a knife, kind of different layers with overlaps. It's only on the interior, not the exterior.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[DonSmithnotTMD]

Re: Cast Iron

. What it looks like is icing spread unevenly on a cake with a knife, kind of different layers with overlaps. It's only on the interior, not the exterior.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

That pot I referenced earlier looked a lot like that on the outside. Maybe a better analogy for the pot would be spackling or the rough casting on the inside of most metal tourist crap.

Don Smith