Bacon

[samgrant]

I'm not a reenactor. But I come across descriptions of soldiers diets, which often say someting like "1/2 lb. bacon per day" or such.

Now I cannot imagine (but am tempted to) that Oscar Mayer was peddling his packages of sliced bacon from his suttler's wagon.

Just how would this 1/2 lb. or whatever be doled out, and how would it normally be prepared?

I must add that I also cannot eating a 1/2 lb. of bacon per day, maybe 3 or 4 slices max.

Do you reenactors eat 1/2 lb. of bacon while on your campaigns?

(Also did soldiers have anything like 'baked beans'?)

[scone]

Sam,

Bacon would come as a Slab and it would be up to the soldier to cut it.. Soldiers would cut what ever they wanted. And If they were lucky to be in a stationary camp they may of had a skillet they could use to fry it in..

If they on the move they could boil it in a cup, or cook it on the end of a their bayonet or Ramrod, or even a wood stick.

I have read account where this one soldier put a little gunpowder in a canteen and blew it apart and used half as a plate and you could sit on a some hot coals use it as a skillet as well.

I never eating a 1/2 lb of bacon but of course iI havent marched like they did either..

regards, steven

[william42]

I must add that I also cannot eating a 1/2 lb. of bacon per day, maybe 3 or 4 slices max.

Hey sam, bacon has zero carbs. I lost 50 pounds on it, and sausage, burger, and chicken. Stay off the bread and potatos though. No wonder the boys in the war were so thin. Of course they got a lot of exercise too.

Terry

[Birddog]

"I must add that I also cannot eating a 1/2 lb. of bacon per day, maybe 3 or 4 slices max.

Do you reenactors eat 1/2 lb. of bacon while on your campaigns?"

If all you had to eat was 1/2 pound of bacon and hard tack for the entire day I doubt you would have any trouble eating it. Can you eat a 12 oz steak at dinner, along with veggies and potatoes? Kind of puts a different light on 8 ounces of bacon, especially since the 1/2 pound is before cooking.

Another thing to take into acount is that often they did not recieve the "alotted" rations on a regular basis. There are a lot of reports where they were issued 3 days of rations, cooked it all up and ate it all right away.

As a reenactor I often cook one or even two pounds of bacon and then freeze it. When I get to the reenactment I put it in my haversack and live off it and some cheese and maybe a bit of hardtack for the weekend. I have no problem eating a pound of bacon in two days!