What Americans Ate To Celebrate The Fourth Of July During The Civil War

Neither Union nor Confederate soldiers could spare much during wartime. Oddly enough, there is evidence that both celebrated the Fourth of July, albeit on a much different scale. In the Union, soldiers were known to save canned Christmas gifts. In 1864, New York soldiers brought out canned salmon and peas they'd saved over the winter to eat on the Fourth. Rhode Island soldiers were a little fancier, dining on oysters and turkey (both canned), bread pudding, lemonade, and apple pie (an American icon) during the 1864 Siege of Petersburg.

Of course, it was more complicated for Confederate soldiers. While July Fourth was acknowledged in the Confederacy, it took on a different meaning during the Civil War. In 1861, the government of Charleston, South Carolina, decided not to partake in the usual festivities. There are accounts of besieged Confederate soldiers, desperate for meat and out of options, eating mule to celebrate the holiday. However, it was more of a case-by-case basis. White southerners were unlikely to celebrate the holiday as the war dragged on, much less commemorate it with a meal.

Civil War meals looked a lot less pretty when it wasn't a holiday. Soldiers would often try their hand at beef stew, but, being so accustomed to women doing the cooking, had no idea which beef stew mistakes to avoid. Despite this, the Union was in much better shape than the Confederacy, partly because of the Sanitary Commission (a government organization dedicated to keeping soldiers healthy). Common rations included beef, pork, hard tack, and the occasional dried fruit or vegetable. When the Sanitary Commission ran low, however, soldiers would have to fend for themselves. They heavily relied on a cookbook by Sanitary member James M. Sanderson, which was distributed throughout the Union's military.

Further into the war, Confederate soldiers found themselves in a worse spot than their Union counterparts. Blocked imports and railroads made it difficult for them to get their hands on good food. To replace coffee beans, for example, they boiled chicory root, which has since become a major part of New Orleans coffee culture.