Rations in the Cavalry

[joewiggs]

Second Cavalryman James B. Wilkinson had the following to say:

"At Jefferson Barracks [1882] pork meat was put around at tables the night before for the following morning's breakfast. The meat would be spoiled, turned green, by mornings. Some ate it - others did not, and reported it to the officers. Improvement was only temporary."

My only question is this, is this were Dr. Seuss got his idea for his book Green Eggs and Ham?

[tbw]

I would imagine only Dr. Suess knows for sure. But if I had to eat that stuff, i'd turn 'green'!!! I wonder if the eggs were green too? You do know what that means, don't you? ;D

[melani]

What a dumb thing to do! If it was preserved in any way, it would have to have been spoiled in the first place--can't imagine it turning green overnight if it wasn't bad already.

[tbw]

I would agree with you Melani. It doesn't make sense that they would serve it so long in advance of the meal. It sounds more like laziness on the part of the cook than anything else. Hey Joe, did they give any explanation as to why it was placed out the night before?

[joewiggs]

Apparently the condition of the meat for the men was not a concern for those who issued it. More often than not, meat issued and packaged during the Civil War was used 20 years or so after the fact.. We have to remember that this occurred in an era when social niceties, astute knowledge of bacterial infection, and human-rights organizations were not as fine tuned as they are today.

A soldier of this era ( excluding the Officer class) were slightly above the level of serfdom, hence the extraordinary lack of regard for the common trooper.

Also, after the Civil War (again excluding the Officer class) men who fought for thier Country and, other lofty ideals, departed. The American public did not hold the "new" military in the same esteem for numerous reasons.

Finally, if you scraped the mold off there was often good meat beneath it.

[tbw]

This I had forgotten. Thanks for reminding me. This would be a good topic for the Journal. I remember some of the horrible conditions that they endured were stated in some of the research put forth by those who did some of the archeologhical reseach some years ago. That too was an interesting read.

[joewiggs]

Thats a great ideal Dennis, I'll do some more research and apply it to the journal for those who are interested!

[melani]

They didn't have good ways of preserving food then, to be sure. Ships of the day carried live pigs, chickens and even goats for fresh meat, eggs, and milk. We have a life-sized carved wooden pig aboard Balclutha, a replica of the Tamworth sow she actually carried. The cage on deck is empty, and the pig is set up in the steward's pantry, to illustrate the story about the time the pig got loose, apparently sensing that she was about to become Christmas dinner. Visiting kids are told to try to help find the pig.

The preserved meat on ships was carried in barrels of brine, and was called "salt horse" because the sailors claimed that's what it was--the owners didn't usually waste money on quality meat, and it sometimes was inedible. The barrel it was kept in was called the harness cask, because the sailors claimed to occasionally find horseshoes and bits of harness in it.

Indian Wars expeditions had herds of cattle along for the same reason. Must have been a huge hassle to have to slaughter and dress dinner every night before cooking it. Makes me appreciate freeze dried stew and trail mix.

While we're on the subject of weird 19th century food, I found another wonderful story. A young fellow named Prentice Mulford signed on a California coastal schooner around the time of the Gold Rush, claiming he could cook--totally untrue, but he needed the job. What followed:

Adventures in Sea-Cooking

“One great trial with me lay in the difficulty of distinguishing fresh water from salt…I usually had a pail of salt water and one of fresh standing by the galley door. Sometimes these got mixed up. I always found this out after making salt-water coffee, but then it was too late. They were particular, especially in the cabin, and did not like salt-water coffee…

“Our storeroom was the cabin. Among other articles there was a keg of molasses. One evening after draining a quantity I neglected to close the faucet tightly. Molasses therefore oozed over the cabin floor all night. The cabin was a freshet of molasses. Very early in the morning the captain, getting out of his bunk, jumped both stockinged feet into the saccharine deluge. Some men will swear as vigorously in a foot-bath of molasses as they would in one of coal tar…

“The Henry was full of mice. These little creatures would obtrude themselves in my dough wet up for fresh bread over night, become bemired and die therein. Once a mouse thus dead was unconsciously rolled up in a biscuit, baked with it, and served smoking hot for the morning’s meal aft. It was as it were an involuntary meat-pie. Of course the cabin grumbled; but they would grumble at anything…

“Still even the biscuit proved but an episode in my career. I cooked on, and those I served stood aghast, not knowing what would come next.”

--from “Prentice Mulford’s Story,” by Prentice Mulford

[tbw]

Melani this kind of stuff is priceless. Thank you & Joe so much for sharing it. I enjoy this kind of history. It makes us think about what they had to go through back then. It forces us to consider not just what they had to go through just to have battle with the Indians along the LBH and all the controversy surrounding it, but, more importantly, I feel, The hardships imposed just to eat a decent meal. These and other issues like them are rarely discussed, and it is to both your credit that this thread has come to fruition and will I sincerely hope be greatly expanded...

Thanks to both of you, again.

[joewiggs]

Wonderful job!