Feeding the Masses When Not On Campaign

[Lightningslinger]

The Spoon Lady just popped into mind and it spawned a logistics question...

Assuming that no one mounts the re-enactors' guard (twice) during a weekend of early season camps-of-instruction, are the instructed ever assigned to mess details?

I recall that Forts McHenry, Delaware, Old fort Jackson and many other restored instillations have employed $$$ specialty groups to handle one of the most necessary and time-consuming activities at events other than with troops on the move. That is, feeding an army or portion thereof while in garrison.

For any re-enactor who attends a re-enactor camp-of-instruction (or maybe two) throughout the season, much could be gained by learning about hands-on period food preparation and service. This was a rotating 'privildge' in any army setting.

Many, though, may not relish such a hefty portion of their set-aside weekend training being such an opportunity. Serving a stint in the kitchen? Some might even view their attendance (and the valuable time they carved out to be present and accounted for) as having devolved into a less-than-learned event; no drill, fewer lectures, up earlier than everyone else is not what they had in mind.

Where are the Betty Barfields of to-day? Is Kombat Katerers still a sizzling group in the East? How might it work over yonder in your mess hall or tent?

73,
Walt

[hanktrent]

Where are the Betty Barfields of to-day? Is Kombat Katerers still a sizzling group in the East? How might it work over yonder in your mess hall or tent?

Don't know about camps of instruction, but at the military non-campaign events I've attended, there are either civilian contract cooks or privates are assigned rotating duty, as planned or assigned by the organizers.

In the last few years, I've portrayed a civilian contract officers' cook at a fort, a civilian cook at a civilian inn, and also wound up being switched from clerk to officers' cook as a private.

There are others who can talk a lot more about cooking in general for soldiers at history-heavy non-campaign events, but in my experience the cooks aren't independent "sutler-type" cooks. They're as much a part of the historic situation as anything else, and the ingredients and cooking methods are documented as much as possible to the historic situation.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Lightningslinger]

Don't know about camps of instruction, but at the military non-campaign events I've attended, there are either civilian contract cooks or privates are assigned rotating duty, as planned or assigned by the organizers...

Hank,

I should think it advantageous for to stroll on down to the sutler, drop a few store cards on his counter and fetch me up some thread, a needle and a pair of them thar shev-a-rons.

Now about those civilian contract cooks - is that a Union Contract job or what?

Tks for the reply,
Walt

[Ephraim_Zook]

Paid cooks? I'm guessing you mean modern-day hired cooks?
I, along with a very able team of reenactors have run the kitchen / messhall at Ft Delaware several times, as part of the reenacting experience, cooking and serving period meals.

You mean we could have gotten paid by somebody?

Sheesh.

[Lightningslinger]

Paid cooks? I, along with a very able team of reenactors have run the kitchen / messhall at Ft Delaware several times, as part of the reenacting experience, cooking and serving period meals.

You mean we could have gotten paid by somebody?.

Now that I know YOU were one of them, you will be hearing from my attorneys, Dewey, Cheetum and Howe. We'll be hauling you into court on charges of consumption.

No seriously.... did you and your pards call yourselves Kombat Katorers, or something of that sort? If so, you were the gents I recommended to the Fort McHenry folks a number of years ago. And it seems as though I got what I asked for Ever hear of the tune entitled: "The Libby Prison quickstep"?

Walt

[hanktrent]

I should think it advantageous for to stroll on down to the sutler, drop a few store cards on his counter and fetch me up some thread, a needle and a pair of them thar shev-a-rons.

Well yes, I could do that if you wanted. If there's a safe enough fixed camp, there's often someone portraying a regimental sutler set up who accepts tokens, and has typical items to sell to supplement what's issued.

Now about those civilian contract cooks - is that a Union Contract job or what?

When I was hired as a civilian cook for the officers, I believe it came out of the officers' servant and rations allowance. I had to go into the captain's quarters and sign a bunch of papers, a pass for camp and I'm not sure what else; it's been a few years. I had a daughter and a mother-in-law to feed, living in a cabin just outside the fort, so I remember negotiating for two extra rations instead of just my own and permission to take their rations to them. The officers reimbursed me for the ingredients I used or told me what to take from the pile of rations--I recall sweet potatoes, cabbages and onions there--and I provided stuff like fresh beef, buttermilk, eggs, etc., so they ate better than the men.

Just looked up in the US Army regulations. This must have been part of the paperwork:

Private servants, not soldiers, will not be allowed to wear the uniform of any corps of the army, but each will be required to carry with him a certificate from the officer who employs him, verified, for regimental officers, by the signature of the Colonel; for other officers under the rank of Colonel, by the chief of their corps or department.

It also seems like there was some sort of deal where my mother-in-law purchased birch beer in bulk from the sutler and got permission to peddle it to the soldiers for ten or fifteen cents a bottle, accepting his sutler chits and keeping the profit, but I can't recall the details. I just remember a bunch of birch beer bottles in our cabin, and me and my daughter accompanying her in the pouring rain through camp, hawking beer.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Ephraim_Zook]

No seriously.... did you and your pards call yourselves Kombat Katorers, or something of that sort? Walt

Hi Walt,

No, we didn't call ourselves anything. We were a diverse group who knew each other from here and there and somehow managed to assemble ourselves as a kitchen team from time to time. One guy was a regular volunteer at Ft Delaware. Another reenactor and his reenactor wife were members of the Ft Delaware Society. The other couple of us just knew each other and knew of our abilities to tame the giant iron woodburning stove at the fort. The lady, along with several others, cooked for the officers in the smaller officers' kitchen.

[VRCordsgt]

When my unit,The 7th Connecticut was going strong, we had up to 45 people we cooked for. We had a mix of Campaigners and Greybeards ( older men who stayed in camp). Some of these older men took on the chore of cooking the meals for the rest.

We had a Regimental Commissary Sgt and I was a Corp under his command as due to health reasons I could not take the field without hurting myself. The Sgt had a lot of period cooking gear and we used it to make some very good meals for our troopers.

Most mornings we prepared fried potatoes (we parboiled them the night before and chilled them), bacon or salt pork as it were, and scrambled eggs. we would also prepare a small kettle of grits or oats for those who wanted them. Some mornings we fixed griddle cakes. For the men who choose to stay in the campaigne camp we made up a packet for their meal of a hard boiled egg, a slice of a hard cheese, a piece of soft bread and some type of dried fruit. This we wrapped in brown paper and tied. Of course we made gallons of fresh, hot coffee.

For lunches we would make some type of soup and sliced meats and bread or hard cracker and again coffee.

Our Saturday night meal was the showcase and a lot of times we would deep fry two turkeys and bone them before serving to control portioning better. we would cook fresh vegitable along with this,like Broccoli, Fresh green beans, fresh Collards of other greens and some sort of desert, usualy spiced or candied cooked apples of a cobbler from fresh fruit.

Our troops never had any complaints and we sometimes had to fight to get the soup kettle back, as they would lick it clean LOL.
Of course we also made stews and occasionaly made BBQ pork or beef and even from time to time cooked inexpensive steaks for each person

Richard Todd
7Th Conn