As a long-time civil war reenactor, I have often confronted the question of what exactly did the soldiers eat? It took a lot of research, but Salt Pork was a big item back then. It was issued as a basic staple. To get to the point, Salt Pork was chunks of pork meat packed, uncooked, into wooden barrels with lots of salt. It was cured, not cooked. When handed out to the soldiers most ate it the way they were issued -raw. Some men fried the pieces but skillets were uncommon among the foot soldier. Most men ate it with their daily issue of hardtack.
Hardtack was a large square cracker made from flour and salt. That's it. Baked in the factory quickly and at high heat, the water turned to steam and made little air pockets like yeast would. the salt would deter bugs (At least they hoped)
People traveling long distances, well before and after the American Civil War (1860-1865) were familiar with salt pork and "crackers."
Ship captains bought both from ship chandlers at ports. Ship's biscuits were what the soldiers called hardtack. Army Bread (its actual name) was made to it's squarish dimensions so they would fix in a wooden box that itself was designed to fit in standard Army wagons.
The cracker in a "Cracker barrel"was hard bread.
People today may find something called "salt pork" in a supermarket but it is just a slab of hard pig fat.
Salt pork was crucial to seafaring and the age of discovery.
Hardtack was a large square cracker made from flour and salt. That's it. Baked in the factory quickly and at high heat, the water turned to steam and made little air pockets like yeast would. the salt would deter bugs (At least they hoped)
People traveling long distances, well before and after the American Civil War (1860-1865) were familiar with salt pork and "crackers."
Ship captains bought both from ship chandlers at ports. Ship's biscuits were what the soldiers called hardtack. Army Bread (its actual name) was made to it's squarish dimensions so they would fix in a wooden box that itself was designed to fit in standard Army wagons.
The cracker in a "Cracker barrel"was hard bread.
People today may find something called "salt pork" in a supermarket but it is just a slab of hard pig fat.
Salt pork was crucial to seafaring and the age of discovery.
