Rations

[Rob Weaver]

Re: Proper Container for Essence of Coffee

I have a recipe for what the cookbook calls "Essence of Coffee" which is nothing more than coffee brewed with 3x the usual amount of grounds. It's recommended to be distilled into a bottle. I've done this when I expect to be drinking only 3 or 4 cups of coffee a day.

[lthull3rdla]

Re: And speaking of coffee

Here Here Patrick! I agree, if it aint Community it aint coffee. I like the dark roast though. I like all the suggestions. I think I'll try the 'smash it in the poke' method next time.

Patrick I found a bag of community dark roasted beans, u nground, at a local grocer. Ground in our home grinder it makes a wonderful pot of coffee.

I suspect I did not use enough in camp. I'll not make that mistake again!

thanks for all the help fellers!

Ronnie

[wmkane]

Commissary

Hey Gang,

Ok, I _believe_ I am posting this in the right forum . . .

Our group is looking into doing a more formal commissary than what has been done in the past. I'm looking for information and ideas about how this might be run, and how authentic a commissary is.

Also, I'm looking for resources for meals that would be authentic and proper to serve to the entire group. Would an officer's commissary look different than the NCO's? Would this look different than the privates?

Any and all relevant information would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bill Kane
26 N.C. Co. G

https://www.26nccog.org

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: Commissary

As to what rations were served to soldiers, that's an easy enough subject to research, whether you read Hardtack and Coffee or Co. Aytch or Billy Yank and Johnny Reb or any of the many other usual, reliable, oft-quoted sources for this topic.

The rest of this post applies to Federals, but I suspect it MAY also apply to Confederates.

Commissioned officers did not have a "commissary" per se because officers were responsible for their own rations; often several officers formed a mess and jointly purchased food and the servant to prepare it.

As for a "company commissary", well, there wasn't any such thing. A REGIMENT often had a Commissary Officer (or, at least, someone who served the job, whether it was a dedicated Commissary or if the job was done by, say, the Quartermaster Officer), who could have a Commissary Sergeant to assist him:

Commissary Sergeant – Assisted the Commissary Officer with the procurement and distribution of rations, and assisted the Regimental Clerk with commissary-related paperwork. The Commissary Sergeant had direct charge of the commissary stores and directly superintended their issuance. If his duties were heavy, other men could be assigned to assist him. Sources do not state whether the Commissary Sergeant was mounted, and arguments can be made either way. On the march it is unclear whether the he was supposed to be with the battalion or its wagons.

Commissary – A commissioned officer (lieutenant) responsible for the procurement and distribution of rations to the companies. He supervised the Commissary Sergeant and was responsible for the battalion’s commissary stores. He could also be responsible for purchasing food for the battalion. His duties could be merged with those of the Quartermaster. Sources do not state whether the Commissary was mounted, and arguments can be made either way; on the march it is unclear whether the he was with the battalion or its wagons.

At the COMPANY level, positions of note relative to procurement, distribution, and preparation of rations IN CAMP include:

Sergeant – The Sergeant’s “official” duties were to serve as a file closer, help lead guard details and pickets, lead fatigue details, lead a section, and assistance the Orderly Sergeant as assigned with company commissary and ordnance duties. Officially, there was no such thing as a “company commissary”, “company quartermaster”, or “company ordnance sergeant” in the Federal army; these duties were handled by the Orderly Sergeant or, at his discretion, assigned to the company’s complement of “regular” sergeants. While an infantry company had need of commissary and ordnance-type duties, because companies rarely had many assets that are not the property of the army, regiment, or the individual soldier, the need for company quartermaster duties was very small in most situations—and remains so in reenacting.

Cooks – Each company of volunteer and regular infantry was allowed to hire up to four colored “under-cooks”. In addition, men of the company could be detailed on rotations (ten days, per Kautz) to serve as the “head-cook”. If the company numbered thirty men or less, one head cook was used and, if more than thirty men, two head cooks could be detailed.

In Hardtack and Coffee (pp 122-123), John Billings offers the following commentary on how rations (in this case, coffee) was distributed--this would be used more, I believe, for distributing rations for the soldiers to cook themselves:

“[Coffee] was brought to camp in an oat sack, a regimental quartermaster receiving and apportioning his among the ten companies, and the quartermaster–sergeant of a battery apportioning his to the four or six detachments. Then the orderly-sergeant of a company or the sergeant of a detachment must devote himself to dividing it. One method of accomplishing this purpose was to spread a rubber blanket on the ground,—more than one if the company were large,—and upon it were put as many piles of the coffee as there were men to receive rations; and the care taken to make the piles of the same size to the eye, to keep the men from growling, would remind one of a country physician making his powders, taking a little from one pile and adding to another. The sugar which always accompanied the coffee was spooned out at the same time on another blanket. When both were ready, they were given out, each man taking a pile, or, in some companies, to prevent any charge of unfairness or injustice, the sergeant would turn his back on the rations, and take out his roll of the company. Then, by request, some one else would point to a pile and ask, ‘Who shall have this?’ and the sergeant, without turning, would call a name from his list of the company or detachment, and the person called would appropriate the pile specified. The process would be continued until the last pile was disposed of. There were other plans for distributing the rations; but I have described this one because of its being quite common.”

I hope some of the above is the type of info you're looking for.

[Charles Heath]

Re: And speaking of coffee

Now, now, boys, we all know Community Coffee isn't an approved AC Forum Vendor and we can be...okay, you twisted my arm. Don't tell anyone they have care packages for those souls so unfortunate as to live outside the designated coffee-chicory belt of the known world:

http://www.communitycoffee.com/ccc/

Ronnie, I strongly suggest you find a man's man to help you with such mundane chores as boiling coffee, making your meals, and keeping your shoes shined. Boiling water is obviously a more complex task than people let on! :tounge_sm

(If Troy can find that tired old coffee post, perhaps he can figure out what happened to the infamous Tolstoy-length bacon post.)

[Charles Heath]

Re: Commissary

Bill,

You can find much of the information you seek in Kautz' pages 152-171, and while it reflects late war federal practice, much of what is written therein is a good starting point. Craighill adds some good info on pages 240-253. Sanderson's work is linked to this forum, as are a couple of other documents, such as H.L. Scott's and Horsford's. The Soyer's and Viele's would be good additions someday, if they are not already linked.

Any number of AC Forum members have served as "commissary" for confederate food service operations at the company and battalion level. I hope they chime in on this thread. It's good to put "commissary" in quotes when discussing reenacting, as the functions of planning, purchasing, transporting, preparing, serving and clean-up are a combination of modern and period activities. Most of the work is actually off the field before the event ever begins.

Something you might want to consider is attending a few of the events where these activities occur.

[coastaltrash]

Re: Commissary

It's always great to get a phone call the night before leaving an event and hear someone say "Hey can you make 27 bags for the commissary real quick?"

[Charles Heath]

Re: Commissary

Pat,

I think I can top that, but I just don't know if the Fort "RB&R" Gaines or Fort "One Kettle" Granger story is the funniest. Both involve Tim Prince....

[Silver Spring Guards]

Re: Commissary

I to am interested in this. Thanks for bring it up.

[lthull3rdla]

Re: And speaking of coffee

now Charles LOL

hey I made successful campaigner coffee yesterday. I ground up those community beans very coarsley. Built a small fire in back yard ( I could have done this on the stove but you would have fired me ) and got my water boiling nicely ( see, I CAN boil water LOL ) and then threw in the grounds. I moved the coffee off to the side so it didnt' boil over and let it stew for about 15 minutes.
Man, what great coffee. Nice and black and strong enough to float a ten pound parrot bolt !!! Put some real zing in me! Nothing like a caffeine high!
Today Im going to experiment with putting it in a poke and trying that.
btw, I will be at Shiloh. Unfortunatly, I have to officer. And I have NOT got my officer impression improved yet. But I'm working on it. Need a new frock..

see ya there

R

[ephraim_zook]

Re: Commissary

As Charles suggests, much of the "Commissary" work is done before the event. And I regard myself as an apprentice compared to Charles's experience.

I just made up a reminder list for myself of what needs to be done before the next event at which I will be the Commissary of Subsistence. Here's the list so far:
1) Get a rough budget from the event organizers. (Or your own organization)
2) Finalize the federal menu.
3) Coordinate menu with the rebs. We typically purchase jointly for both sides to obtain the best quantity pricing.
4) Work out quantities needed / person based on duration of event and the ration tables. This is relatively easy. The ration tables tell how much each man should get per day; figure out how many days you are feeding them for -- probably 1½.
5) Decide who is purchasing what.
They will then
6) Get preliminary prices.
Produce prices will change before the event. Costs for coffee, sugar etc will stay pretty much the same.
7) Adjust menu if we can't stay within budget.
7) Determine a cut-off date for registration that allows us time to order perishables.
8) Reserve a rental truck.
9) Arrange for period containers, crates, etc.
10) Sew sacks for coffee, sugar, etc. Most of these will be lost in service.
11) Order the rations.
12) Arrange for overnight storage of rations on site if need be.

====================

On arrival at the site: We usually arrive on Thursday before an event that starts on Friday evening.
1) Store rations if need be.
2) Set up a physical commissary facility. This may be simply a fly and a pile of crates and barrels.
3) Repackage rations and discard modern packaging.
4) If you have purchased for both Fed & Reb sides, divide the rations for quick distribution to the "other guys".
5) Set up for ration issue.
6) Start period paperwork -- take inventory, etc.

======================
A scale and measures are essential to issue correct quantities. They should be part of the commissary equipment, along with sharp knives and mountains of clean rags.

Now you are close to ready to issue rations. And in all likelihood, once that is done, you are technically unemployed for the rest of the event.

Feel free to contact me.

Ron Myzie
"Reenactment Nutrition Specialist"

ps -- A speadsheet is your best friend for pre-event planning. Save them from event to event, adjust them using actual data (from the period forms you used at the event.)

[coastaltrash]

Re: And speaking of coffee

Ronnie,
I think you're talking about the mainstream Shiloh event in a few weeks, Charles is talking about the Campaigner Living History at the actual park in April hosted by Jim Butler.

[PogueMahone]

Re: And speaking of coffee

I never learned to make a decent cup of coffee in the field. Now I drink tea. I have yet to make a bad cup of tea.

I buy the loose leaf tea, which is getting harder to find, but I usually can get it at the health-conscience grocery "Wild Oats". Also, we have mint growing in the backyard in a small plot and I regularly pick some and dry it. I'll grind up a few mint leaves into my tea leaves and it makes a great cup of tea! Fresh and minty!

[Charles Heath]

Re: Commissary

Bill,

In addition to Ron's excellent checklist, one of the more enjoyable tasks is to research what the boys of '61-'65 were actually eating during the particular campaign, scenario, or vignette being portrayed at the event in question. Sometimes, you luck out and learn exactly what they were consuming, and at other times partial information leaves a trail of teasing suggestions. You may find yourself (sing it, boys) with pea bread, rice, corn meal, stinky cheese balls, turnips, soap, cabbage, rutabagas, cocoa, mutton, jerked beef, poultry, sutler stores, green corn, chicory, parched corn, fish, melons, squash, hominy, beets, buckwheat, apples, pumpkins, shoats, melado, candles, pinole, venison, pemmican, tomatoes, goats, limes, barley, rabbits, fresh beef (both Kosher and on the hoof), molasses, and all manner of fun items in addition to the usual fare.

The ration tables will drive you insane (yes, this could explain a lot of things) if you try to issue the individual items as they are listed without reading between the lines. Over the period of a year, it makes sense. Over the typical Friday-night-to-Sunday- afternoon event, the numbers make little or no sense. That being said, one of the sets of numbers I live and die by is the 50/80 rule. The weekend is 7 modern meals long, so cut that by half (50%) into 3.5 meals, and the actual headcount is 80% of whatever the given forecast at best. If you have a better handle on your own group's reenactor math, then use it. It is better to have too little food than too much. Run out of food? Just add more water. That IS a period solution.

Ron spoke more to issuing food at the battalion or brigade level (depending on your TOE for the weekend), and I'll get around to that eventually. This is more about working from the bottom up.

The army fed twice each day, and we feed three times each day. It's just the way it is. Try to feed twice a day, and you'll see why folks get grouchy in a hurry. On top of that, what the army fed in garrison and the field, or marching, ration is two different things. The funny part is th field ration was expensive back then, and it is expensive today, too. Reenactors tend to waste food like crazy. One of the reasons for this is the Friday AYCE pit stop on the way into an event, and the Sunday AYCE gorging on the way home from an event. Not all events work this way, and when you have people on site on Wednesday-Friday at an event, they'll appreciate something to eat during the last big meeting before the event commences, but as a rule of thumb, just skip the Friday meal -- with some exceptions.

One exception is the Friday night ration issue. You've worked six months to put together something worthy of a Billings or Hinman essay, only to see it handed out in the dark in 10 minutes to 100 hungry, famished, starving (fully bloated from Cracker Barrel's big feed two hours earlier) reenactors. Yep, no one gets to see those tiny little Tremont nails in the carefully split hickory sapling wrapped around the hardtack box. Sigh.

Another exception is the officer call Friday night. Have a cook dedicated to this, as you'll be too busy handling the little crap that needs to be done during the day on Friday to fool with it. Something well worth eating, cigars, maybe some libations, and you knock out the big meeting, and the boys get a little something to start the weekend. Someone who wants to have fun with this can have a good time, even with the typical reb shortages in place. Planning a few surprise treats can pay dividends during the weekend, if you have time to take a little something over to officer country.

Feel free to sleep in until 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Be ready to serve at 6:00 a.m., and when you hear the bugler toot his first notes, you know it is time to get the food out on the serving line. Why so early when the army "day planner" tells us 7:00 a.m. was breakfast? At most events, feeding the men immediately after first roll call frees up everyone for a good interpretive day. It also eliminates the 81,971 "when is breakfast?" questions if you feed the mules right off the bat.

Saturday morning finds most of the lads still full from whatever it is they ate too much of on Friday. Serve absolutely the cheapest stuff you possibly can when in a camp situation, so by the time the next meal rolls around, they'll actually eat it. Watery corn mush, for example, is very cheap, filling, and generates a lot of hoots and hollers. Just tell them it is mule feed, and they'll get over it sooner or later. Make sure you have coffee. If you don't have something with some kind of caffiene, about half the company will be a walking Excedrine (not an approved vendor) commercial by about noon. This mule feed is a real departure from the typical [deleted due to farb content] mainstream breakfast of [even more farb content] and [turbofarb content] as seen at "those other" events. If you have spent more than 25 cents per man by the time breakfast is over, then you are already over budget. If they complain, then serve 'em cold farina in the form of white hockey pucks.

If the event design permits it, your life is much easier if you can just hand the boys hardtack, meat, coffee, and sugar. Let them figure out what they want to eat for breakfast based on that four-item extensive menu.

What is for the mid-day meal? If you have to give them rations for a walk in the park (typical NPS LH event) to be consumed later at some point where no fire is permitted, cook up something they can eat on the march and issue it at breakfast. If they eat it with breakfast, that's their choice. Pre-cooked corn dodgers, boiled meat, and some odds and ends work well for this. Sometimes it is fun to give the officers a separate ration (as if privately purchased) of something they can eat that is demonstrably different from what the enlisted folks are having. The proverbial plowman's lunch works well here for the officers. Their food will be a punch in the budget, and you'll find hardtack (yes, the rebs had hardtack, too) will end up being as expensive or moreso than meat, or at least labor intensive.

About this time, you are wondering why hardly anyone has touched their food. Make sure the commander has issued a flat haversack order, if you are going to issue rations. Feel free to make an exception to this when it comes to experimental rations that a good number of folks might not know how to prepare or even want to eat. For example, if you are at a certain living history in Vicksburg, and you are portraying a reb, and you have a piece of hot, steaming, gray, meat that is obviously not beef, pork, or poultry, then a man may draw the logical conclusion and decide he may be too timid to eat that meat.

By Saturday night, most everyone is too mad at the cook to want to visit the cookhouse. This is where and when you can spend a good 50 to 65 cents per man and tie the big feedbag on. Now, I'm sure you are looking at that number, and wondering why folks can be fed so cheaply. The simple reason is we feed too well at most events (some folks complained Payne's Farm was "skimpy!" ) and a good weekend typically finds all manner of donated food about. Some of that food is period, and some of it you have to look the other way when it shows up on the doorstep. Serve it, and genuinely appreciate the fact someone thought enough to bring along a little something. Take the hit after the event, and don't worry about it.

Sometime when you are bored to death with the menu items, grab 8 gallons of water, 8 lbs. of potatoes, 2 lbs. of carrots, 2 medium cabbages, 2 cans of tomatoes, 2 lbs. of meat, 1 pound of cornmeal, 1 onion, a pinch of salt, and see what happens. They will eat and enjoy. Don't forget Gouge's Law: Put the cabbage in last. This feeds 40 or so people. Feeds 50 if you add more water.

Sunday morning finds the sleepyheads looking for coffee. Make strong coffee for the ride home. You won't be making a noon meal, so start cleaning up as soon as you can get a detail together. Throw together some leftovers and boil the heck out of them. The boys will usually stare into the pot and choose to hold off until the ride home. Unless you fix Neill Rose's receipt for rice pudding, and in that case they'll fight each other for the last grain of rice.

Part of the above is tongue in cheek, but only part of it. It is mostly about cooking, and at the company level, such as at living histories, you can have a good time keeping the lads fed. At a recent event, we joked about having reinvented the free Saturday night meal, as the boys stumbled through the woods and happened upon a little cabin fixing supper for a group of visitors. Sure am glad the neighbors didn't show up, because the troops ate it all. At another event, the rations issued to the rebs really were skimpy (coffee and a few pieces of hardtack) and they picked up rations after over running a federal commissary. I can tell you the rebs ate well that day.

Without a doubt, the handiest three things you can own are a set of sheet iron (mild steel these days) nesting kettles. After that, the serving basins are a big help. In actual practice the basins are used for kettle lids, and food prep, than serving. Neither the basins nor kettles are tinned and soldered for a good reason, too. Serving utensils are not cheap new, but are plentiful and reasonable in the used market. A serving fork, a couple of ladles, strainer/skimmer, and a spatula are useful. You really don't need a bunch of flea market crap hanging about, but a good skillet is useful. The originals are cheaper than repops these days, and outside of the handle rivets being loose or a hole being worn in the business end of the pan, not much can go wrong with them.

Boxes are your next good investment. It is most unfortunate Gary Remy's operation got whacked by Katrina, but Maki's Boxes is still in business, and the latter produces some excellent wood products, as well as some tin items found nowhere else. Neither of these fellows are approved AC Forum vendors. Neither is WK Osman for that matter. Obviously, a hardtack box or two, a bacon box (these are big) and some smaller boxes, such as the tomato, peach, oyster, or candle boxes are good. I find the civilian boxes are easy to go reb or fed. Boxes are good for the serving line, too. People really don't like to eat food off the ground. Barrels are nice. The price of new cooperage has gotten to be silly, but it can be had. Used cooperage can be risky for the usual reasons beat to death on this forum and others. Hardtack came in barrels as well as boxes, so there is another reason to have a few functional barrels around.

A few buckets are handy not only for toting water, but for clean up as well. I keep an old rusty bucket for the slops, and the cleaner buckets are for fresh water, soapy water, and coffee. Some individuals have trouble telling the difference between the three, and they know when they have selected the worst of the three choices. After all of this junk is loaded up in the truck, a few barn boards, an old door, sacks and crates are pretty much the rest of the load before the food is added. The tools you have on hand to feed a company of 30-60 men will also feed 300 with ease. After about 300 men to feed, an additional set of kettles are useful for consolidated messes.

Yes, it is a heck of a lot easier to issue the food to the individual companies and let them deal with the prep, just as it is easier at the company level to issue to the individuals to cook around a crowded firepit. Of course, that doesn't figure in the good old army paperwork....

[lthull3rdla]

Re: And speaking of coffee

Tom
yes I figured that out. Our unit is going to the mainstream event. I would love to go to the one in the park but unfortunatley I have plans for that weekend that will not allow me to attend. Would have loved to have met some of you fellers. Another time though.
Ronnie