During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, both the Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 and Confederate armies struggled to keep their soldiers adequately fed. Logistical support varied from area to area, which lead to great variations in the quality and quantity of rations provided.

Northern Rations

According to "Hardee's Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics" printed by Pioneer Press:

One soldier's ration would include:

• 20 oz. of salted pork or fresh or salted Beef
  Beef
  Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
  
  
• 12 oz. of Hard Bread
  Hard Tack
  Hard Tack may refer to:*Hard Tack *Hardtack, a kind of biscuit...
  
   in camp or garrison or 16 oz. of Hard Bread at sea, on campaign, or on the march.
• 1 oz. compressed cube of desiccated mixed vegetables or a 1.5 oz. compressed cube of desiccated potatoes if supplemental foods were unavailable.

This would be supplemented by (per 100 rations):

• 8 qts. of Bean
  Bean
  Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
  
  s or Peas
  PEAS
  P.E.A.S. is an acronym in artificial intelligence that stands for Performance, Environment, Actuators, Sensors.-Performance:Performance is a function that measures the quality of the actions the agent did....
  
  .
• 10 lbs. of Rice
  Rice
  Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
  
   or Hominy
  Hominy
  Hominy or nixtamal is dried maize kernels which have been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization.The English term hominy is derived from the Powhatan language word for maize. Many other Native American cultures also made hominy and integrated it into their diet...
  
  .
• 10 lbs. of green Coffee
  Coffee
  Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
  
   beans or 8 lbs. of roasted Coffee beans.
• 10 lbs. of Sugar
  Sugar
  Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
  
  .
• 2 qts. of Salt
  Salt
  In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
  
  .
• 1 gallon of Vinegar
  Vinegar
  Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...
  
  .
• 3.75 lbs. of Candle
  Candle
  A candle is a solid block or cylinder of wax with an embedded wick, which is lit to provide light, and sometimes heat.Today, most candles are made from paraffin. Candles can also be made from beeswax, soy, other plant waxes, and tallow...
  
  s.
• 4 lbs. of Soap
  Soap
  In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
  
  .

The most common field ration issued to individual soldiers was salt pork

Salt pork

Salt pork or white bacon is salt-cured pork. It is prepared from one of three primal cuts: pork side, pork belly, or fatback. Depending on the cut, respectively, salt pork may be lean, streaky or entirely fatty. Made from the same cuts as bacon, salt pork resembles uncut slab bacon, but is...

 and hardtack

Hardtack

Hardtack is a simple type of cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it was and is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages and military campaigns. The name derives from the British sailor slang...

, both which were designed to withstand field conditions without deteriorating. Excess salt could be scraped off the meat to supplement the salt ration.

These rations required cooking to make them palatable, but less experienced soldiers were unlikely to have their own cooking equipment and the large company-level kettles were sometimes left behind during a rapid advance.

Food often became infested with insects, especially rice

Rice weevil

The rice weevil is a serious stored product pest which attacks several economically important crops, including wheat, rice, and maize.- Description :...

 or grain weevils

Wheat weevil

Wheat weevils , also known as grain weevils or granary weevils, occur all over the world and are a common pest in many places. They can cause significant damage to harvested grains that are being stored and may drastically decrease yields...

. Infestation along with scarcity and unpalatability of rations made it necessary for soldiers to supplement their diets. A soldier could often gain a larger variety of foods either by foraging/raiding, by receiving food boxes from their families, or by purchasing items from sutler

Sutler

A sutler or victualer is a civilian merchant who sells provisions to an army in the field, in camp or in quarters. The sutler sold wares from the back of a wagon or a temporary tent, allowing them to travel along with an army or to remote military outposts...

s. Families throughout the country were affected by the war and often had little to give. Those supporting the side currently in control of the area might be able to provide food, but in most cases, the food had to be acquired by theft.

Condensed Milk

Gail Borden's invention of condensed milk

Condensed milk

Condensed milk, also known as sweetened condensed milk, is cow's milk from which water has been removed and to which sugar has been added, yielding a very thick, sweet product which when canned can last for years without refrigeration if unopened. The two terms, condensed milk and sweetened...

 also greatly aided the Union army.

Southern Rations

The Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 followed almost exactly the same guidelines as shown above in Hardee

William J. Hardee

William Joseph Hardee was a career U.S. Army officer, serving during the Second Seminole War and fighting in the Mexican-American War...

's, as the book was written by a U.S. Army officer from the south, before the war broke out. Although Northern quartermasters took the ration guidelines as their standard, the South found themselves lacking most of the items listed. While the government attempted to provide adequate rations for their troops, they were frequently unable to do so, due to blockades, monocultural farming, and lack of transportation.

Confederate soldiers had more access to tobacco than Union troops. While opposing troops were on picket duty, it was common for Union soldiers to trade their coffee for tobacco from the Confederate soldiers. When they could not do so due to the presence of their officers, a Southern soldier could use roasted chicory root as a coffee substitute. Peanuts, due to their wide range throughout southern North America, were an important source of food for Confederate soldiers.