After reading both articles, what I find most fascinating was how dependent soldiers were on coffee. Coffee fueled them to fight these wars and most times it was given to them right before a battle or after the battle occurred. I also found it fascinating that the soldiers used hardtack which is basically a hard biscuit, to increase shelf life while they were on the fields. The Civil War Soldier’s diet mainly consisted of stew with some coffee. Most soldiers got sick from food that was not cooked properly or under-cooked. Their diet was the most important part of the war which is why many believe that they used the caffeine from the coffee to prepare them for the war. Many of the union soldiers used anything to make coffee such as mud and liquids that horses wouldn’t even drink because they were very dependent on it. The food I can’t live without is grapes because I think they are very delicious.
