Loretta Thai Boyd Blog Post Number 1 1861

Loretta Thai Boyd

April 20, 1861

The first casualties of war are in the Baltimore riots, I can not believe what happen. Instead of dying in the battlefields, Massachusetts soldiers died from citizens. Not only did the soldiers died from citizens, but citizens also died from soldiers. Already the Union army is already not getting support from the border states. I can tell this war will take a while, but the Union is underestimating the capabilities of the South. I fear this war will take many lives, the Union is not getting serious.

Anywho living in the camps have been very difficult to adapt to, I do not blame myself though. I had led a very happy lift up until this point. Food is very strange. Since the war just began, I don't really have many patients to help, I have been in the kitchen cooking meals for the soldier. There is this one quarter - inch or haft - inch thick hard cracker eaten by Civil War soldiers, also known as biscuits, cracker, or army bread, they call it hardtack. Making hardtack is not very hard possibly one of the few foods that you can not mess up. Although I do not like this hardtack it is very useful in the civil war, but it tastes very bad at least it is filling. 

I have made so much of this hardtack that I can make it with my eyes closed. 

You need 2 cups of flour, slowly add 1/2 or 3/4 cup of water. While pouring the water use your hand to mix the batter, mix until it becomes dough. Row the dough, trim the edges and then cut it into squares. Poke a hole on it so that it won't rise like normal bread and cook evenly. After putting into the oven for 250 degrees F. Let it cool down. Before I almost forget, if you are lucky you might get salt or sugar in the hard tack. Other than that it just tastes like cook flour with water.