Civil War Soldier's Mess
date: label: associated date
content: 1861 - 1865
notes: label: Description
content: Physical Description
label: Description
content: Small metal box to protect matches, two-piece lantern, metal frying pan, and cup. Hardtack.
label: Description
content: General History
label: Description
content: A match safe, lantern, frying pan, and cup would have been part of a soldier’s equipment. Hardtack is the name given to a thick cracker made of flour, water, and sometimes salt. While it has been called by several nicknames, the Union Army of the Potomac referred to the ration as hardtack, and the name stuck. When stored properly, hardtack would last for years. Because it could be prepared cheaply and would last so long, hardtack was the most convenient food for soldiers. The army furnished hardtack by weight, but in most units the biscuits were doled out by number, with a ration generally being nine or ten.
topic: label: related event
content: Civil War
label: related event
content: Civil War and Reconstruction
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
label: See more items in
content: Food
label: See more items in
content: Military
label: See more items in
content: ThinkFinity
label: Exhibition
content: Price of Freedom
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Virginia Dell Sours Atkinson, C. F. Ray Sours, and John A. Sours
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AF.55596
label: catalog number
content: 55596
label: accession number
content: 195333
objectType: label: Object Name
content: hardtack
label: Object Type
content: hardtack
label: Other Terms
content: hardtack; Army
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: flour (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: water (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 in x 4 in x 3/16 in; 10.16 cm x 10.16 cm x .4318 cm