Reference for rations

[Brandon Ledvina]

Dose anyone know of any good books and/or websites that lists what particular army’s were issued as far as rations. I am not looking for what was typical but I would like a good reference for what solders were issued or had on hand at any particular time so I can bring the correct food to an event. I am most interested in AOT but any other army I’m sure will help me down the road. Thanks.

[Silas]

Re: Reference for rations

Here's a hundred pages of discussions about rations for you to peruse : http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...rbucks+rations

[Brandon Ledvina]

Re: Reference for rations

Thanks Mark, I did some perusing and there is some good stuff there but, what I really would like is more of a guide or list. If I was doing a event and wanted to find what x regiment or battalion at y battle or date had to eat so I can brig correct rations. I know it would be impossible to know everything and I’ve done some looking with no results but thought someone might know of maybe an out of print book or maybe a new one I don‘t know about. Even if you do the research on a unit it almost never has what the solders ate. At least in my experience.

[Gallo de Cielo]

Re: Reference for rations

Brandon,
Some might see your request as asking others to do your work for you. There is a tremendous amount of information to gain from primary source documents. In research on a particular regiment of Texas troops I've done, I've come across many detailed descriptions of what the men were eating on a daily basis.
Delving through diaries, journals, and letters is certainly time consumptive but there is a tremendous amount of information buried in those primary sources.
You'll no doubt find yourself captivated by some of the tangental information you encounter along the way. Indeed, Lon Webster's fantastic work on Confederate wartime importations stemmed from an initial interest in imported knapsacks.
So- roll up your sleeves and enjoy the journey.
Regards,

[Brandon Ledvina]

Re: Reference for rations

Thanks Fred. I hope some do not think I was trying to get others to do the work for me. If anyone did I did not intent that. I was hoping that someone could suggest a good book on food in the Civil War or something similar so that I could research it that way especially when I cant find what rations an army would have at a particular place when there is nothing ells I can find.

[Gallo de Cielo]

Re: Reference for rations

Brandon,

No worries amigo. There are a few books such as "Soldiering in the Army of Tennessee" and "The Life of Johnny Reb" which might make decent macro-level starting points. That said, I would strongly recommend that you try to locate primary source documents to find the real meat of the matter. If you have a specific unit you are interested in, that's your best starting point. You'll be surprised what you'll find.

Moreover, we all know what the prescribed ration issue was. Letters and journals and the like give the real take on what the men were being issued and what they were eating.

I would stray away from post-war accounts. Try imagining what you ate on a random December day ten years ago and then decide if you think your memory might be a bit faulty. Best to go with something that recorded what the fellow was doing/eating as he was experiencing it.

My two cents,

[daveray84]

Re: Reference for rations

Brandon,

Don't forget the ORs either. They are online and are a good source for macro-level information as well.

[CSchneider]

Re: Reference for rations

Brandon,

General Johnston issued a couple circulars to the AOT sometime in early 1864, one listing exactly what the army's rations were to consist of and another concerning the use of flour. They're in the OR's. When researching a particular AOT unit during this time period for a past event, a handful of period letters and a postwar memoir written by members of that unit confirmed that, at least during the first half of 1864, the "menus" on those circulars were pretty much followed day in and day out.

-Craig Schneider

[itz3r1k]

Re: Reference for rations

rebel cornbread and yankee coffee is a great book for rations it gives what they were issued and it even has receipes in it so u can make alot of the stuff they did. the book is 8 dollars at i'm pretty sure any bookstore with a CW section should have it

[Brandon Ledvina]

Re: Reference for rations

Thanks everyone. The only book I’ve read that was mentioned was “Soldering in the Army of Tennessee” so I’ll have to check out the other ones and the ORs.

[OldKingCrow]

Re: Reference for rations

Bake your own bread.....eat raw fat bacon

May 63' outside of Jackson, Miss.....

The morning after our arrival at Jackson rations were issued to us but before we had time to cook them an order came to pack up cooking utensils and get ready to move. I had just gotten a fire started and one skillet of bread down and I never did an act in my life which cost me a greater effort than it did to throw out that dough not knowing when I would have a chance to cook again as the enemy was in a mile and a half and a bloody battle was expected that day…….

………..I never saw so many broken down men as on that evening. The mud and our wet clothing and blankets together with a day's fasting and a very hard march on the previous night were too much for us. I had to eat raw fat bacon without bread on that day for the first time in my life.

THE ANNALS OF THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE AND EARLY WESTERN HISTORY INCLUDING A CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY OF BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS IN THE WESTERN ARMIES OF THE CONFEDERACY DR EDWIN L DRAKE Lieutenant Colonel CSA VOLUME I APRIL DECEMBER 1878

CJ Rideout
Tampa, Florida