“A capital dish …"

Revolutionary Soldiers and Chocolate

John U. Rees

A selection of soldiers’ comestibles. Rice, beef, and peas were all on the ration, but
chocolate was available only by purchase or by extraordinary issue.

Contents
Overview
British Use of Chocolate
Continental Troops and Chocolate
Addenda
"Breakfast on Chocolate”: The Diary of Moses Greenleaf, 1777
Order book, 43rd Regiment of Foot (British), 26 August 1781 to 22 October 1781

1
 Chocolate is the last comestible one thinks of when considering Revolutionary
soldiers’ fare, but that foodstuff, though not on the regular ration allotment, found its way
into their diet more often than one would think.
First, a description of civilian use in Rhode Island, 1780, by Jean-Francois-Louis, Comte
de Clermont-Crevecoeur, sublieutenant in the Soissonnais Regiment:

Their favorite drink seems to be tea, which is ordinarily served from four to five in the afternoon. The
mistress of the house does the honors. She serves it to everyone present, and it is rude even to refuse it.
Generally the tea is very strong, and they put a single drop of milk in it. They also drink very weak
coffee, weakening it still further with the little drop of milk. They drink chocolate in the same manner.
In the morning they breakfast on coffee, chocolate, and slices of toast with butter. They also serve
cheese, jam, pickles, and sometimes fried meat. It should be remarked that those least well off always
drink coffee or tea in the morning and would, I believe, sell their last shirt to procure it. The use of
sugar generally marks the difference between poverty and affluence.1

Having long played a role in the diet of British colonists, by the time of the Revolution
chocolate had become affordable to larger numbers of Americans. Even in the midst of
the conflict, the commodity was frequently available … for a price. A collection of
newspaper extracts published by the State of New Jersey show that from January 1778 to
February 1782, the New Jersey Gazette and New Jersey Journal ran at least thirty-nine
notices offering goods for sale that included chocolate among the items (ten in 1778,
three in 1779, sixteen in 1780, six in 1781, and four in 1782). Some of the earliest
advertisements already qualified the goods’ valuation as being “On as reasonable terms
as the present times will permit …” By 1782, two notices stated, “On the lowest Terms
for Cash only …”2
Chocolate, while an import item, could be processed locally. An article in the 14
January 1777 Pennsylvania Evening Post noted,
A part of General Washington’s army occupying the house and stores belonging to William
Richards, 2 at Lamberton, near Trenton, for barracks, hospitals, and slaughter houses, on Friday
the third instant, the dwelling-house was burnt down (supposed by accident) with a large quantity
of mustard seed, some household goods, and a chocolate mill, &c.3

Richards, who owned a sailing vessel and bakery, centered his business at “Trenton
Landing, just below the Bloomsbury farm, near Trenton, New Jersey.”4 At least one other
chocolate mill is known to have operated in the state during the war. The New-Jersey
Journal, 10 May 1780:
Peter Low Begs leave to inform the public that he has lately erected a Chocolate Manufactory in
New Brunswick, where merchants and others may be supplied at a reasonable rate. N. B. He
formerly followed the same occupation in New-York.5

A notice in the 23 May 1865 Pennsylvania Gazette, 23 May 1765, described a

Philadelphia mill and intimated the existence of others:

To be Sold … The Vendue House … on Society hill … For Particulars, apply to William Smith,
who has likewise to dispose of, an exceeding good Chocolate Mill, double geared, Paschall's
make, and almost new, with all Appurtenances necessary for carrying on the Chocolate Business.
The Mill may either be worked by a tread Wheel, or by a Horse, and is esteemed as compleat a
Machine for the Purpose, as any in the City.

2
 During the French and Indian War (1754-1763) British troops and their Provincial
allies occasionally enjoyed the beverage. On 26 May 1757, Sergeant Jabez Fitch Jr. noted
of himself and his messmates, "we Cooked Some Chocalet and Pitcht our Tent and Had
Good Entertainment &c." A week later Fitch wrote, "Near 40 Cakes of chocalet Spild By
Laying in ye Sun." And in his travels through the South Carolina backcountry in the late
1760s and early 1770s, itinerant Anglican Minister Charles Woodmason related, "In all
these excursions I am obliged to carry cheese, a pint of rum, some sugar, chocolate, tea
or coffee, with cups, knife, spoon, plate, towels and linen so that I always go heavy
loaded like a trooper. If I did not, I should starve.” Other travelers seem to have found the
stuff indispensable. On 5 July 1785, Robert Hunter, Jr. noted in his journal on Lake
Ontario in transit to Fort Niagara, “By the greatest good fortune in the world, two bateaux
put up in this harbor with some cows and we got as much milk as we chose for a few
biscuits ... afterwards took the opportunity of boiling some chocolate with the milk, for
our breakfast tomorrow."6
During the War for American Independence (1775-1783) chocolate was never carried
on the official ration for either army. There were times when that commodity was
available in sufficient quantities for a special issue to the troops, and soldiers sometimes
purchased it from army sutlers or local sources.7
British Use of Chocolate. Intermittent mentions have been found of British soldiers
consuming government-issued chocolate. On the northern frontier, listed among "Sundry
Articles wanted for use of Major [John] Butler's Corps of Rangers" on 9 September 1779
were "4 [pounds] Chocolate." Butler’s troops operated out of Fort Niagara, just north of
present-day Buffalo, New York, at the confluence of the Niagara River with Lake
Ontario. George Forsyth, a merchant based near Fort Niagara, supplied large quantities of
"chacolate" to the Indian Department. In 1780 he was audited for overcharging the
government; chocolate sold inside the fort was being sold at eight pence a pound while
Forsyth’s price was one pound six pence.8
The following year, a "memorandum ... found among some British papers at York Town
Virginia," in October 1781, listed the "Allowance of Provisions" for Lt. Gen. Earl Charles
Cornwallis’s army: per day, 1 pound beef or 9 ounces pork, 1 pound of flour or bread, 3/7
pint of peas, and 1/6 quart "Rum or Spirits," plus each week 1/2 pint of oatmeal or rice and 6
ounces of butter. The memorandum also stated, "Since the troops have been upon this
island, spruce beer has been issued at 8 quarts for 7 days. N.B. When the small species are
not delivered, 12 oz of pork are allowed." The "small species" for British troops at
Yorktown were enumerated by Sublieutenant Jean-Baptiste-Antoine de Verger, Royal
Deux-Ponts Regiment, writing in October 1781, "The English soldiers have received their
regular rations throughout the siege [of Yorktown], including issues of sugar, chocolate,
coffee, and rum." In this case, the special issue was due to the fortunes of war. Johan
Conrad Döhla, of the German Bayreuth (2nd Ansbach-Bayreuth) Regiment, wrote in his
diary for 18 October 1781, “All troops during the last fourteen days have received much
sugar and chocolate, or cocoa, as the English call it, with the daily ration. These were
taken from a Dutch merchant ship that the English captured and divided among the
regiments. We drank chocolate three, four, or even more times a day. Also, we ate it with
sugar on bread, but still could not use it all. It served us well during the present sleepless
work and fatigue, which we had day and night with the greatest danger to our lives.”9

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Chocolate pot next to a brazier topped with a pan of roasting coffee beans.
Sutler’s booth, Redoubt Building event, Fort Ticonderoga, New York.

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Continental Troops and Chocolate. In his diary, covering from 21 December 1775 to 9
November 1776, Sgt. Timothy Tuttle, 1st New Jersey Regiment, noted food for nine
different days, including a single chocolate reference. Here are the meals he mentioned
following his morning repast of chocolate:
10th [June 1776] at sirrell Encampt ... our Battalion is at work at the Battery Chocolate for
Breakfast this morning
11th [June] at sirrell Encampment on Quarter Guard … Water porrage for Breakfast …
13th [June] at Sirrell encampment ... Milk Porrage for Break[fa]st …
14th [June] morning at sirrell, the Camp seems to Be in Consternation ... [it] seems as if they were a
going to Retreat, our Baggage w[as]. put on Board as far as Posible, to go Back to Chamble[e] …
same Day supspawn for Breakfast 10

At Fort Ticonderoga an August 1776 inventory revealed 800 pounds of chocolate stored
at that post. Near the end of the year Col. Anthony Wayne reported that chocolate and
sugar were distributed to patients recuperating at the fort’s hospital.11 Col. Israel Shreve,
2nd New Jersey Regiment, mentioned chocolate in a letter to his brother-in-law. In civilian
life Shreve was a Quaker farmer, and on this occasion had his eye towards making some
profit out of his military situation:

Mount Independance Opposate Ticonderoga 26th. Aug. 1776 ... provisions plenty, Good pork & fresh
Beef, Bread. No Sauce [i.e., greens to accompany the meat] for the men. Col. Maxwell and myself
each purchased a Cow which Gives us plenty of Milk, our Captain has 2 more, pasture plenty; there is
three Scotch farms within about 1 1/2 miles of us, where we Git some few peas, potatoes and Roasting
Ears of Corn - these Articles a Rarity among us. Good West India Rum here is 6 [?] New England Do.
[12/0 or 16/], Brandy 18/, Gin 22/ Wine that is Madairy 30/ p Gallon, Chocolate 2/6, Loaf Sugar 5/6,
Brown Do: 1/6, Gammons 1/3, Cheese 2/6, Candles 2/6, and hard Soap 2/0 per pound ... a Number of
Setlers [i.e., sutlers] will make Small fortunes here this Campaign, [selling] Shugars, Chocolate,
Coffee, Pepper, Shoes, Shirts fit for officers, [etc.] … 12

The following year saw an increase in military activity, and chocolate continued to be
sought by soldiers, but still rarely on the menu. Officers’ ability to obtain special foods
trumped the common soldiers, meaning they were considered prime customers for such
goods. A notice in the 17 January 1777 Pennsylvania Gazette advertised “Francis
Daymon, living in Market street, four doors below Fourth street, has now for sale, at his
store in Water street … shirting and sheeting linen, oznabrigs, checks of several kinds,
sail duck with sailor needles, sewing thread … cinnamon, nutmegs and a very good
assortment of Medicines, and the very best chocolate, already sweetened fit for the
gentlemen of the army.” Massachusetts Captain Moses Greenleaf was able to find a
source for the food, writing at Fort Ticonderoga, Sunday, 27 April 1777, that he
“breakfasted on chocolate, dined on peas and beef, and supp’d [sic.] on tea.”13

5
 “A Pot of Chocolate” by Bryant White
While some commanders may have had access to proper utensils for preparing chocolate,
the greater proportion of officers and enlisted men had to make do with whatever was on
hand. (Artwork courtesy of the artist, www.whitehistoricart@comcast.net )

Sutlers (storekeepers authorized to sell to the troops) were best known as purveyors of
liquor, but carried other goods as well, as emphasized in an article in the 28 April 1777
New York Gazette and Weekly Mercury:
Last Monday about 50 of the Royal Bergen Volunteers under the Command of Capt. Van Allan,
went in Quest of a Party of Rebels that infested Clouster, (a Place about 25 Miles from Bergen
Town) who, on hearing of their Approach, made off, but in pursuing them smartly some Miles,
they took three Rebel Suttlers, with their Stores of Rum, Sugar, Coffee, Chocolate, &c. to the
Amount of seven Waggon Loads, without losing a Man. One of the Suttlers is named David
Philips, who formerly kept a Beer House at the Sign of the Horse and Cart in this City. 14

While circumstances often precluded its availability, chocolate remained a desired

symbol of domesticity and a normal diet. In December 1777 Colonel Henry Beekman
Livingston, 4th New York Regiment, informed his brother from Valley Forge,

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 Our Troops are in General Almost Naked & very often in a Starveing Condition through the
Mismanagement of our Commissaries … Please to let John know that the Box of Clarret I agreed with
him for would be very wellcome at this Time as Liquor of no kind is to be had here nor Sugar nor Tea
nor Vegetables … I wish the State Sutler was sent on not with Liquors but other necessaries such as
Tea Sugar Coffee Chocolate as we can scarcely Live without them having for some time past been
without Vegetables of any Kind.15

Elias Boudinot, commissary general for prisoners, wrote similarly to his wife from the
same camp in March 1778, “We are badly off here for every kind of store … Mrs
Washington presents her best compliments—Pray send me a pound of chocolate & if you
have any rusk or gingerbread—everything here is scarce & dear—”16
Later in the war at least two states instituted measures to augment their troops’ diets,
with some small degree of success. Orders for the Pennsylvania Division, 10 March
1779, noted, 17

The supreme executive Counsil [of Pennsylvania] have provided & sent on a quantity of stores for the
Comfort & Conveniancy of the officers & soldiers of this state in Camp … the Articles may be
Distributed pursuant to the s'd resolve of Assembly, a 1/4 part of the original cost for Cash only ...
That the s'd articles be Destributed in quantitys in the following manner:
1 pint of rum pr. Rations.
1/2 lb. Uncolkraydo sugar pr. Ditt. .[possibly muscovado on original]
1 ounce Tea pr. Ditt.
1/2 [ounce] Chocolate pr. Ditt.
2 ounces hard sope pr. Ditt.
1/4 lb. Tobacco pr. Ditt.

The Com'ding officers of Regts. will... Deliver them to the individuals in the proportions above
mentioned, all except the Rum, which must be Delivered in such quantities only, at once, as the s'd
Com'ding officers shall think proper ...
The weekly allowance of a soldier for every ration that ye proces of ye s'd article now sent be at the
following rates, viz:
1 Quart Rum....... 0 5 7 1/2
1 lb Sugar........ 0 3 5
1 lb Tea.......... 0 14 9
1 lb Coffee....... 0 3 5
1 lb Chocolate.... 0 6 3
1 lb Plug Tobacco 1 11
1 lb hard sope.... 0 2 5
1 lb Loaf Sugar... 0 7 0

Orders for 28 March 1779 notified the soldiers of a price reduction, including chocolate
at three shillings, nine pence a pound.18 The following year a Pennsylvania deserter
confirmed that at least some of the troops were still receiving the extra foodstuff:

Intelligence by John Jones, of Merionetshire in Wales. Taken 15 th Febry 1780.

He left the rebel park of artillery Sunday Evening, and came to Staten Island last night. He was a
Corporal of Proctor’s or the first Pensilvania Regt of Artillery … The Army has been badly off for
Provisions. Those on the Lines have flour, Those in camp rice. The allowance ¾ of a pound & 1 lb
of fresh beef. – a Quart of salt to 100 weight. – No Rum or other spirit except to the Artillery he is
of, to which Pensilvania allows ½ lb of Tea, 1 lb Chocolate, 1 lb Coffee, 1 do Tobacco 2 do
Sugar, ½ lb Soap & a Gill Rum every month.19

7
 New Jersey also supplied chocolate in small quantities. A 1780 account book listed
extraordinary state-issued goods received by the 2nd Jersey Regiment:20

2072 1/2 quarts of rum

1439 pounds of sugar
1092 3/4 pounds of coffee
19 3/4 pounds of chocolate
90 pounds, 9 ounces of tea
723 1/2 pounds of tobacco
358 pounds, 10 ounces of soap
37 pounds, 10 ounces of pepper
363 quarts, 3 gills of vinegar

Local civilians sometimes provided visiting soldiers with unexpected bounty. This was
the case for 22 year-old Sgt. Joseph Plumb Martin searching for a deserter in New Jersey
late in 1781 or sometime in 1782. Leaving camp with “two or three rations of fresh pork
and hard bread,” Martin’s party came across homes celebrating a day of public
thanksgiving declared by Congress. Knowing one family through his time spent in the
area earlier in the war, he related,

We had a good warm room to sit and lodge in, and as the next day was Thanksgiving, we had an
excellent supper. In the morning, when we were about to proceed on our journey, the man of the
house came into the room and put some bread to the fire to toast. He next produced some cider, as
good and rich as wine; then giving each of us a large slice of his toasted bread, he told us to eat it and
drink the cider, observing that he had done so for a number of years and found it the best stimulator
imaginable. We again prepared to go on, having given up the idea of finding the deserter.
Our landlord then told us that we must not leave his home till we had taken breakfast with him.
We thought we were very well dealt by already, but concluded not to refuse a good offer. We
therefore stayed and had a genuine New Jersey breakfast, consisting of buckwheat slapjacks,
flowing with butter and honey, and a capital dish of chocolate. We then went on, determined not
to hurry ourselves so long as the Thanksgiving lasted.21

Chocolate was occasionally involved in diplomacy, too. Twice Spanish Ambassador

Don Juan de Miralles gifted Gen. George Washington with chocolate and other prized
goods. Washington thanked Miralles on 10 July 1779 for “your agreeable present to Mrs.
Washington and myself. Such of the articles as we have made trial of are very fine.” A
list of the articles included,22
1 Barrel of White Sherry Wine …
1 Small Box full of sigarres of the Havannah …
1 Boxmarked M with the following Articles
20 Cakes of Chocolate without sugar for their better preservation in the hot season, and
that Every Body might sweeten them according to their own Taste
1 Farro of Guayava [guava] …
1 small box of Sweetmeats of Guayava
1 Lata of fine Havannah Tobacco”

A second shipment was sent in spring 1780, and included lemon juice, raisins, cakes of
chocolate, sugar, and almonds.23
To recap, chocolate, while not part of the official ration, was occasionally issued
British soldiers (though how much and how often they received it is not known; not very
often, I suspect), while American troops received it very rarely (again it was not among

8
the stipulated rations), and usually only if it was purchased on their own or included as
part of a special state issue. On the American side, it would be more common for officers
to have access, and this also may have been largely true for the British.

Note: Besides Mars, Inc., American Heritage Chocolate, another source for recreated 18th
century chocolate is Dobyns and Martin Grocery, http://www.dobynsandmartin.com/ .
They sell an authentic 8 oz. chocolate “cake” based on the entry in the Cyclopaedia: or
an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, 1751: "… Among us, in England, the
chocolate is chiefly made thus simple, and unmixed, though (perhaps not unadulterated)
of the kernel of the cacao excepting that sometimes sugar, and sometimes vanilla, is
added any other ingredients being scarce known among us.” According to the
proprietress, “The Cyclopaedia also suggests the chocolate cake be wrapped in brown
paper. I have this chocolate made especially for the Pantry using the above information,
[and] have had reproduction molds made so the 8 oz. cake looks like what Benjamin
Jackson in Philadelphia sold in Laeticia Court in the 1760s.” Deborah Peterson’s Pantry
has been cited as a source for true 18th century chocolate in the special chocolate issue of
Early American Life.

My thanks to Joseph Lee Boyle, Norm Fuss, Karl Crannell, Deborah Peterson, Todd
Post, Steve Rayner and Nicholas Westbrook for contributing invaluable information
or assistance for this work.

(Above and following page) "Benjamin Jackson, Mustard and Chocolate Maker,"
Pennsylvania Gazette, May 10, 1764. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-
RZfCLpunkmA/TpN4cw9yKnI/AAAAAAAADFQ/xvQwSmvGTZs/s1600/1764advertiseme
nt.jpg (Courtesy of Steve Rayner)

9
10
 _______________________________

"‘Breakfast on Chocolate’: The Diary of Moses Greenleaf, 1777," The Bulletin of the Fort
Ticonderoga Museum, vol. XV, no. 6 (1997), 487.

Capt. Moses Greenleaf, Col. Ebenezer Francis's Regiment (later 11th Massachusetts)
At Fort Ticonderoga
485.
“23rd of April 1777 Arrived at Ticondaroga the Sun half an hour high P.M. found all Officers &
men in Good Spirits, supped with Adjutant Francis on fry’d fish & Pidgeons Turn’d In at Ten
oClock”

486.
“Thursday 24th April Turn’d out at ½ past 5 Breakfast on Tea … Dined on Beef & Peas, Supped
on American Teal …”

486.
“Friday 25th April [1777] Turn’d out at ½ past five … Breakfast on Chocolate … dined on Peas
& Beef ”

486-487.
“Saturday 26th April … Breakfast on chocolate & Beef dined on Beef & Greens … Supp’d on
Tea …”

487.
“Sunday 27th April Turn’d out at 6 oClock this morning … Breakfast on Chocolate … din’d on
Peas & Beef supp’d on Tea …”

487.
“Monday 28th April Turn’d out at half past three … Breakfast on Chocolate … Din’d on Beef &
Peas … supp’d on Coffee with Lieut Foster …”

487.
“Tues Morn 29 April Turn’d out at ½ past 6 Breakfast on Chocolate … din’d on Beef & Greens
… supp’d on Chocolate with Lieut Foster Turn’d in at Ten oClock …”

488.
“Wednesday 30th April Turn’d out at ½ past Seven Breakfast on Tea … Dined on Greens &
Beef … Supp’d with Capt Porter on Coffee …”

488.
“Thursday May 1st 1777 Turn’d out at ½ past 5 Breakfast on Coffee dined on stew’d Pidgeons
Supp’d on Coffee Turn’d in at Ten”

488.
“Friday 2nd May Turn’d out at 6 oClock Breakfast on Chocolate dined on Beef & Peas Supp’d
on Coffee”

488.

11
“Saturday 3rd May Turn’d out at ½ past 5 Breakfast on Coffee went on Main Guard … nothing
Material since Guard mounting Supp’d on Chocolate …”

489.
“Sunday 4th May Breakfast on Chocolate … this day we catch’d 20 doz Pidgeons Din’d on Beef
& Greens supp’d on fry’d Pidgeons …”

497.
Sunday 6 July 1777, after evacuating Fort Ticonderoga on July 5th, “Day after as fatigueing a
March as ever known we arriv’d at a Town Call’d Hubbardton 22 Miles from the Mount
[Independence] … Supp’d this night with Colo. Francis on Chocolate Encampt In the woods this
night”

497-498.
“Monday 7th July … Breakfast this morning with Colo Francis on Chocolate at seven OClock
Colo Francis came to me & desired me to parade with the Regiment, which I did at ¼ past 7 he
came In haste to me told me an Express had arrived from Genl St Clair … that we must march
with the greatest Expedition or the Enemy would be upon us … March’d apart of the Regt at 20
Minutes past 7 the Enemy appear’d with[in] Gun shot of us / we fac’d to the right then the firing
began, which Lasted till ¾ past Eight A.M. without Cessation [this was the Battle of Hubbardton
was fought] …our people being overpowered by Numbers was oblig’d to retreat over the
Mountains … at Twelve oClock I arrived at Rutland where I Join’d the Main Body … at 1
oClock … drank some Grog which was the most refreshing drink ever Drank then march’d on …
this Night Lodg’d In the woods Eat a small piece of raw pork with Genl Patterson our Bread was
us’d the day before & could not get a Mouthfull”

498
”Tuesday 8th July Lodg’d well Last Night, blessed be God for it, our men have no Blankets
nothing but the Heavens to Cover them & not a Mouthfull of Meat or Bread … at Sunrise we
march’d on about 5 or 6 Miles then stopp’d & kill’d an ox which each of us cut a small stake and
Laid it on the fire without bread or salt which was the sweetest meat I ever eat stpt but a few
minutes before we march’d on … Continues marching till Eight oClock then maid a halt In the
woods made a fire after a good deal of difficulty It still Continues very rany we have nothing to
eat or drink …”

498
“Wednesday 9th July march’d before Sunrise stopt at Colo Marsh’s in Manchester here we bot
some meal & milk, boli’d it & made very good breakfast eat some fresh Beef for dinner boil’d
in the Colos [kettle?] without salt … pass’d [time] at Mr French’s In Manchester where we tarried
here eat some roast Sheep which is the first meal of Substance we have eat since Leaving
Ticonderoga …”

498
“Thursday 10th July march’d this morning at sunrise … Lodg’d In the woods this night eat some
fresh Beef & Bak’d some flour on the Ashes”

499
“Friday 11th July … after dark arrives opposite Mr [illegible] Above Saratoga where we got Into a
house wet as we could be, here we beg’d a piece of bread & Laid down In our Duds”

* * * * * * *

12
Order book, 43rd Regiment of Foot (British), 26 August 1781 to 22 October 1781, British
Museum, London, Mss. 42,450 (transcription by Gilbert V. Riddle).

“Head Quarters [Yorktown] 27th Sept [1781] …

A Proportion of Sugar and Coffee will be issued for the Sick in Regl Hospitals instead of Rum till
further Orders”

“Head Quarters York Octor 1st [1781] …

The Commissary will issue Sugar and Cocoa to Morrow to the Serjts Drums and Rank and File
present in each Corps at the Rate of One Pound Sugar and ½ Pound of Cocoa to each Man”

“Head Quarters York 2d Octor [1781] …

Commanding Offrs of Corps may draw One hundred Weight of Sugar and fifty of Cocoa for the
use of their Regimental Hospitals”

“Head Quartrs York 3d Oct [1781] …

R:O: … Aney Man found without a Stopper to his Fire lock will Be brought to a Drum head Court
Martial immediately”

“Head Quarters York Town 4th Octo [1781] …

R:O: … The Merchant who supplied the Army with Corn [wheat?] and Sugar has it to dispose of at a
reasonable Rate: Those officers who would chuse to be supplied with either will be pleased to give in
their Names and the quantity they want of each to the Adjutant this Evening.”

“Head Quartrs York Octor 8th 1781 …

The Commissary will issue Sugar and Cocoa to the troops to morrow in the same proportion as
before.”

“Head Quarters York 11 [October] …

The Commissary will issue one Weeks Sugar and Cocoa to the troops this day.”

Endnotes

1. Journal of Jean-Francois-Louis, Comte de Clermont-Crevecoeur (sublieutenant,

Soissonnais Regiment), Howard C. Rice and Anne S.K. Brown, eds. and trans., The
American Campaigns of Rochambeau's Army 1780, 1781, 1782, 1783, vol. I (Princeton,
N.J. and Providence, R.I.: Princeton University Press, 1972), 20-21.
2. “Bond and Palm Have for sale, at their Store in Morristown, sugar, coffee, chocolate,
pepper, alspice, indigo, snuff, cloves, mace, cinnamon, nutmegs, handkerchiefs, pins,
spelling-books, primers, a quantity of bohea tea, steel plate, handsaws, a few pieces of
Dutch linen, &c. &c.,” New-Jersey Gazette, no. 7, 14 January 1778, Francis B. Lee, ed.,
"Extracts from American Newspapers, vol. II. 1778," Documents Relating to the
Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey, Second Series (Trenton: The John L.
Murphy Publishing Co., 1903), 17. See also New-Jersey Gazette, no. 10, 4 February
1778; no. 12, 18 February 1778; no. 18, 1 April 1778; vol. 1, no. 20, 15 April 1778; vol.
1, no. 22, 29 April 1778; vol. 1, no. 33, July 1778; vol. 1, no. 38, 26 August 1778; vol. 1,
no. 47, 28 October 1778; vol. 1, no. 48, 4 November 1778, ibid., 36-37, 59-60, 139, 172,
190, 314, 384, 505-506, 521-522. New Jersey Gazette, vol. II., no. 60, 27 January 1779;

13
vol. II, no. 71, 14 April 1779; vol. II, no. 79, Wednesday, 9 June 1779, Francis B. Lee,
ed., "Extracts from American Newspapers, vol. III. 1779," Documents Relating to the
Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey, Second Series (Trenton: The John L.
Murphy Publishing Co., 1906), 47, 246-247, 433-434. New Jersey Gazette, vol. III, no.
106, 5 January 1780; vol. III, no. 116, 15 March 1780; vol. III, no. 122, 27 April 1780;
vol. III, no. 124, 10 May 1780; vol. III, no. 133, 12 July 1780; vol. III, no. 144, 27
September 1780; New-Jersey Journal, no. LIX, vol II, 29 March 1780; vol. II, no1, LXX,
14 June 1780; vol. II, no. LXXIX, 23 August 1780; vol. II, no. LXXXI, 6 September
1780; vol. II, no. LXXXH, 13 September 1780, Francis B. Lee, ed., "Extracts from
American Newspapers, vol. IV. 1779-80," Documents Relating to the Revolutionary
History of the State of New Jersey, Second Series (Trenton: State Gazette Publishing Co.,
Printers, 1914), 127-128, 234, 257, 260, 268, 339, 363, 428-429, 510, 590, 619-620, 640,
667. New-Jersey Gazette, vol. III, no. 146, 11 October 1780; vol. IV, no. 162, 31 January
1781; vol. IV, no. 164, 14 February 1781; vol. IV, no. 182, 29 June 1781; vol. IV, no.
187, 25 July 1781; vol. IV, no. 209, 26 December 26, 1781; vol. V, no. 211, 9 January
1782; vol. V, no. 212, 16 January 1782; vol. V, no. 213, 23 January 1782; vol. V, no.
215, 6 February 1782; New-Jersey Journal, vol. II, no. LXXXVI, 11 October 1780; vol.
II, no. XC, 8 November 1780, Austin Scott, ed., "Extracts from American Newspapers,
vol. V. 1780-82," Documents Relating to the Revolutionary History of the State of New
Jersey, Second Series (Trenton: State Gazette Publishing Co., Printers, 1917), 28, 38-39,
94, 183-184, 193, 260, 275, 348-349, 355, 357-358, 359, 365.
3. The Pennsylvania Evening Post, 14 January 1777, William S. Stryker, ed., "Extracts
from American Newspapers, vol. I. 1776-77," Documents Relating to the Revolutionary
History of the State of New Jersey, Second Series (Trenton: The John L. Murphy
Publishing Co., 1901), 256.
4. Ibid., 256
5. Francis B. Lee, ed., "Extracts from American Newspapers, vol. IV. 1779-80,"
Documents Relating to the Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey, Second
Series (Trenton: State Gazette Publishing Co., Printers, 1914), 367.
6. Jabez M. Fitch, The Diary of Jabez Fitch Jr. in the French and Indian War, 1757 (Glen
Falls NY: Rogers Island Historical Association, third edition, 2007), 2, 3. Richard J,
Hooker, ed, The Carolina Backcountry on the Eve of the Revolution. The Journal and
Other Writings of Charles Woodmason, Anglican Itinerant (Chapel Hill: University of
North Carolina Press, 1953.) 39, 41-43, 44-46, 51-52, 61-62; cited in David Hawke, ed,
U. S. Colonial History: Readings and Documents (Indianapolis: Bobbs - Merrill Co.,
1966), 383. For more on Woodmason see, North Carolina History Project, (World Wide
Web), http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/85/entry. Louis B. Wright and
Marlow Tinling, eds., Quebec to Carolina in 1785-1786, Being the Travel Diary and
Observations of Robert Hunter, Jr. a Young Merchant of London (San Marino, Ca.: The
Huntington Library, 1943), 87.

14
7. Compendium of Ration Allotments, 1754-1782. This representative collection of
ration issues gives some of the alternate allotments used and shows seasonal and
experiential variations, before, during, and after the American War for Independence. As
can be seen, chocolate was not included in any of the rations. It was an extraordinary
item, occasionally issued or purchased.
French and Indian War Rations, 1754-1763: The soldiers of the Seven Years' War in
America (forebears of the Continental Army) were given rations similar to those issued
during the American War for Independence. Massachusetts Provincial troops were given the
following weekly allotment of foodstuffs: six pounds of pork or seven of beef; six pounds of
bread; a half pound of flour; two ounces of ginger; a pound of flour; a pint of Indian meal;
four ounces of butter; a pint of molasses; seven gills of rum; and three and a half pints of
pease or beans. (The ginger in the provincial ration was "used as a seasoning and a water
purifier.") In 1756 the food supply for the Massachusetts soldiers came under British
auspices and they were served the same ration as British regulars: "seven pounds of beef or
four pounds of pork, either fresh or in salted form; seven pounds of bread, or flour sufficient
to bake it; three pints of peas or beans; a half-pound of rice; and a quarter-pound of butter."
In September 1758 a provincial private, Obadiah Harris, noted, “We drawed stores for seven
days. We had four pounds of pork, six pounds of flour, three gills of rice, [and] three ounces
of butter. That is all the provision for seven days.” Spruce beer was also brewed when the
ingredients and sufficient time were available, the boughs being gathered by the men and
mixed with molasses. Unfortunately it was found that some soldiers tended to consume the
molasses alone ("to the damage of their health") instead of using it to make beer.1
Continental Army Rations, 1775-1776: This early allotment for the troops was enumerated
on 9 August 1776 and is basically the same as one made in August 1775:
The Ration for each man, as copied from the Minutes of the Honourable the Continental Congress, is
as follows: One pound of beef, or 3/4 of a pound of pork or one pound of fish, per day. One pound of
bread or flour per day. Three pints of peas or beans per week, or vegetables equivalent, at one dollar
per bushel for peas or beans. One pint of milk per man per day. One half-pint of rice, or one pint of
Indian meal per man per week. One quart of spruce beer, or cider, per man per day, or nine gallons of
mollasses per company of one hundred men per week. Three pounds of candles to one hundred men
per week, for guards. Twenty pounds of soft, or eight pounds of hard, soap for one hundred men per
week.2
Winter Rations, 1775-1776: On 24 December 1775 Continental Army general orders
stipulated it was decreed that
... the following Rations to be delivered in the manner hereby directed - Viz: Corn'd Beef and Pork,
four days in a week, Salt Fish one day, and fresh Beef two days. As Milk cannot be procured during
the Winter Season, the Men are to have one pound and a half of Beef, or eighteen Ounces of Pork pr.
day. Half a pint of Rice, or a pint of Indian Meal pr Week - One Quart of Spruce Beer pr day, or nine
Gallons of Mollasses to one hundred Men pr week. Six pounds of Candles to one hundred Men pr
Week, for guards. Six Ounces of Butter, or nine Ounces of Hogs-Lard pr week. Three pints of Pease,
or Beans pr man pr week, or Vegetables equivalent, allowing Six Shillings pr Bushel for Beans, or
Pease – two and eight pence pr. Bushel for Onions - One and four pence pr Bushel for Potatoes and
Turnips - One pound of Flour pr man each day - Hard Bread to be dealt out one day in a week, in lieu
of Flour.3
Butter was not in the original allotment, but had been added on 11 December 1775:
The Commissary General ... committed an error when making out the Ration list, for he was then
serving out and has continued to do, six Ounces pr man pr Week of Butter tho' it is not included in the
List approved of by Congress. I do not think It would be expedient to put a stop thereto, as every thing
that would have a tendency to give the Soldiery room for Complaints must be avoided.4

15
1777 Food Allotments: Maj. Gen. William Heath's orders, "Head Quarters Boston July
12th. 1777,”
The Deputy Commissary General is to issue the Men's Rations from this Day untill further Orders as
follows Vizt."

1 lb Flour or Bread |
1 1/2 lb Beef or 18 oz Pork |- Pr. Man Pr Day
1 Quart of Beer |

5 pints of Pease |
1 pint of Meal |- Pr. Man Pr. Week
6 oz Butter |

6 lb Candles Pr. 100 Men Pr. Week for Guards

8 lb Soap for 100 Men Pr. Week
1 Jill of Rum Pr. Man each Day on Fatigue
"Vinegar occasionally, for such Articles as cannot be procured the Commissary is to pay
Money in Lieu thereof agreable to the established Rules in the Army."5
On November 10, 1777 a board of General officers convened at the Whitemarsh
encampment and recommended that "the Ration allow'd to the Army in future ought to be as
follows Viz"
2s --- One pound & one quarter of a pound of Beef or One
Pound Pork or 1 1/4 Lb Salt Fish
p5 --- 1 1/4 lb Flour or soft bread or 1 lb hard bread
p7 --- Half a Gill Rum or Whiskey pr Day in Lieu of beer
p4 --- Half pint Rice, or a pint of Indian meal pr Week
3/4 --- Three pounds Candles to 100 Men pr Week
Soap agreeable to the late Regulation of Congress
Always mindful of costs the board allowed "that a Ration according to the above
establishment will amount at the lowest rate to three shillings & Four pence, exclusive of the
Soap and Candles ..."6
Winter and Summer Rations, 1778: After the system of food supply broke down in the late
fall and winter of 1777 it was necessary to temporarily adjust the army’s daily rations.
February 8 1778 general orders noted that the "Comissary Genl. proposes that instead of the
ration heretofore Issued there should be Issued a pound and a half of flouer, one lb of Beef
or 3/4 Salt pork and a certain Quantity of Spirits ..." It had previously been ordered on
January 29 that "The Commissaries in future to Issue [a] quart of Salt to every 100 lb fresh
Beef."7 On 16 April a change in the rations reflected some improvement in the supply of
food.
A ration for the future, shall consist of 1 1/2 lb. flour or bread ... 1 lb. of Beef or Fish, or 3/4 lb. Pork,
and one gill of whiskey or Spirits, or 1 1/2 lb. Flour or Bread, 1/2 lb. Pork, or Bacon, 1/2 pint Pease, or
Beans, one gill of Whiskey or Spirits.8
In conjunction with the order above, extra flour and liquor rations were authorized for
men on fatigue. Four months later, on 6 August, the ration allotment was amended once
again:
That the whole army may be served with the same ration the Commissary Genl. is, till further orders,
to issue as follows: One pound 1/4 flour, or soft bread, or 1 lb. of hard bread; 18 oz. beef, fresh or salt;
1 lb. pork, or 1 lb. of fish, & 2 oz. butter; a gill of rum or whiskey, when to be had; the usual
allowance of soap and Candles.9

16
1779, Winter and Autumn: General orders, March 23 1779: "The Commander in Chief
directs that the following ration be delivered to the Army until further orders:"
25 ounces of beef, or 18 ounces of Pork.
16 ounces of bread or flour.
1 gill of spirits occasionally.
The usual quantity of soap and candles.10
General Orders, November 13, 1779: "The Commissaries to issue the following quantities
of meat or vegetables in lieu of the reduced ration of flour:"
For every 100 lbs. of flour, reduced from the issues, 75 lbs. beef, or 50 lbs. pork; or if received in
vegetables, 2 1/2 bushels beans; or 8 bushels potatoes; or 12 bushels turnips; and so in proportion for
any greater or less quantity.11

1781 Allotment: Six years experience can be seen in the War Office "Enumeration &
Valuation of Rations," dated 26 June 1781 reducing the ration allotment to four variations.12
No. 1
1 lb Beef per day
1 lb Bread per day
1 pint of milk per day
3 pints of peas or Beans per week
1 pint Indian Meal per week
9 Gallons of Molasses per 700 Rations per week
3 lb Candles per 700 Rations as per rations
8 lb Soap " " " " " "

No. 2
1 1/4 lb Beef per day
1 lb Bread per day
1 Gill of peas or Beans per day
1 Gill of Vinegar
1/2 pint of Molasses & 1 pint of Indian Meal per week per ration

No. 3
1 lb Bread
1 lb Beef
1 Gill of rum or other proof Spirits
3 lb Candles per 100 Men per Week
8 lb Soap per 100 Men per Week

No. 4
1 lb Beef
1 lb Bread
1 Gill of Apple or Rye Whiskey proof or 1/2 Gill of Rum per day
3 pints of peas or Beans or 1 pint of Indian Meal per Man
per Week
3 lb Candles per 100 Men per Week
8 lb Soap per 100 Men per Week

17
July 1782: In 1782 the provision allotment was simplified still further and the particular
foodstuffs thought fit for use in hospitals enumerated.13
Ration to consist of 1 lb Bread or flour at the Option of the Contractor
1 lb Beef or 3/4 lb Pork
1 Gill Whiskey or Country Rum
1 quart Salt to 100 Rations fresh Meat
2 quarts Vinegar to 100 Rations
8 lb of Soap -|
|- to 100 Rations
3 lb Candles -|

The Contractors shall issue the Rations in such proportions numbers and quantities as follows
To whom Rations are to be issued Viz To all Regiments in regiments
To Guards
To marching parties
To all Artificers and those Employed in the QrMr Dept &
Comy of Mily Store Departments

No Vinegar, &ca with When less than twenty Rations is issued

less than 20 Rations the Vinegar Soap and Candles not allowed

Hospital Stores Contractors to furnish the Hospitals with

West Ind[ia] Rum

Madeira Wine
Port Wine
Muscovado Sugar
Coffee
Bohea Tea
Indian Meal
Vinegar
Hard Soap
Candles
Rations for the Sick, 1783: In May 1783 the following letter was sent to Gen. George
Washington by Maj. Gen. William Heath:
From the reports of the commanding officers of brigades, I am constrained to represent to your
Excellency the general uneasiness and complaints of the army in the Cantonment at New Windsor on
account of the late irregular issue and bad condition of the provisions with which the troops have been
served - The complaints and uneasiness are growing to such a height that calls for a speedy remedy.
The regiment for duty yesterday, mounted without provisions and remains so this morning. The
provisions which have been issued lately, have been partly meat and partly fish, and a considerable
part of them of a condition not fit for men to eat without endangering their health. I am compelled to
add, the brave men who are unfortunately subjects of the hospital, are of late obliged to eat salt
provisions, very unfit for persons in their condition, and which tend rather to establish than contribute
to the removal of their maladies. And further, that in general the troops are not properly supplied with
that essential article, vinegar - so necessary to their health and comfort especially when served with
salted provisions.14
Ration Sources: Fred Anderson, The People's Army: Massachusetts Soldiers and Society in
the Seven Years' War (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1984), 84-84, 129, 133. Peter Force, American
Archives, series 5, vol. I (Washington, D.C., 1837-1853), 865. Charles Knowles Bolton, The
Private Soldier Under Washington (Williamstown, Ma., 1976), 79. General orders, 24

18
December 1775, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the
Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799, vol. 4 (Washington, DC, 1931), 180. Washington
to the President of Congress, 11 December 1775, ibid., vol. 4 (1931), 157. General William
Heath's orders, 12 July 1777, Numbered Record Books Concerning Military Operations and
Service, Pay and Settlement of Accounts, and Supplies in the War Dapartment Collection of
Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93, National Archives Microfilm Publication
M853, reel 3, vol. 18, target 4. Recommendation of rations for the army by a Board of
General Officers, 10 November 1777, George Washington Papers, Presidential Papers
Microfilm (Washington, D.C., 1961), series 4, reel 45. George Weedon, Valley Forge
Orderly Book of General George Weedon of the Continental Army under Command of Genl.
George Washington, in the Campaign of 1777-8 (New York, N.Y., 1971), 217, 224-225.
Ibid., 291. General orders, 6 August 1778, "Jacob Turner's Book", Walter Clark, ed., The
State Records of North Carolina, XII, 1777-1778 (Wilmington, N.C., 1993), 526. General
orders, 23 March 1779, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 14 (1936), 217. General Orders, 13
November 1779, ibid., vol. 17 (1937), 103. War Office enumeration & valuation of rations,
26 June 1781, GW Papers, series 4, reel 79. "Substance of the Contract for the moving
Army", 9 July 1782, GW Papers, series 4, reel 86. William Heath to George Washington, 29
May 1783, ibid., series 4, reel 91.
8. Frederick Haldimand, Manuscript Papers of General Frederick Haldimand, Add. Mss
21661-21892, The British Library, London, England. George Forsyth, Manuscript
Account Book, 1780 RG 10, vol. 1838, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
9. "... memorandum ... among some British papers at York Town Virginia," October 1781,
Numbered Record Books Concerning Military Operations and Service, Pay and Settlement
of Accounts, and Supplies in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War
Records, Record Group 93, National Archives Microfilm Publication M853, reel 3, no. 151.
Journal of Jean-Baptiste-Antoine de Verger (sublieutenant, Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment),
Howard C. Rice and Anne S.K. Brown, eds. and trans., The American Campaigns of
Rochambeau's Army 1780, 1781, 1782, 1783, vol. I (Princeton, N.J. and Providence, R.I.,
1972), 151. Johan Conrad Döhla, A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution (Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1990), 173. The citation of the original document from
which this translation was made reads “Döhla, Johan Conrad. The Journal of a Bayruth
Soldier, Johan Conrad Doehla during the North American War for Independence, 1777-
1785, with a forward by W. Frhr. von Waldenfels, Major General (ret.), Royal Bavarian
Services. [Privately printed from the “Archives for History and Archeology of Upper
Franconia” 1912 and 1913. Volume XXV, Part 1 and 2.] Bayruth: Lorenz Elwanger, for
the Burger.” My thanks to Norm Fuss for bringing Döhla’s reference to light.
10. Donald Wickman, ed., "The Diary of Timothy Tuttle," New Jersey History, vol. 113,
nos. 3-4 (Fall/Winter 1995), 69.
11. Elisha Avery, deputy commissary (northern department), inventories of commissary
stores at Fort Ticonderoga, 13 and 23 August 1776, Peter Force, American Archives,
series 5, vol. I (Washington: M. St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force, 1848), 1201-1202.
Anthony Wayne, 19 December 1776, “Orderly Book of Colonel Anthony Wayne,
Ticonderoga, December 17, 1776 to January 8, 1777,“ The Bulletin of the Fort
Ticonderoga Museum, vol. III, no. 6 (July 1935), 249.
12. Israel Shreve to Thomas Curtis, 26 August 1776, The Pennsylvania Magazine of History
and Biography, vol. 28 (1904), 114-116.

19
13. Newspaper advertisement courtesy of Deborah Peterson. Donald H. Wickman, ed.,
"‘Breakfast on Chocolate’: The Diary of Moses Greenleaf, 1777," The Bulletin of the
Fort Ticonderoga Museum, vol. XV, no. 6 (1997), 487.
14. New York Gazette and Weekly Mercury, 28 April 1777, William S. Stryker, ed.,
"Extracts from American Newspapers, vol. I. 1776-77," Documents Relating to the
Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey, Second Series (Trenton: The John L.
Murphy Publishing Co., 1901), 354. A sutler was defined by the Military Dictionary
(1780) as, “One that follows the camp, and sells all sorts of provisions to the soldiers. They
pitch their tents in the rear of the regiment, and about the general’s quarters. In all garrisons
there were also sutlers, who serve the soldiery.” A Military Dictionary, Explaining and
Describing; the Technical Terms, Works and Machines, Used in the Science of War
(Dublin: Printed for C. Jackson. and Sold at his Office, No. 1, Blackmore-Yard, Anglesea-
Street, 1780). Also, sutler, “one who attends an army to sell provisions and liquors,” Noah
Webster, A Dictionary of the English Language: Abridged from the American Dictionary,
for the Use of Primary Schools and the Counting House (New York: Published by N.& J.
White, 1836), 429.
15. Henry B. Livingston to Robert R. Livingston, 24 December 1777, Robert R. Livingston
Papers, New-York Historical Society; Bancroft Transcript Collection, NYPL; Ryan, A
Salute to Courage, 111-13.
16. Elias Boudinot to Mrs. Boudinot, 4 March 1778, The Life Public Services and Letters of
Elias Boudinot, LL. D., ed. J. J. Boudinot (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1896), 1:105-106.
Boudinot came to camp from Baskinridge, New Jersey.
17. “John O’Neill, Sergeant, His Orderly Book,” Seventh Pennsylvania Regiment, 2
February 1779 to 15 April 1779, John Blair Linn and William H. Egle, eds., Pennsylvania in
the War of the Revolution, Battalions and Line 1775-1783, vol. II (Harrisburg, Pa.: Lane S.
Hart, State Printer, 1880), 415.
18. Ibid., 425.
19. E.B. O’Callaghan, ed., Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of
New-York; Procured in Holland, England and France, vol. VIII (Albany: Weed, Parsons
and Co., Printers, 1857), 784-785.
20. Account Book of the Jersey Brigade, Box 1, Account book of state stores delivered to
the 1st - 4th Regiments [January - July?] 1780, Department of Defense, Military Records,
Continental Army, Quartermaster General & Commissary General's Records, New Jersey
State Archives, Trenton.
21. Joseph Plumb Martin, Private Yankee Doodle: A Narrative of Some of the Adventures,
Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier (New York: Little, Brown and
Company, 1962), 251. The Thanksgiving Martin refers was likely the one declared by
Congress for December 13 1781, or a second called for November 28 1782. See, Gaillard
Hunt, ed., Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, vol. XXI (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1912), 26 October 1781 session, 1074-1076. George
Washington to Thomas McKean, 15 November 1781, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings
of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745–1799 (39 volumes); vol.
23 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1937), 342. General orders, 14 and 17
November 1782, ibid., vol. 25 (1938), 343-344, 374-375.
22. George Washington to Juan de Miralles, 10 July 1779, ibid., vol. 15 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1936), 400. Juan de Miralles to George Washington, May

20
22, 1779, with “A List of the Articles which have been Entrusted by the Order of D. Juan
de Miralles to the Care of col. Mitchell to be by him transmitted by the first favourable
opportunity to His Excellency General Washington” with translation, George Washington
Papers, Presidential Papers Microfilm (Washington: Library of Congress, 1961), series 4
(General Correspondence. 1697–1799).
23. Washington to Juan de Miralles, 4 April 1780, Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George
Washington, vol. 18 (1937), 218-219.
Selected works by John U. Rees related to food in the armies of the American
Revolution:
"'The foundation of an army is the belly.' North American Soldiers' Food, 1756-1945," ALHFAM:
Proceedings of the 1998 Conference and Annual Meeting, vol. XXI (The Assoc. for Living History, Farm
and Agricultural Museums, Bloomfield, Ohio, 1999), 49-64. Part I. "'I live on raw salt pork ... hard bread
and sugar.': The Evolution of Soldiers' Rations," and, Part II. "Salt Beef to C Rations: A Compendium of
North American Soldiers' Rations, 1756-1945" (For Verger, see endnote #34) (World Wide Web,
http://revwar75.com/library/rees/belly.htm).
“Rations and cooking,” Mark M. Boatner, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution: Library of
Military History, Harold E. Selesky, ed. (2nd Edition, Charles Scribner’s Sons, May 2006), 622-624.

“Historical Overview: The Revolutionary War,” Andrew F. Smith, ed., Oxford Encyclopedia of Food
and Drink in America, 2 vols. (New York and London: Oxford University Press, 2004), vol. 1, 622-624.
"'To subsist an Army well ...': Soldiers' Cooking Equipment, Provisions, and Food
Preparation During the American War for Independence”:
"’All the tin Camp-kettles they can procure ...’: Iron Pots, Pans, and Light-
Weight Military Kettles, 1759-1782”
Subheadings:
“Tin Kettles, 1759-1771”
“British Kettles in the American War, 1776-1781”
“Continental Army and States’ Militia, 1775-1780”
“American Sheet Iron Kettles, 1781-1782”
“Officers’ Cooking Equipment”
“Kettle Covers”
“’The extreme suffering of the army for want of … kettles …’:
Continental Soldiers and Kettle Shortages in 1782”
“’A disgusting incumbrance to the troops …’:
Linen Bags and Carts for Carrying Kettles”
“’The Kettles to be made as formerly …”
Kettle Capacity and Weight, and Archaeological Finds”
Subheadings:
“Kettle Capacity and Sizes, 1759-1782”
“Louisbourg Kettle, Cape Breton Island”
“Fort Ligonier (Buckets or Kettles?)”
“Rogers Island (Bucket or Kettle?)”
“1812 Kettles, Fort Meigs, Ohio”
“Overview of Cooking Equipment, 1775-1783”
Military Collector & Historian, vol. 53, no. 1 (Spring 2001), 7-23.

21
"’To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.’: Soldiers' Food and Cooking in the War
for Independence”
Subheadings:
"The manner of messing and living together": Continental Army Mess Groups
“Who shall have this?”: Food Distribution
"A hard game ...": Continental Army Cooks
“On with Kittle, to make some hasty Pudding …”: How a "Continental Devil" Broke His Fast
1. The Army Ration and Cooking Methods.
2. Eating Utensils.
3. The Morning Meal.
4. Other Likely Breakfast Fare.
(To be published in Military Collector & Historian)
Food History News series (http://foodhistorynews.com/index.html):
"’It was my turn to cook for the Mess’: Provisions of the Common Soldier in the Continental Army,
1775–1783,” Food History News, vol. VII, no. 1 (Fall 1995), 2, 8.
"’Sometimes we drew two days rations at a time.’: The Soldiers' Daily Issue,” FHN, vol. VII, no. 3
(Winter 1995), 2–3.
"’Drew 2 pound of Shugar and 1 pound of Coffee’: Extraordinary Foodstuffs Issued the Troops,”
FHN, vol. VIII, no. 1 (Summer 1996), 2–3.
"’The unreasonable prices extorted ... by the market People’: Camp Markets and the Impact of the
Economy,” FHN, vol. VII, no. 4 (Spring 1996), 2–3.
"’Complaint has been made by many of the Inhabitants’: Soldiers' Efforts to Supplement the Ration
Issue,” FHN, vol. VIII, no. 2 (Fall 1996), 1–2, 7.
"’Whilst in this country’: Sullivan's Expedition and the Carolina Campaigns,” FHN, vol. VIII, no. 3
(Winter 1996), 2, 6–7.

"’Hard enough to break the teeth of a rat.’: Biscuit and Hard Bread in the Armies of the Revolution,”
(Also in the same issue, information on cooking with biscuit and hardtack during the American Civil War
and the War for Independence in "Joy of Historical Cooking: Using Hardtack & Crackers."), FHN, vol.
VIII, no. 4 (Spring 1997), 2, 3–5, 6–7.
"’The essential service he rendered to the army’: Christopher Ludwick, Superintendent of Bakers,”
FHN, vol. IX, no. 1 (Summer 1997), 2, 6.
“’The Gingerbread Man’: More on Washington’s Baking Superintendent, Then and Now,” FHN, vol.
XVII, no. 1 (Summer 2005), 2.
"’As many fireplaces as you have tents’: Earthen Camp Kitchens,” FHN, vol. IX, no. 2 (Fall 1997), 2,
8–9, plus “Matt and I Dig a Kitchen: Recreating an 18th–Century Cooking Excavation,” FHN, vol. IX, no.
3 (Winter 1998), 2. Also published as "Earthen Camp Kitchens,” Muzzleloader, vol. XXX, no. 4
(September/October 2003), 59–64. For online version see (World Wide Web),
http://revwar75.com/library/rees/kitchen.htm
"’Our pie–loving ... stomachs ... ache to even look.’: Durable Foods for Armies, 1775–1865,” FHN,
vol. IX, no. 4 (Spring 1998), 2, 7–8.
"’Tell them never to throw away their ... haversacks or canteens’: Finding Water and Carrying Food
During the War for Independence and the American Civil War,” FHN, vol. X, no. 1 (37), 2, 8–9.
"’The victuals became putrid by sweat & heat’: Equipment Shortages, the Burden of Rations and
Spoilage During the War for Independence and the War Between the States,” FHN, vol. X, no. 2 (38), 2, 6–
7.
"’False hopes and temporary devices’: Organizing Food Supply in the Continental Army”:
part I. “’To subsist an Army well’: An Organizational Overview,” FHN, vol. XII, no. 3 (47), 2, 9–10.
part II. “’Owing to this variety of waste …’: Producing, Storing, and Transporting Bread,” FHN, vol. XII,
no. 4 (48), 2, 9–10.
part III. “’We now have 500 head of fat cattle’: Procuring, Transporting, and Processing Livestock,” FHN,
vol. XII, no. 4 (48), 2, 8–9.
“’A perfect nutriment for heroes!’: Apples and North American Soldiers, 1757–1918,”
FHN, vol. XIV, no. 1 (53), 2, 6.

22
 “’The oficers are Drunk and Dancing on the table …’: U.S Soldiers and Alcoholic Beverages,” FHN,
vol. XIV, no. 2 (54), 2.
“’The repast was in the English fashion …’: Washington’s Campaign for Refined Dining in the War
for Independence,” FHN, vol. XIV, no. 3 (55), 2.
"’Give us Our Bread Day by Day.’: Continental Army Bread, Bakers, and Ovens”:
part I. “’Waste and bad management …’: Regulating Baking,” FHN, vol. XV, no. 4 (60), 2, 9.
part II.“’A bake–house was built in eleven days …’: Contemporary Baking Operations and Army Masonry
Ovens,” FHN, vol. XVI, no. 1 (61), 2, 8.
part III. “’Seeing that the Ovens may be done right …’: Bake Oven Designs,” FHN, vol. XVI, no. 3 (63), 2,
8.
part IV. “’The mask is being raised!!’: Denouement: Early–War Iron Ovens, and a Yorktown Campaign
Bakery,” FHN, vol. XVI, no. 4 (64), 2.
“’Invited to dine with Genl Wayne; an excellent dinner …’: Revolutionary Commanders’ Culinary
Equipage in Camp and on Campaign”:
part 1 “’Plates, once tin but now Iron …’: General Washington’s Mess Equipment,” FHN, vol. XVII, no. 2
(66), 2, 8.
part 2 “’40 Dozens Lemons, in a Box’: British Generals’ Provisions and Mess Equipage,” FHN, vol. XVII,
no. 3 (67), 2, 8.
part 3 “’A Major General & family’: Nathanael Greene’s Food Ware,” FHN, vol. XVII, no. 4 (68), 2.
part 4 “’My poor cook is almost always sick …’: General Riedesel Goes to America,” FHN, vol. XVIII, no.
1 (69), 2–3.
“’Sufficient for the army for fifteen days …’: Continental Army Frozen Rations,” FHN, vol. XVIII,
no. 2 (70), 2.
"’The manner of messing and living together’: Continental Army Mess Groups, FHN, vol. XVIV, no.
2 (74), 2, 5.
"’A hard game’: Cooks in the Continental Army” (not yet published)
“’On with Kittle, to make some hasty Pudding …’: How a ‘Continental Devil’ Broke His Fast” (not
yet published)
"’We had our cooking utensils ... to carry in our hands.’: Light-Weight Military Kettles, 1775-1782”
(not yet published). (Included in the endnotes: “Tin Kettles, 1759-1771”; “British and German Kettles”;
“Kettle Capacity and Weight, and Excavated Artifacts, Circa 1750-1815.”)
"’They were made of cast iron and consequently heavy.’: Eating Utensils and Less Commonly Used
Cooking Implements, 1775-1783” (not yet published)
"’A better repast’: Continental Army Field and Company Officers’ Fare” (series closing column, not
yet published)

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