Rations

[Jimmayo]

Re: Example of bottom opening

I know this is mighty poor documentation, but if you look on page 329 of "Si Klegg and his Pard" you will see a drawing of Si and his Pard eating out of cans that look like they were opened by bending back the filler disk. These drawings were made in the mid 1880's for the book.

Bill: It may have been done but those disk are not very big. Hardley enough room to get a decent size spoon through to eat what is in the can. I guess a fork would work for solid food. Here is a dug disk (one of the smaller ones) for size reference but it shows no signs of being pried off. Some of the larger cans had larger disks and perhaps it would work on them. I can't ever remember digging a can that the disk was pried off. The condensed milk cans simply had two bayonet holes punched in the top. As for cutting through the solder, don't forget it is two layers of tin stuck together with solder. They are very hard. I have dug many of these rings and never thought I would ever want one for anything. I was going to provide a picture but I never saved any.

I have never seen any reference to wax for sealing cans as mentioned in another post.

[Bill]

Re: Example of bottom opening

JIm,

How big were the condensed milk cans, compared to the modern version? Funny, I've opened milk cans the exact same way, 130 years later.

[John Peterson]

Re: Opening cans on campaign

Will this do? 1865 Hardware catalogue.

Considering it was in a catalogue for sale, I would say they existed and weren't just patent drawings. Since it's in an 1865 catalogue, it probably existed the year before.

Since this is an AMERICAN catalogue, we don't know what the British may have been producing at the time.

I would love to get a copy of that whole catalog - that certainly is evidence that there were can openers around in 1865!

Still, I would wonder how common they would have been in general use - let alone military use. Evidence of can openers is firm by the 1870s but JUST starting to show up in the 2nd half of the 60s. I would like to know more about how common they were. Widespread use of canned food during the war led to increased civilian demand after the war which would have brought with it demand for accessories such as can openers. I can almost picture repro can openers suddenly become the latest hot-selling gadget on sutler row. Will there be a corresponding increase in Dinty Moore Beef Stew sales?;)

I will add that image and info to my files. Thanks Rick!

[NoahBriggs]

Re: Opening cans on campaign

Shamelessly lifted from my blog, http://acwotaku.blogspot.com/ . The original after-action report has photos of the canning process, and it's listed under "Okay, Back to After Action Reviews" in March.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, up in Roeder's Confectionery, Scott Dever, John Rudy and myself were discussing the rise of industry in America. Specifically, the upsides and downsides of canning.

picture here

Scott Dever, amateur tinsmith. The average tinsmith could crank out sixty cans in ten hours, or one can in ten minutes, using a precut pattern, between 1800 - 1849. Dever cheerfully admitted as an apprentice he'd be tossed out of a job on the first day back then; it took him an average of forty-five minutes per can to make them. Personally, I shoot for quality versus quantity. You want it done fast, or done right?

picture here

Dever Explaining cans 101. The tops have a large hole, which will be covered by a convex cap once filled.

picture here

Sealed tin. That's not rust, it's rosin, which is used to make the solder flow easier into the seams. Dever used an accurate 50-50 mix of lead and tin solder, which means the green beans inside are technically not edible.

picture here


The tins are now being sterilized in hot water. Steam and hot water leaked out of the hole on top, just as it was supposed to. At the height of the steam one last solder on the center hole sealed the tin, and once it cooled it created a vacuum inside, preserving the food. The steam, incidentally, killed off whatever bacteria would make the food go bad. The Original Cast did not know this, only that steaming and canning kept food (reasonably) fresh until needed.

Picture here

Back to the discussion at hand, the openers I saw at Mac's sutlery were similar in configuration to the sardine opener which was pictured earlier.

[Johnny Lloyd]

Period labels?

To all:

I am still looking for period labels for boxes, bottles, etc. to give my impression a more period-correct look... can anyone help here with a few websites and/or attached thumbnails?

Thanks! -Johnny

[Rob Walker]

Re: Period labels?

Sullivan Press sells CD-roms withe labels on them and they are available through Chris Daley. I purchaed a couple of the CDs a few months ago and had the opportunity to use some of the labels a couple of weeks ago and it worked out great. I believe he has four different CDs to choose from. Good luck.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Period labels?

Talk about a topic that has been beaten to death a few times too many, and this is one of them. The AC Forum search engine is a terrible thing to waste.

[H. L. Hanger]

Southern Rations for Chickamauga

From Confederate Veteran, W. J. McMurray, a member of Company "B", Twentieth Tennessee, Bate's Brigade, Stewart's Division, Buckner's Corps, gives a brief account of his Saturday morning breakfast at Chickamauga:

"At daylight we waded the (Chickamauga) river, I think at Tedford Ford, and went over to see if Brother Yank had anything for breakfast, for some of us Johnnies were feeling quite empty. The rations I had for breakfast, and expected to make my dinner on, if alive, were sorghum stalks cut up about six inches long and put in my haversack."

Confederate Veteran, Vol. II, No. 11, p. 329.

J

[toptimlrd]

Re: Southern Rations for Chickamauga

Oh dear, I hope the rations we have at the LH later this year are a bit more substantial.

[LWhite64]

Re: Southern Rations for Chickamauga

The Army was being issued precooked cornbread and boiled beef at the time.

[HighPrvt]

Re: Southern Rations for Chickamauga

Ummm, sounds yummy. I can't wait.

[mrgrzeskowiak]

Hardtack

I have found many recepies for hardtack, none which I can seem to make edible. I usually eat Bent hardtack, but at near 15 bucks a box, its getting a little pricey.. Anyone have a good recepie for 'edible' hardtack? Maybe somthing that tastes like Bents?

[Charles Heath]

Re: Hardtack

Mike,

1. I highly recommend purchasing a copy of the Columbia Rifles Research Compendium (2nd Edition) through The Watchdog. This reasonably priced work should answer many basic questions, such as this one.

2. Unlike many CW forums, this one has an excellent search engine. A simple search on "hardtack" yields not 180 hits, but 180 individual threads. Granted, they do not all apply in this instance.

3. Also unlike most other CW reenacting forums, the AC has a collection of articles well worth reading. Some of these articles stretch back a decade and a half, while others are more contemporary. This is an incredibly underutilized member benefit.

Happy hunting!

[WestTN_reb]

Re: Hardtack

Mike,

It's not a matter of the recipe being bad. They're all pretty much the same. You know the old saying, "it's not what you put in the pot, but how you stir it that counts." It applies to hardtack too. Personally, I've found that blasting powder makes hardtack a little easier to eat.:teeth_smi

[dwinch]

Re: Hardtack

I find that using a glass "casserole" dish gets close to the coloring of Bent's. I would concur with Mr. Heath on the CRRC2 idea. I actually contacted Kevin O'Bierne and he sent me a copy of "Campaign Cuisine", which has the hardtack receipt with it. I would try contacting him and see if he can help you out.

As for Bent's, I feel that it too is the best Hardtack to have and find it more palatable than the masonry slabs that many people eat. I hope this helps.

Dale Winch