Friday

Hardtack

Hardtack was mass-produced in Northern factories which baked hundreds of crackers every day. The crackers were packed in wooden crates prior to shipment by wagon or rail. Fresh baked, the hardtack was reasonably palatable. Unfortunately the bread which reached the soldiers might be several weeks or even months old. The crackers had to be soaked in water or coffee. Referred to as “tooth dullers” or worse, the hard tack was often infested with insects called weevils. In Confederate prison camps, hard tack was often the only ration a captured Union soldier received.

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