Shadow Soup

[John Hartwell]

Describing his convalescence at the Army Hospital at Hampton, Va., in the summer of 1862, Cpl. George H. Allen of the 4th Rhode Island, spoke of "Shadow Soup."

[Allen, 46 Months with the 4th R. I. Vols., p.134]​

And that's authentic!

 

[mofederal]

This sound very interesting. It sounds like chicken broth. Thanks for the information. I had never heard it called that before.

 

[JohnW.]

That is funny....I am glad to see that the wounded soldier still could maintain his sense of humor under such trying and probably painful circumstances.

 

[donna]

So called make believe chicken soup, consisting of water and salt and pepper and possible other spices. Times so tough and soldiers so sick not to even known but just glad to get that.

 

[Lnwlf]

So I guess they hung a side of beef in the window and boiled its shadow for the soup given to the healthy soldiers?

 

[Mike Serpa]

Reminds me of the "The Wonderful Soup Stone." An old song by Dr. Hook.

 

[GS]

What a creative way to describe watery broth, "Shadow Soup"... and then there were those soldiers (and families), who had nothing which might make a shadow, and no salt, much less pepper. What did they eat? Gleanings from the woods, herbs, nuts and seeds.
Hard times, the War... for all.

What would today's families do, if war conditions erupted again... with no restaurants or Red Cross, no government benefits, no food at the local grocers? Would today's young people find food in the woods, know what is edible or poison? And where are those herbs and healthy forests of the Civil War era? Gone with acid rain, diseases, pests. We've paved paradise, and put up a parking lot.

 

[John Hartwell]

Set the cooks to work late in the afternoon, when the chicken's long shadow might cover several pots. Make a lot of soup that way! 'Course, it might be a mite thin. A shadow only has so much broth in it.
jno