Rations

[Hank Trent]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Pull the sapling like a Y across the vertical blade and hold your mouth right.

In addition to all that Charles said, one secret to controlling the split is to bend harder on the side that's getting too thin. This will guide the split back to the center. Despite being experienced with woodwork himself, Thoreau ran into the same frustration watching an Indian split cedar roots for the first time, on a trip to Maine:

He split the end with his knife, and taking a half between the thumb and forefinger of each hand, rapidly separated its whole length into two equal semi-cylindrical halves; then giving me another root, he said, "You try." But in my hands it immediately ran off one side, and I got only a very short piece. In short, though it looked very easy, I found that there was a great art in splitting these roots. The split is skilfully humored by bending short with this hand or that, and so kept in the middle

Barrel hoops were traditionally pounded after being soaked; if you run into problems, that might add some flexibility. Also, if you can cut them when there's more sap in them, the better, since that puts you ahead on moisture.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[John Legg]

Rice

Hi all,

i was wondering what type of rice is authentic? was it issued as rations?

Thanks
John

[AZReenactor]

Another example of Reenactor Hardkewl research?

Hi all,

i was wondering what type of rice is authentic? was it issued as rations?

John,
Might I suggest you consider picking up a book and doing some reading on the lives and rations of soldiers. Heck, you don't even have to buy a book, just borrow one from your local library. At the very least try something like searching Google for "Civil War" rice rations. Or you might just go post your query on Szazbos forum, might I suggest the thread on period rice.

Then once you've done a bit of reading and research on rice, why not come back here and share what you have learned?

[John Legg]

Re: Rice

Taken from Hardtack and Coffee

http://www.civilwarhome.com/hardtackandcoffee.htm

I will now give a complete list of the rations served out to the rank and file, as I remember them. They were salt pork, fresh beef, salt beef, rarely ham or bacon, hard bread, soft bread, potatoes, an occasional onion, flour, beans, split pease, rice, dried apples, dried peaches, desiccated vegetables, coffee, tea, sugar, molasses, vinegar, candles, soap, pepper, and salt.

It is scarcely necessary to state that these were not all served out at one time. There was but one kind of meat served at once, and this.. . was usually pork. When it was hard bread, it wasnt soft bread or flour, and when it was peas or beans it wasnt rice.

Here is just what a single ration comprised, that is, what a soldier was entitled to have in one day. He should have had twelve ounces of pork or bacon, or one pound four ounces of salt or fresh beef; one pound six ounces of soft bread or flour, or one pound of hard bread, or one pound four ounces of corn meal. With every hundred such rations there should have been distributed one peck of beans or peas; ten pounds of rice or hominy; ten pounds of green coffee, or eight pounds of roasted and ground, or one pound eight ounces of tea; fifteen pounds of sugar; one pound four ounces of candles; four pounds of soap; two quarts of salt; four quarts of vinegar; four ounces of pepper; a half bushel of potatoes when practicable, and one quart of molasses. Desiccated potatoes or desiccated compressed vegetables might be substituted for the beans, peas, rice, hominy, or fresh potatoes. Vegetables, the dried fruits, pickles, and pickled cabbage were occasionally issued to prevent scurvy, but in small quantities.

[AZReenactor]

Someone's finding religion it seems.

John.
Very good! Now you are getting the idea. There's some great things in books (some are even online as you discovered) waiting to be found.

[DougCooper]

Re: Rice

Neill Rose (Ironscout) is a student of some the originial Rice varieties present during the war, including Plantation Rice from SC. He has often served or had it issued at events. Great stuff. Contact him through the forum for details.

Check out any number of Carolina's campaign accounts from federal soldiers. Those boys were a bit tired of it by arriving in NC.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Rice

http://www.carolinagoldricefoundation.org/

[Charles Heath]

Re: Rice

WARNING: DISABLE YOUR AUDIO

BEFORE

CLICKING THIS LINK!

If he likes that, then he'll love this:

http://home.att.net/~Cap1MD/Drill.htm

Note Viele's and H.L. Scott's in the bottom left corner.

[3alabama]

Re: Rice

WARNING: DISABLE YOUR AUDIO

BEFORE

CLICKING THIS LINK!

If he likes that, then he'll love this:

http://home.att.net/~Cap1MD/Drill.htm

Note Viele's and H.L. Scott's in the bottom left corner.

Maybe I am missing something but what does this link have to do with the question asked about rice?

[Charles Heath]

Re: Rice

Maybe I am missing something but what does this link have to do with the question asked about rice?

The two links referenced on that page provide excellent period cooking instructions, and once the questioner has his rice in hand, he may want to cook it in a period manner. A couple of other good tidbits are on that page, as well. Repops of Viele's is still available in paperback, and repops of H. L. Scott's in hardback can be found used now and then.

[John Legg]

Re: Rice

Thanks to all of you for this information! :D

John

[Spinster]

Re: Rice

Sigh. Chawls---your point started on another board fully illustrated on this one, re my studied ignorance of military matters.

That's a dandy reference. Looks like I'll be learning more about military camps than I ever thought a decent woman should know. That is the sweet rice receipt I've been using--it was just as good cold on Sunday morning at Perryville as it was hot on Saturday morning.

And I think we'll be fond of "cheap lemonade" as well.

John, the Carolina Gold rice link provided above is a heritage seed-stock, and available by mail order, along with some other period appropriate foods on the same site.

[John Legg]

Re: Rice

Ok thank you very much

[Lone Guard]

Re: Rice

Just be sure you cook your rice ALL the way through.
The extra couple minutes of waiting for the rice to finish cooking is a lot shorter than your trip to the sinks will be after that stuff finishes expanding in your stomach.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Rice

That is the sweet rice receipt I've been using--it was just as good cold on Sunday morning at Perryville as it was hot on Saturday morning.

Yep, it is quite a bit different than the Jasmine rice commonly found by the 50 lbs. sack in this household. Since the close of the season is upon us, I'm batting around updating the foodstuffs vendor list again, explaining the period variety vegetables grown and provided for our events over the past few years, and wrapping some happy text around it all for the newsletter. We'll see how that goes.