The only movies I’ve seen that portrayed military food as awful were films about the American Civil War. OK, MASH too, in both the TV show and movie. But today, we take a look and see if Hollywood’s representation is accurate.

Rock Bread

For the American Civil War soldier, hardtack was a staple. It was basically bread almost as hard as a rock, so it would not go wrong. It was not unheard of for meat rations at the time (if they could get them) to contain maggots. In fact, it was pretty typical. Extra protein.

Hardtack was made of only three ingredients (water, flour, and salt), so it’s pretty hard to screw up that recipe. Civil War soldiers were typically given nine to ten pieces at a time as a ration. Some of the uneaten Civil War rations are said to still be edible today.

 

The horror of hardtack bread. If it's bad enough to make a cartoon about, it's got to be pretty bad. Image Credit: new.qq.com
The horror of hardtack bread. If it’s bad enough to make a cartoon about, it’s got to be pretty bad. Image Credit: new.qq.com

 

When World War I broke out, British soldiers were offered one unappealing item: the Huntley & Palmers No.4 Army biscuit. Well-preserved examples of this product exist to this day. There is even a website out there dedicated to the many uses of this versatile food item.

 

Soldiers would complain that this biscuit was tougher than their teeth. Image Credit: new.qq.com
Soldiers would complain that this biscuit was more challenging than their teeth. Image Credit: new.qq.com