Civil War History - The South & Western TheatersCheck this forum for all South and Western Theater Questions. Included are the Western, Pacific, Trans-Mississippi, & Lower Seaboard and Gulf Approach Theaters.
From what I have read from first person accounts, in late 1862 and early 1863 before going on the what would be the Vicksburg Campaign and while being stationed at/around Lake Providence, many soldiers wrote that they had Oysters for dinner. I had thought that oysters were salt-water and pretty much assumed they were talking of fresh-water clams or the like. I mean, they ate "oysters" a lot from what I have read and actually that suprises me a bit because I have pretty much thought that the inland soldiers ate pretty much beef, pork and chicken. Any thoughts/ideas is appreciated. Matt.
__________________ 'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed,
if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.'
Mark Twain
Canned oysters were generally available, 'though probably too expensive for common consumption -- a treat, as it were. That oysters were familiar to the troops is evident in some of the letters from Sherman's troops anticipating fresh oysters when they reached the ocean.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
In the Gold Rush days, oysters were harvested, packed on ice, and shipped across the mountains to the gold camps in a couple of days. I wonder if river traffic brought something similar to the troops along the Mississippi.
Canned oysters were also available, but were likely a high-end food as others have mentioned.
Remember, only eat oysters in months which contain an R! (Figure this out and you'll know when oyster season was.)
In the Gold Rush days, oysters were harvested, packed on ice, and shipped across the mountains to the gold camps in a couple of days. I wonder if river traffic brought something similar to the troops along the Mississippi.
Not quarreling zou, but shipping across the mountains in a couple of days? Are there oysters off San Francisco? I've heard of fresh oysters by the barrel as far west as St. Louis, but for 49ers?
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Oysters colonize salt and brackish waters and are (or were) plentiful in the waters of the Miss. Delta and the estuaries of/around Mobile Bay. Vicksburg area certainly could have had them if someone hauled or shipped them.
Regarding months with the letter "R"... oysters grow and now are harvested and eaten year round. No oysters in months without an "R" is a rule originating from the days before refrigeration. As months with no "R" in them are the hottest months of the year, people did not eat them then for they were generally spoiled before getting to market. Some still avoid doing so claiming the warmer waters during those months negatively affects the taste.
Pacific coast oysters are plentiful even northward off the Canadian coast, the Seattle area in particular. Although generally smaller than the oysters from the Atlantic and Gulf beds, they have a much cleaner and brighter taste, some claim due to the colder/cleaner waters. Spent 2 weeks this spring in Washington state, Vancouver, Victoria, etc enjoying them and the local beers. Wonderful trip.
JKeith is quite correct that oysters develop in the estuaries (both fresh and salt water) usually in salt marsh. Oyster beds were in place particularly in the area off the Pamlico Sound in North Carolina and up in the Chesapeake Bay area in Virginia. They are also found around the Mobile Bay area as well as the Pacific coast. The entire Confederacy would have only been a couple of days wagon ride from the coast, or better yet railroads, in some areas such as Alabama and North Carolina.
One of the entries in the cooking contest at Potter (WI) a few weeks ago was "oysters" - and was something made by multiple genetartions of the entrants family.
The recipie?
beaten eggs
floor
fresh from the cob corn
deep fried in lard
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