Rations

[22ndVolunteersBugler]

Re: In Need of what Sullivan Press won't ship me

I finally just recieved an order from him that I placed in July....After my Mother filled a complaint to the Better Business Bureau.

[ephraim_zook]

Re: In Need of what Sullivan Press won't ship me

I have used both his Federal and Confederate documents cd-roms, and both are well-nigh useless, unless you happen to portray the individual to whom the document was issued at the time it was issued. They are almost impossible to edit, and that makes them inapplicable to just about every event.

Hello, Dave,

I'm not trying to start something here, but since I've been using Sullivan's union document CD for quite a while, I'm not sure what you mean by your statement above. Not one form on the cd is specific to an individual -- they are all blanks that you print out and then write on. Can you give me some idea? Maybe I have a different edition of the disk?

thanks
Ron Myzie

[uhlan53]

Dog pile on the rabbit!

An electronic receipt from Paypal, two e-mails, two phone messages, and a month and a half wait. Still no merchandise or the courtesy of a reply!

Gordon Markiewicz

[TraciAnn]

CNN.com - Coffee in the Civil War

I'm not sure if anyone has come across this new article... but I thought it was interesting. It's not really anything we haven't heard or thought of before, but it is always good to see the Civil War get this sort of publicity.

Found this on CNN's homepage.

How a coffee played a role in Civil War
Story Highlights
Coffee was a hot commodity in the Civil War

Union troops had it for breakfast, lunch, dinner

Suppliers sometime ground dirt into beans

Blockade kept coffee had to get for Confederate troops

By David A. Norris
(Mental Floss) -- Even in the midst of the Civil War, there was still one thing the North and South shared -- a serious addiction to caffeine.

In that respect, the Union clearly had an advantage. Not only did the North have more than two-thirds of the population and control most of the heavy industry, railroads, and financial reserves in the country, it hoarded supplies of the highly addictive little bean, leaving the Confederacy to wage its own war against java deprivation.

Coffee: It's what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Throughout the Civil War, coffee was as prevalent on the battlefields as it is in offices today. In fact, the Union army was fueled by the stuff to the point that, if there was no time to boil water, the Boys in Blue would chew on whole beans as they marched. And at night, Union campsites were dotted with tiny fires, each boiling a pot of coffee like a million miniature Starbucks.

Beyond caffeine cravings, Union troops loved their coffee because it was, literally, the best thing on the menu.

Before the advent of helpful (and tasty!) artificial preservatives, a marching soldier's rations were neither varied nor particularly appetizing. Typically, they consisted of salted meat, unleavened bread (accurately christened "hardtack"), and a little sugar and salt.

It didn't help that Union supply chains were riddled with corrupt food contractors who charged the government top dollar for rotten, stale, and insect-ridden foodstuffs.

Coffee, however, was almost always fresh because it was delivered in whole-bean form -- making it difficult for even the most dishonest supplier to skimp on quality. Not that they didn't try, of course. In fact, officials began requesting coffee as whole beans after some crooked contractors tried to up their per-pound profits by slipping sand and dirt into packages of ground coffee.

In 1861, hoping to cut down on the time soldiers spent roasting and grinding beans, the army switched to a concentrated proto-instant coffee. The new concoction, called "essence of coffee," was made by boiling prepared coffee, milk, and sugar into a thick gloop, which soldiers then reconstituted by mixing it with water.

The product reportedly tasted every bit as bad as you'd imagine, and thanks to the corrupt dairymen who sold the army spoiled milk, it also tended to cause diarrhea. Needless to say, the Union army was soon back on the bean.

Southern discomfort

Noxious as essence of coffee was, Confederate soldiers would have gladly downed a cup or two. But, because of a Union naval blockade, coffee (along with weapons, machinery, medicine, and other vital materials) was in short supply in the South.

Before the war, a pound of beans would have set you back around 20 cents in Yankee dough. Once pre-war stockpiles ran out, however, the same amount was running as high as $60 in Confederate money. (Despite the undervalued currency, that was still a lot.)

There was some coffee that made it into the Confederacy -- usually carried by steam-powered blockade-runner ships.

But, for the most part, Southerners had to rely on coffee substitutes, including various forms of roasted corn, rye, okra seeds, sweet potatoes, acorns, and peanuts. Unfortunately, all these imitations lacked potency, tasted awful, and upset the bowels.

The only slightly better alternative was tea made from the leaves of the native yaupon shrub. The good news was that it contained caffeine; the bad news was that it was incredibly difficult to digest.

Luckily, there was one surefire way for Southern folk to get their coffee -- by making peace with the Union. Soldiers on the front lines often called informal truces so Rebels could swap tobacco for Yankee coffee and then dash back to their camps before they were reported missing.

For more mental_floss articles, visit mentalfloss.com

Entire contents of this article copyright, Mental Floss LLC. All rights reserved.

[DaveGink]

Union Mechanical Hardtack Crate Photos?

Hello,

Does anyone have, or know where I can find photos of a genuine Union Mechanical Hardtack crate lid? Besides the one I posted below? I'd like to see the full thing, and to know what the portion hidden behind the soldiers leg looks like.

If any one has links or images they can post or send me, I would be most grateful. I can not find anything anywhere.

Thanks!!
Dave

[C.R. Henderson]

Re: Union Mechanical Hardtack Crate Photos?

That is the best and only image that I have been able to find, myself. I'd love to know where another is- or a modern photo of an original box that survived.

[DaveGink]

Re: Union Mechanical Hardtack Crate Photos?

Hello,

Does anyone have, or know where I can find photos of a genuine Union Mechanical Hardtack crate lid? Besides the one I posted below? I'd like to see the full thing, and to know what the portion hidden behind the soldiers leg looks like.

If any one has links or images they can post or send me, I would be most grateful. I can not find anything anywhere.

Thanks!!
Dave

I wanted to bump this so it wouldn't be lost. I started it as a new thread and it got moved to this thread. Thanks!!

[Danny]

Re: Union Mechanical Hardtack Crate Photos?

Hello,

Does anyone have, or know where I can find photos of a genuine Union Mechanical Hardtack crate lid? Besides the one I posted below? I'd like to see the full thing, and to know what the portion hidden behind the soldiers leg looks like.

If any one has links or images they can post or send me, I would be most grateful. I can not find anything anywhere.

Thanks!!
Dave

Dave -

I hear ya. Attached is a pdf that, if you can print it at size (even if you have to tape several letter-size pages together to do it) is a stencil of that Army Bread lid from your photo. If you have an artsy kid handy with small scissors (or an adult with an x-Acto knife held up to a picture window) have them cut out the letters* so you can stiff-brush ("stipple") through the letters onto your box lid. Use thick paint and squish out most of it off the brush before you use it. No swiping motion, just stabbing with that stiff brush through the letters.**

Yes, I had to guess on what showed behind the leg but based on the way I've seen such words used in period it can't be too far off. Estimating the guy's hand measurement across the knuckles to be about 3-3/4 inches gave me the size for the stencil, on a page 23 x 18 inches (the size of the box top if the knuckle estimate is valid).

- Dan Wykes

* you may have to varnish the paper to stiffen it if you don't have stiff paper to begin with, or spray glue several layers of the same print together to make a stiff stencil.

**You could cheat and use spray-paint, but I didn't say that.

[DaveGink]

Re: Union Mechanical Hardtack Crate Photos?

Dave -

I hear ya. Attached is a pdf that, if you can print it at size (even if you have to tape several letter-size pages together to do it) is a stencil of that Army Bread lid from your photo. If you have an artsy kid handy with small scissors (or an adult with an x-Acto knife held up to a picture window) have them cut out the letters* so you can stiff-brush ("stipple") through the letters onto your box lid. Use thick paint and squish out most of it off the brush before you use it. No swiping motion, just stabbing with that stiff brush through the letters.**

Yes, I had to guess on what showed behind the leg but based on the way I've seen such words used in period it can't be too far off. Estimating the guy's hand measurement across the knuckles to be about 3-3/4 inches gave me the size for the stencil, on a page 23 x 18 inches (the size of the box top if the knuckle estimate is valid).

- Dan Wykes

* you may have to varnish the paper to stiffen it if you don't have stiff paper to begin with, or spray glue several layers of the same print together to make a stiff stencil.

**You could cheat and use spray-paint, but I didn't say that.

Hello Dan,
Thank you very much!!

Your template looks to be the closest to the photo that I have seen of any created by the box makers out there. Nice work! It would still be nice to know what other text was behind that leg. ;)

Thanks again!
Dave

[grant]

How do i make period sugar?

I have done tons of searching on the net and in the library and i cant find any info on what they put in the sugar to keep it fresh during the 19th century i have had some at events from people and im tired on having no sugar at events for my coffee, does anyone know how to make it? I recently bought a mold for the cone that they used to put the sugar mixture in so id like to start reproducing it if i can only get the recipe. If anyone has any info that would be great, thanks everyone.
-Grant

[Hank Trent]

Re: How do i make period sugar?

Is this a serious post? Sugar doesn't go stale. It needs nothing to preserve it. It is the preservative in things like jams and jellies.

The cone-shape was due to the refining process, not something one can easily duplicate outside a factory. If you need to reproduce a whole loaf of sugar, there are ways to "fake it" by adding modern binders to glue white sugar together, and I'm sure someone will come along with a recipe, but that's a heck of a lot of white sugar for one soldier to be carrying around at one time. Typical loaves were in the 8-12" range.

A quicker and easier solution if you want to duplicate a smaller amount that might have been broken off a loaf is to purchase white sugar cubes and bust them with a hammer into unrecognizable chunks. Only white sugar typically came in loaves (cones) in the period.

Even easier, pre-crushed white sugar was available in the period too. Just use... sugar.

For brown sugar, it typically came from a barrel and could be varying degrees of darkness and lumpiness/dampness. One can either go the route of busting up a Mexican cone into lumps, or dampening very granular brown sugar to make it clump if wanted.

I'm really curious what happened to your sugar, make you think that sugar needs additives to keep it fresh!

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Charles Heath]

Re: How do i make period sugar?

Grant,

What do you do with the sugar issued to you at events?

[Becky Morgan]

Re: How do i make period sugar?

May I add that white granulated sugar will lump just fine in any damp climate. If yu want loaf sugar and don't feel like leaving your mold sitting around a damp kitchen or bathroom all summer, it is possible to make sugar stick to itself by spreading the desired quantity out on waxed paper and misting it lightly with a clean atomizer and fresh tap water. Don't dissolve it--just dampen it enough that you still see the individual grains, but a few around the edges are starting to melt. Pour or pack (or a little of both) it onto the mold. Alternative method, for those with metal molds: dampen and pack it as above, then next time your oven has been on, wait until the heat has slackened until you aren't uncomfortable holding your hand inside the door. Set the mold on a cookie sheet and let it sit until the oven is cold. The warmth will help stick the sugar together. Too much heat will make it begin to caramelize, so have patience when you're waiting for the initial cool-down.

[Csayankee]

Re: How do i make period sugar?

First and foremost, Grant, Please sign your complete name to each and every post. If you go to the user CP you can create a signature that will appear each time you post automatically.

Now to the post at hand.

You can purchased loaf (coned) sugar from various vendors. I can think of one in Ohio although the name is not coming to me. They are a vendor to Rev War era reenactors and sale the sugar you are looking for. So unless you really want to get messy in the house look around you will find it.

[Parault]

Re: How do i make period sugar?

Thank you Brain that was what I was going to suggest.