Southern Women Outwit Yankee Soldiers

Hiding Valuables

As in any war, there was much theft and plunder by Yankee soldiers.  Southerners, however, had 2 advantages which helped ensure their survival:

1. Yankees did not recognize the patches of sweet potatoes, thinking they were weeds, and overlooked them.

2. Southerners knew their local terrain.  They knew its hiding places, and hid livestock such as pigs, and valuables in swamps and forests.

Diary of Nancy Emerson  
Staunton, VA  July 13, 1864
"They told us that Crook's men were a great deal worse than they, & that was true, but they were bad enough & worse at some other places than with us.  At one of our neighbors, they took every thing they had to eat, all the pillow cases & sheets but what were on the beds, & the towels & some of the ladies stockings.  One of them made up a bundle of ladies clothing to take, but his comrade shamed him out of it.                 

They then poured out their molasses, scattered their preserves & sugar & other things about the floor, & mixed them all together & destroyed things generally."

Diary of Estelle Laughlin 

"Word was sent by a neighbor's young houseboy ... that the Union soldiers were foraging, and so they had a little time to hide things.

All the keepsakes that they felt the Union soldiers might take were hastily dumped into a large, dark-colored bag.  Uncle Adam suspended it down into the well by the long rope.

The Union soldiers arrived and took the chickens, and some other things, but when they went through the house, they couldn't seem to find anything of value.

When the soldiers stopped at the well to draw up a bucket of cold water, the hearts of the watching family were in their throats, but by good fortune they didn't notice the rope suspended into the well, or else thought it was merely something put down in the well to be kept cold, as was the custom, and so the family treasures were saved."

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Frugal Civil War Cooking: Oatmeal Pie recipe

There were many food shortages because of blockades.  The following recipe provides flavors that substitute for pecans, which were hard to find.  A very frugal recipe and tasty.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Pie

Ingredients:

1 (9 inch) pie crust
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light corn syrup (sorghum or molasses during Civil War)
1/8 to 1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal (uncooked)

Directions:
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Beat eggs until frothy. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl. Add eggs and mix well. Add corn syrup, melted butter and vanilla. Mix oatmeal. Pour into uncooked pie shell. Bake for 45 minutes. 

Oatmeal pie is also known as “poor man’s pecan pie” or “mock pecan pie.”  Another time in U.S. history when oatmeal pie was popular was during the Great Depression when everything was in short supply. Oatmeal pie is made with basic ingredients that were and still are in most of our pantries. 

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Civil War Frugal Recipe: Cabbage Stew

Civil War Recipes 

During the Civil War finding sufficient, edible food was challenging.  Devastated landscapes with no one to farm them, insufficient labor, and blockades and barricades prevented access to provisions. Much like settlers headed out West or poverty-stricken people during the Great Depression, Civil War civilians and soldiers resorted to whatever they could find to eat. The following recipe reflects the creativity men and women undertook in the kitchen and at the campfire. 

Cabbage Stew

Ingredients:

1. - one head green cabbage
2. - onions (slice the cabbage and onions - approximately ½ & ½)
3. - salt pork (cut the salt pork into small cubes)  NOTE:  a modern    Vegan substitute is tempeh or tofu
4. - stewed tomatoes
5. - salt, garlic salt, pepper, cajun seasoning or ground red pepper

Fry the salt pork in a very large, hot, cast iron pot 

   until well browned (do not drain).
Turn the heat down (move to a cooler fire area).
Add cabbage and cook until wilted
Add onions and cook until wilted

Let cook approximately 1 hour (low fire).  Add tomatoes to more than cover.  
Let cook ...simmer... The longer the better, the flavors will blend nicely the longer it cooks.

Add garlic salt (small amount), then add salt and pepper to taste.
Add a very small amount of cajun seasoning or ground red pepper. Be sure to taste after adding each time. It takes the seasoning a few minutes to make themselves known. Better to add too little than too much.  Stir occasionally.
After approximately 2-3 hours, start tasting then season/cook more if necessary. 

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Source:   Total Gettsburg