In reading the two articles I was shocked to learn how much coffee meant to the soliders. Even if they couldn’t get the real thing they looked forward to drinking something that resembled it. Though it was said that the coffee had no effect on the North’s win, I believe it played a part. The coffee was given as part of their meals on a daily basis whenever it was available. The soliders then developed a coffee addiction explaining the jittery feelings they experienced without it and how it eased their nerves after. Caffeine is a stimulant and it also would have made them more alert and ready to fight during long nights and days of battle. Personally I would always choose food over coffee, for some reason whenever I drink it I get very sleepy. Not sure why lol. However what shocked me the most was the raw salted meat specifically the pork that they ate. Though salt is a persevative I don’t see how they could have eaten it raw. Especially considering that pork is an unclean animal not meant to be eaten and if left out long enough maggots start to fester out. Also the hardtack that they sometimes had to eat filled with worms/maggots but when you’re hungry and desperate you will eat anything. (Except for the pork lol. That’s still a no for me).
My favorite food is a Guyanese dish called Metemgee or Metem for short. It’s a stew with salted codfish inside and I could eat it all the time …
