History of Photography Fall 2019

I was shocked and fascinated to learn that coffee was a major factor in fueling the Civil War. I knew that soldiers needed food and supplies to keep themselves full of energy but coffee never crossed my mind. I would of thought canned food and other salty foods might of been the staple during the Civil War since salty/canned food lasts very long. For the soldiers, it seemed that they cared very much for their coffee; but for me, I’m not so fussy. If I had to choose between coffee or food, I would choose coffee since I don’t drink or care for coffee.  As for food that I can’t live with would be jerk chicken and rice and peas (Caribbean food).

What I think that is most fascinating about a Civil War soldier’s diet is that it is hard to believe that these fighting soldiers were out in the field with only a small portion of food in their system in order to maintain them with high energy during the occurring event . I can understand mostly why they would rely on a cup of coffee because that stuff alone can keep me going through the whole day. However I also believe that it isn’t a healthy idea to let these soldiers eat off the “eatable” side off a moldy hardtack because it can still result in getting an upset stomach.

A food item that I cannot not live without is obviously my Starbucks coffee but also a nice plate of chicken and shrimp carbonara.

What I found fascinating about a civil war soldier’s diet was the coffee they drank Charles Nott said “you probably wouldn’t recognize in New York. Boiled in an open kettle, and about the color of a brownstone front, it was nevertheless… the only warm thing we had.” This seems to me that the water and the kettle wasn’t clean and this was the only option these soldiers had in drinking something warm on a cold day.

A food that I can’t live without is lobster. I love lobster you can steam or grill lobster.

It is fascinating how a Civil War soldiers are trained to cut their diet to a minimum choices than other civilians. They may be trained to learn how to fight in the battlefield, but their knowledge how to survive with shortage of food does decreases the chance of winning the Civil War. According to Heidi, the “soldiers in the Civil War had to rely on a variety of foods that would keep for long periods of time and store easily.” The soldiers would pack food that are small and easy to carry such as beans, peas, and rice. They would bring ingredients like salt and sugar to improve the flavors. A meat such as a pork or beef would need be hunted by nearby animals. It may not be good to store the meat, so it would have to eaten right away or use their salts to extend their shelf life.

Another fascinating fact about their food storage is that coffee was one of the most prized food items among Civil War soldiers. During the Civil War, the coffee beans were only available to Union soldiers. Unlike the Confederate soldiers, they are only available to have tobaccos. The soldiers will use the coffee beans to make trade for tobaccos.

If I have to choose a food that I could not live out with, it would be potatoes. It can be fry, boil, and bake, and it will still be delicious.

Taken from: https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/velvet-mashed-potatoes/351e286a-e61e-4b38-8cfd-82d4f3f63ec2

Link: https://homesteadsurvivalsite.com/foods-soldiers-ate-civil-war/

The most fascinating thing about Civil war soldiers’ diet is how clueless they are when it comes to cooking. They are so dependent on having women cook for them that they themselves didn’t know how to prepare their own food. Because of that, they ate unsanitary raw meat, hardtack, and hard bread, which are not healthy nor appetizing. They had to dip their hardtack and hard bread in their coffees to soften it enough to eat. Union soldiers relied on the U.S. Sanitary Commissions to provide them food, along with teaching them how to cook. Even though the soldiers learned some techniques for cooking, many still got sick and died from unsanitary practices.

Another fascinating thing about the Civil war soldiers is how far they are willing to go to drink coffee. They are willing to use water from “canteens and puddles, brackish bays and Mississippi mud, liquid their horses would not drink” (Grinspan, 2014). They would even cook their coffee “over fires of plundered fence rails, or heated mugs in scalding steam-vents on naval gunboats” (Grinspan, 2014). Drinking coffee allowed the soldiers to stay awake during the war and was the only thing delicious to them.

The one food that I cannot live without is french fries.

Taken from: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317941.php

Reference:
Grinspan, J. (2014, July 9). How Coffee Fueled the Civil War. New York Times. Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/how-coffee-fueled-the-civil-war/