Southern Hardtack

[major bill]

We have a great many references to soldiers eating hardtack. So my question is did the Confederate states grow enough wheat to make enough hardtack? In less mobile times perhaps Southern soldiers did not need as much hardtack, but it sure would have been needed on campaign. I am not even sure many Confederate states grew much wheat.

 

[redbob]

I believe that the main material of this type in the Southern Armies would be corn as there seems to be more references to the use of cornmeal than to flour. Another possibility is that if hardtack was issued that it might have been from captured sources. The main wheat producing area of the South was the Shenandoah Valley which was fought over for most of the War.

 

[major bill]

Could corn be used to make hardtack? Corn bread or corn itself would not be the best from of food to transport or carry into battle.

 

[redbob]

Could corn be used to make hardtack? Corn bread or corn itself would not be the best from of food to transport or carry into battle.

The references that I have seen seem to indicate that the cornmeal would be mixed with grease from cooking and consumed or that it would be made into corn dodgers- either way it would probably be consumed as it was prepared. As the war continued the quality of the meal went down considerably, toward the end the meal consisted of not only the corn itself, but the husks and cobs also.

 

[major bill]

It seems odd the North with all the corn it grew did not overly issue corn meal to its soldiers.

 

[redbob]

It seems odd the North with all the corn it grew did not overly issue corn meal to its soldiers.

Perhaps it was a regional thing, with flour being more popular in the North than cornmeal. When you consider that today more corn is consumed by animals than humans, perhaps the North saw its value more in animal feed than human food.

 

[DaveBrt]

The South grew a lot of wheat in places were are not used to associating with wheat growing. There are many references to shipping flour from Georgia and North Carolina that come to mind at once. For much of the war Northrop (Commissary General) tried to get bread baked in Richmond and delivered daily to the ANV.

On my site, I have transcribed 39 reports made by a Commissary Major making inspection trips though NC, SC and GA in early 1864. His April 9th report shows 1500 barrels flour and 386 sacks of wheat in about 8 NC stations awaiting transportation. This is about 18 car loads in this small area on one day.

 

[major bill]

I know that goods flowed both north and south before the War. I would have to research how much food stuffs used in the South came from the North. During the War substitutes would have been found for some goods. I would suspect Corn and wheat were Northern goods often purchased by the South. Pork would be another food being shipped South before the War.

 

[John S. Carter]

We have a great many references to soldiers eating hardtack. So my question is did the Confederate states grow enough wheat to make enough hardtack? In less mobile times perhaps Southern soldiers did not need as much hardtack, but it sure would have been needed on campaign. I am not even sure many Confederate states grew much wheat.

Did the plantations switch from cotton to food crops or did they maintain the irrational belief that the states could supply their own forces with food for their citizens and military and allow cotton to remain the main crop? Corn was a staple crop ,this could have been uses instead of wheat,ever heard of corn bread? Was their any encouragement from the government ,peaceful of coarse, for theses plantations to have food crops grown ?They had the man power to grow these crops,slave labor,but they seem to have been more concern with the cash crop of cotton than with its citizens and military.They did produce enough for the Big House in gardens .The Confederate government was more concern with maintaining the production of cotton ,and tobacco than with finding how to produce the food for its people They needed cotton to persuade the European countries for recognition.

 

[major bill]

Another issue of this would be the Confederate states did not grow large amounts of oats. Army horses and mules need oats to stay working.

 

[DaveBrt]

Did the plantations switch from cotton to food crops or did they maintain the irrational belief that the states could supply their own forces with food for their citizens and military and allow cotton to remain the main crop? Corn was a staple crop ,this could have been uses instead of wheat,ever heard of corn bread? Was their any encouragement from the government ,peaceful of coarse, for theses plantations to have food crops grown ?They had the man power to grow these crops,slave labor,but they seem to have been more concern with the cash crop of cotton than with its citizens and military.They did produce enough for the Big House in gardens .The Confederate government was more concern with maintaining the production of cotton ,and tobacco than with finding how to produce the food for its people They needed cotton to persuade the European countries for recognition.

Yes, there was a massive switch from cotton to food production. Most plantations produced only enough cotton for their own needs. The cotton for the mills and the blockade runners was almost all produced by the end of 1861.

 

[DaveBrt]

Another issue of this would be the Confederate states did not grow large amounts of oats. Army horses and mules need oats to stay working.

Oats are very rarely mentioned in the shipping documents and discussions. My assumption is that oat production was low and other items were used in its place (poorly).

 

[major bill]

I seen my home state of Michigan was a major buckwheat producer during the Civil War. I was not aware of this. The only buckwheat foods I know of are pancakes and soba noodles. Was Japanese noodle dishes common during the Civil War? Must be a ton of pancakes were consumed.

 

[USS ALASKA]

http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/agriculture1860.gif



https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cb/3e/04/cb3e0401e0d7b380573507116fe4c376.jpg

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[DaveBrt]

View attachment 179821

http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/agriculture1860.gif

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

That illustrates the predominant crops and wheat was never a major crop in the South, though it was present and important.

 

[USS ALASKA]

That illustrates the predominant crops and wheat was never a major crop in the South, though it was present and important.

Indeed sir - just updated the post with a better map that goes by bushels.

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[USS ALASKA]

I know that goods flowed both north and south before the War. I would have to research how much food stuffs used in the South came from the North. During the War substitutes would have been found for some goods. I would suspect Corn and wheat were Northern goods often purchased by the South. Pork would be another food being shipped South before the War.

Sir, please see thread https://civilwartalk.com/threads/cotton-is-king-and-i-laugh.8153/

Posts #64 and #68

HTH,
USS ALASKA

 

[major bill]

Corn is also important in war. Pork stores better than beef and pigs fatten up on corn. War horses need both oat and hey, but are grown in the South but grown more in the North.

 

[Michael W.]

Southern troops were primarily issued cornmeal, and they had to mix it and fry or bake it themselves.

 

[major bill]

I have not seen statics on how much corn Southern states were growing at the start of the War. It appear they must of somehow grown enough.