BILL OF FARE IN THE SOUTHERN ARMY.
SOLDIERS’ RATIONS.--Soldiers in the Southern army did not live on the
fat of the land fareing sumptuously every day. They often had to live
on a stinted allowance, and articles of food placed before them that
would not have been accepted with thanks at home. A day’s allowance
to a soldier consisted of a small cake of wheat or corn bread, or six
hard tacks, a small piece of beef or pickled pork, sometimes a little
rice or small amount of beans or peas. A hearty man that gave way to
his appetite often ate an entire day’s rations at one meal and then was
hungry the balance of the day. The judicious soldier though divided his
allowance into three parts and fared better by adhering strictly to the
custom of eating three times a day.
RATIONS SUPPLEMENTED.--Anything in sight was devoured with avidity to
supplement rations issued. Parched corn on a march when the supply
was scarce was not a poor substitute for bread. If a soldier found a
persimmon tree loaded with fruit it was gathered with as much eagerness
as a miner would pick up a gold nugget. Such a find was regarded as a
bonanza. Walnuts, hickory nuts or even acorns were carefully saved to
supplement rations issued.
EXTRA RATIONS FOUND.--A squad of men was detailed to tear down an old
building and removing the rubbish captured and killed several big fat
rats which were skinned, dressed, cooked and ate with a relish. Around
the old building was a luxurious growth of cresses and wild onions,
which were carefully gathered by the soldiers and cooked and considered
very palatable.
COONS AND FOXES.--One evening after the army stopped to go in camp a
tree was cut down for fire wood and the soldiers were surprised and
pleased to find and catch two nice coons which were cooked for supper
and made a very savory dish. At another time while going into camp a
rush was made for a tree top and a red fox was jumped. The chase was
very much enjoyed by the boys. The fox in its frantic efforts to escape
sometimes jumped as high as the heads of the soldiers who surrounded it
and was knocked back by them. Finally the fox was captured and the boys
said it tasted much better than beef or pork they were accustomed to.
UNRIPE PERSIMMONS.--On a march a soldier dropped out of line, climbed
a tree and was helping himself to unripe persimmons. An officer
coming along, reprimanded him, ordered him back in line and asked him
why he was so greedily devouring such unwholesome food? The soldier
innocently replied that he had discovered that green persimmons had a
drawing effect and thought perhaps by using them he could shrink his
stomach to the capacity of amount of rations issued. The officer seemed
to comprehend the logic of his reasoning and left him to test the
practical value of his theory.
THE ARMY NOT STARVING.--It is not the intention to try to make the
impression that the Southern army was in a starving condition. Such an
intimation would be misleading. The only wonder is that the soldiers
were provided for as well as they really were. Perhaps all armies
sometimes suffer the inconvenience of short rations. The kind reader
must charitably in imagination take the place of the soldier to be
fully competent to sympathize with him.
The overscrupulous reader with pious thought
May condemn the soldier for using thing’s not bought,
And may in his honest heart feel
That under no circumstances should anyone steal.
Better get down on repentance stool
And figure out the golden rule;
Go to bed hungry and fail to sleep
Then get up courage the eighth commandment to keep.
RATIONS OF WHISKEY.--Rations of whiskey were occasionally issued and
the effects of the stimulant were very soon apparent, for soldiers
had nothing to put the liquid in to save, and were obliged to use
it to keep it from wasting and then for awhile there was plenty of
fun in which officers and soldiers joined. If an officer happened to
get enough to make him too hilarious he was placed in arrest until
he sobered up. If a soldier in the ranks imbibed to freely and in
consequence wanted to monopolize control of things and indulged in
conversation boisterous or unbecoming he was quietly assigned to
quarters in the guard house until he had time to cool off.
SHORT RATIONS.--Sometimes rations were short and hungry soldiers are
not apt to be in the best of humor. At such times grumbling was in
order or at least freely indulged in, but grumbling did not bring the
beef and corn bread. If adjacent to orchards, potato patches, corn
fields or hen roosts, some of the boys would manage to supplement their
rations, put on an innocent look and apparently become indignant if
accused of crossing the guard line of the camps.
SOLDIERS FORAGE.--Soldiers would forage for something to eat. They
would visit farm houses and put in a plausible plea, with money, cheek
or chin music, get on the good side of the good women and prevail on
them to furnish them with fruit, potatoes, butter, apple butter, bread,
pies or anything that could be used and a soldier could use anything
that anybody could eat. A shrewd forager failing to get anything at
farm houses would take a mental survey of the different places and
at night would by bribing the sentinel or slipping across the guard
line go straight to potato patches, orchards or corn fields and borrow
fruit, potatoes, roasting ears and sometimes induce a fat hen to go to
camp. This process of borrowing was so skillfuly manipulated that the
owner of the premises was kept in blissful ignorance of the way the
articles were appropriated. There were company officers who would deal
very gentle with a soldier that stole out of camp to forage, provided
the officer shared in the find whatever it might be.
QUESTIONABLE METHODS.--A big burly soldier went a short distance from
camp and deliberately shot down a good sized fat pig, being caught in
the act by some soldiers, he said he killed it in self defense and that
no hog should bite him. He skinned the hog, carried it to camp, late
in the night borrowed a camp kettle and cooked the pork. Some officers
passing along reproved the soldier and threatened to put him in the
guard house, but were persuaded to be lenient by promising them a good
slice of the pork which tasted as good to an officer as a private. The
good old citizen had a drove of fat hogs, missed one and reported to
the colonel of the regiment. An order was at once issued to the captain
of each company to search the tents. An officer passed round, peeped
into the tents, saw no pork or even smelled any and reported nothing
found in the company. The most of the boys of the company though had a
good breakfast and pork was part of the bill of fare.
DETAIL TO COOK.--On a march one evening the army halted to take up camp
for the night; rations were issued and a detail made to do the cooking.
Among the soldiers detailed was one who though very much fatigued
worked faithfully until the two days rations were cooked and issued to
the men. His partner immediately after going in camp had gone to a
farm house not far distant and had succeeded in getting two canteens
full of good fresh milk. After the cooking was done the soldier who had
been detailed being very hungry, took the canteen of milk, two day’s
rations and ate it all for supper, not leaving a crumb for the next two
days. He then took in the situation, jumped at a conclusion, struck a
bee line across a piece of woods and accidentally met a comrade whose
breath betrayed the fact that he had been drinking brandy. It suddenly
occurred to the soldier that he needed a little for his stomach’s
sake, although it was loaded with two day’s rations, and they together
went a short distance across the country and was face to face with the
maker and vender of the liquid. Making their wants known he took their
canteens and a pitcher supposed to be full of water and started for
the liquor house. The boys followed him going through a dining room.
The quick eye of the soldier noticed a clean table cloth on the table
covering something. Without stopping as he passed along he quietly
raised the cloth and made a discovery. One of the boys canteens was
filled and handed back to him. Upon sampling it they found it had been
well watered. The citizen was politely informed that it was brandy not
water the boys wanted. Without arguing the case he poured the grog out
of the canteen and filled them up with the pure unadulterated article.
After filling the vessels he lead the way starting out and the boys
followed, the boy who had been detailed to cook in the rear. Passing
through the dining room by some unaccountable manipulation the rations
moved from the table and bread, meat, pickles, pies and cakes found a
resting place in the capacious haversack of the soldier and there was
no more solicitude about rations for the next two days.
REPROOF OF CONSCIENCE.--Late one evening the army marched by a
luxurious field of corn. A soldier who was hungry and whose haversack
was empty thought it would be real nice to have roasting ears for
supper. As soon as the army halted to go into camp, he with two
comrades though quite a distance started for the field of corn. When
they got to the field it seemed to be full of soldiers on the same
mission as they were. The soldier though hungry and very much fatigued
proposed to his companions to return to camp and trust to providence,
declaring that his conscience would not allow him to join the crowd
and take the corn. They returned to camp and were agreeably surprised
to find in their tent a box from home full of good things to eat. The
soldier was fully convinced by the circumstance that “Conscience is in
all cases a correct moral guide.”
MINCE PIE.--Two boys came into camp one day selling mince pies. Two
soldiers bought one, ate, smacked their lips, pronouncing it good and
wished for more. Before the boys got out of hearing they got into a
dispute about the division of the money. The smaller boy cried and said
it was his puppy that was killed to furnish material for the pie and he
was entitled to his part of the proceeds. The soldier boys would have
been glad to have parted with the puppy dog, but it had come to stay.
CHAPLAIN’S LECTURE.--On one occasion on a march rations were scarce and
the soldiers were hungry. Some of the boys invaded a corn field and
were plucking ears of corn expecting at night to feast on roasting ears
for supper. The chaplain of a regiment rode along and began to give
the boys a moral lecture, telling them it was wrong to steal and that
the corn did not belong to them. The soldiers paid no attention to his
talk and quietly filled their sacks. The chaplain seeing that they were
determined to take the corn said to them, if they were going to take
the corn anyway to throw him over a few ears for his pony.