An April 1863 article in a Greensboro newspaper, for example, explained that okra seeds could replace coffee beans, if “carefully parched and the coffee made in the usual way, when we found it almost exactly like coffee in color, very pleasantly tasted and entirely agreeable.” Mary Grierson, of Cabarrus County, in her memoir How We Lived during the Confederate War, listed wheat, rye, and sweet potatoes as substitutes for coffee. People did without some things we consider common, or they found substitutes. Since many of the men who joined the army were farmers, the wives and children they left behind had to do the farmwork. The war lasted from 1861 to 1865, and soldiers were away from home for months and sometimes years. About 125,000 men from the state served in the Confederate army, and others served in the Union army. North Carolinians suffered many hardships during the Civil War. The soldiers looked forward to packages from home, but often their families did not have enough to eat themselves. They sometimes ate the same thing day after day. When they did receive food, it often was not very good. with patience and shall welcome them with open mouths and good appetites.” Soldiers who fought in the war often did not get enough food. Parker, the leader of the Thirtieth Regiment North Carolina Troops during the Civil War, wrote to his wife in Weldon in January 1862 that “I shall await the arrival of your potatoes, sausage & c. Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of HistoryĬolonel Frank Parker was hungry. Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian, Spring 2007. Food during the Civil War in North Carolina
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |