Civil War Recipes for Soldiers

Confederate soldiers often died of dysentery and for good reason. As the civil war raged on and the South depleted their funds, the troops had to eat whatever they had or stole or found or die of starvation; they usually did eat the mess but did so with one hand holding the nose and the other holding the spoon.

Horse meat was a common staple, dog meat also. The preserve the horse meat the cook would throw the raw meat in a big vat of saltwater where it would sit for days, regardless of temperature.