HARDTACK - A little history about these wonderful "Militia Cookies"

Hardtack or Army Bread is a hard cracker-like biscuit made of flour, salt and water, and it was one of the most common rations issued to militiamen, soldiers, and sailors by the U. S. government, the C.S. government, and by the State governments because it was somewhat nutritious and unlikely to spoil for a long time. Hardtack's use as a military ration can theoretically be traced back to the times of the Roman Empire. Army Crackers gained widespread usage by American soldiers during the "Civil War". The Confederate Rebel Army baked some of their own 'tack, but probably requisitioned a lot more hardtack from the Federals than the South ever baked since the Northerners well they had more than they really needed anyway, and taking your enemies food supplies is a noble tradition and has always been considered good sport in war. The Federal Army bakeries made tons of the iron plate army biscuits and fed them everyday to Union soldiers to make them mean, constipated, and angry; this nefarious scheme worked as it gave the Union Yankee Federal boys incentive to invade the Southland in order to plunder and pillage some real food. Southerners fought gallantly to keep the "sheet iron biscuits" out of the South, but the Unionist Feds brought 'em down here with 'em anyway and stole or ate up most of the real food so that Southern Rebel soldiers and civilians alike had to learn to bust, bite, soak and chew the dastardly little Army Crackers or starve to death! From then on till the end of the war CS Cavalry raids on US supply wagon trains full of Hardtack Army Crackers was an important strategic consideration for the Southland.

After the War Between The States, this rock hard bread continued to be a staple ration of the soldier's diet and was made in government bakeries located in eastern cities. Hardtack was shipped in barrels to the cavalry troopers in the west. Hardtack had to be tough for several reasons, and biscuit bricks fill the bill. This infamous and nortorious toughness made Hardtack ideal for military campaigns and combat patrols away from the camp, post, or fort. Normal breads were too delicate and dainty to survive rugged campaigning and patrolling. Also just the long trips west would crumble regular loaves of bread and even if a loaf survived intact it would spoil very quickly and become ripe with mold. Army Bread passed the test and is here to stay, take it or leave, love it or hate it; it is better than moldy bread and an empty stomach. Hardtack was and still is extremely hard and 'tack was and still is called "teeth-dullers", "digestible leather", "angel cakes", "spare bullets", and "ammo reserves" by those who ate and still eat the hard bread. Some Hardtack was and some hardtack still is so hard it has to be broken with a rifle butt, or whacked with the handle of a fighting knife, or busted with a "blow of the fist" to prepare it for eating. This is called "killing it first before you eat it" or "slaughtering & field dressing your 'tack" before consumption. Some Militiamen simply call the process and routine of busting up hardtack to eat, "attacking the 'tack"; and are heard to grumble that "if you do not attack it first, it will attack you" in reference to the very real danger of busted and broken teeth.   

Soldiers and Militiamen normally soften the pieces of Hardtack by soaking them in coffee, frying them in bacon grease or salt pork fat, or crumbling them in soup. Remember that during the War Between The States bacon & salt pork were also a staple ration of the Armies of both sides of the unsettled conflict. There is a Recipe or instructions given for Rebel Army Cobbler at the top of this page, and it is one of the best and most pleasant ways to eat and actually enjoy hardtack.

The methods most often used to eat Hardtack include and included:

• Eating plain. (Not at all the best choice, and really a last resort survival meal)
• Breaking up the Crackers in a pot of coffee. (This really does not help the coffee & may anger some coffee drinkers. None the less is does soften hardtack, caution however, not much will wreck "good" hardtack, but if you brew it too long with the coffee you may wind up with coffee & hard tack soup, and that is poor table fare indeed! Just let your hard tack soak up enough coffee to soften it up, this also heats it up nice & gives it a caffeine jolt that helps while your on guard duty or late night patrol.
• Breaking up the Army Crackers in a soup or stew, as a thickening agent. (One of the best ways to eat 'tack.)
• Toasting a cracker over a fire and buttered. (The aristocratic way to eat hardtack, preferred by noblemen & knights. Goes great with a glass of wine, but a cup of coffee will do especially if it is a cold winter night.)
• Soaking in cold water, browning in salt pork fat, then salting to taste. (Taste good to most people, but none too healthy.)
• Soaking in condensed milk to make milk toast. (For the milk toast militia or the ladies in your militia squad. OK for the men in the squad too if your out of coffee.)
• Soaking in hot chocolate is good stuff too as far as 'tack rations go, but it ain't marshmallows.
• Soaking in water, frying in salt pork fat, and topping with sugar. (This is a strange one, but some folks really like it. Once again however we must warn you this is not a really healthy meal.
• Crumbling crackers, mixing with bacon, raisins, and boiling in condensed milk, or any kind of milk you got. (This is Confederate Partisan Ranger Stew. This ain't bad and it is a traditional Civil War ration, and if it was good enough for the men in the First American Civil War, it ought to be good enough for us too. You can also leave out the bacon and add a little sugar or honey for something more like a dessert, and remember you can use powdered milk if need be.)

The old soldier's adage of Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome comes to mind and there were and are of course many other methods used to prepare this rascally ration.

Hardtack Army Bread was commonly held in government storehouses and usually eventually become infested with insects while in storage or later on during the soldier's travels. One often heard comment from foot weary or saddle sore and downtrodden soldiers was, "All the fresh meat we had came in the hard bread!" It has been often written about by those who served on many merchant ships during the early 20^th Century that a sailor could pound his Hardtack on the table and watch the insects & wigglers crawl out of it and away. The same men also wrote that they were glad for the fact that the sailor's mess was poorly lit, because "the darker the corner, the better you ate." None the less, even with the seious problems of insect infestation and eventually over long term storage some mold, the longevity of these military rations was such that some Hardtack produced during the War Between The States was actually still being issued and eaten by unfortunate soldiers and militiamen as long after and as late as during the Spanish-American War. Few, if any, modern rations will last as long as the original "Soldier's Bread", and that folks is the history of our beloved "Militia Cookies".

 

The Government specifications for Hardtack or Hard Bread (Subsistence Rations):

1863 US Army SPECIFICATIONS:

Assistant Commissary General of Subsistence - [Lt. Col. C.L. Kilburn "Notes on Preparing Stores for the United States Army and on the Care of the Same, etc, with a few rules for Detecting Adulterations" Printed 1863], under Hard Bread:

"Should be made of best quality of superfine, or what is usually known as extra superfine flour; or better, of extra and extrasuperfine, (half and half.)  Hard bread should be white, crisp, light and exhibit a flaky appearance when broken. If tough, solid and compact, is evident the fault is either in the stock, manufacture or baking; it should not present the appearance of dried paste. If tough and pasty, it is probably manufacture from grown wheat, or Spring wheat of an inferior kind. In all cases it should be thoroughly cooled and dried before packing. Kiln drying, where practicable, for long voyages, is particularly desirable; but if really and thoroughly dried in the oven, hard bread will keep just as well and its flavor is not destroyed. To make good hard bread, it is essential to employ steam; hand work will not do.? The dough should be mixed as dry as possible; this is, in fact, very essential, and too much stress can not be placed on it. Good stock, dry mixed, and thoroughly baked, (not dried or scalded) will necessarily give good hard bread. If salt is to be used, it should be mixed with the water used to mix the dough. Both salt and water should be clean. Bread put up with the preceding requirements should keep a year; but as a usual thing, our best bread as now made for army use, will keep only about three months. Good, bread, packed closely and compactly should not weigh, net, per barrel, more than 70 or 80 pounds; should it be heavier than 80 indicates too much moisture.

The thickness of the biscuit is important; it should not be so thick as to prevent proper drying, or so thin as to crumble in transportation. The quality of stock used for hard bread can be partially told by rules mentioned in the article 'Flour,' as far as they apply. The term 'sprung' is frequently used by bakers, by which is meant raised or flaky bread, indicating strong flour and sound stock. The cupidity of the contracting baker induces him to pack his bread as soon as it comes out of the oven, and before the moisture has been completely expelled by drying.

Bread of this kind hangs on breaking; it will also be soft to the pressure of the fingernail when broken, whereas it should be crisp and brittle.

The packages should be thoroughly seasoned, (of wood imparting no taste or odor to the bread,) and reasonably tight. The usual method now adopted is to pack 50 pounds net, in basswood boxes, (sides, top and bottom ? inch, ends 5/8 of an inch,) and of dimensions corresponding with the cutters used, and strapped at each end with light iron or wood. The bread should be packed on its edge compactly, so as not to shake.

Bread thoroughly baked, kiln dried, and packed in spirit casks, will keep a long time but it is an expensive method.

If bread contains weevils, or is moldy, expose to the sun on tarpaulins, and before re-packing it, rinse the barrel with whiskey."

Making Hardtack

There are many recipes for Hardtack available today. There are several above at the top of this page, now here are a few more. Some are original to the 1800s and other are more modern with "added" ingredients to help improve the taste and minimize the hard bread's tendency to send a soldier packing off on a trip to the dentist's office. Hardtack is a military survival and subsistence ration and is best eaten the way soldiers and militiamen of the 1800s ate it; and the way they ate it most often was too soften or soak their 'tack in some liquid before eating the baked jaw breakers.

 

Recipes for Hardtack, divided into Traditional and Non-Traditional recipe categories:

"Authentic"Traditional:

The Question arises constantly as to the correct recipe for hardtack. Here it is: Flour - Water - and a little salt. Mix together to obtain an elastic, but not sticky dough, Roll to inch thickness, bake in 400 degree oven until slightly brown. Allow to cool (may still be somewhat soft). Put in 200 degree oven until hard. Prick with nail or sharp instrument.

NO BAKING POWDER, SODA, SUGAR, CINNAMON, RAISINS OR ANYTHING ELSE!!

 

* * *

Preheat oven to 400? F. For each cup of flour (unbleached wheat), add 1 tsp. of salt. Mix salt and flour with just enough water to bind ingredients. Roll the dough about 1/4 inch thick, and cut into squares 3 inches by 3 inches. Pierce each square with 16 holes about ? inch apart. Place hardtack squares on cookie sheet and bake in oven until edges are brown or dough is hard (20-25 minutes), making sure all moisture is removed from mixture before taking out of oven.

Note: The longer you bake the hardtack, the more authentic it will appear. If you want to make it softer for eating, bake only about 15 minutes.

 

Other Miscellaneous Simple Recipes:

• Flour, water, and a little salt. Mix them together to form an elastic but not sticky dough, Roll to a one-inch thickness, bake in a 400? F oven until slightly brown. Allow to cool. It may yet be soft. Put it in 200? F oven until it is hard. Prick with nail or sharp instrument. No baking powder, soda, sugar, cinnamon, raisins, or anything else.

• Just mix about 2 cups of flour and a half-tablespoon of salt with enough water to make a stiff dough. Roll it out thin on a cookie sheet. Score it into squares of about 2?x2? and poke some holes in it (not all the way through). Bake it at 400 ? F for about 45 minutes or until it is lightly browned. Let it cool in the oven.

• Preheat oven to 400? F. For each cup of flour (unbleached wheat), additional teaspoon of salt. Mix salt and flour with just enough water to bind ingredients. Roll the dough about 1/4 inch thick, and cut into squares 3 inches by 3 inches. Pierce each square with 16 holes about ? inch apart. Place hardtack squares on cookie sheet and bake in oven until the edges are brown or the dough is hard (20-25 minutes), making sure all moisture is removed from mixture before taking out of oven. Note: The longer you bake the hardtack, the more authentic it will appear. If you want to make it softer for eating, bake only about fifteen minutes.
• (Note: when a Civil War Reenactor writes or talks about being "authentic" he is referring to a serious attempt to reproduce something and make it look and be exactly like it was back during The War Between The States. In this case we are talking about authentic hardtack, whereas what we as modern day militiamen are concerned about is baking or procuring the best hardtack we can get our hands on. Also remember that there are differences of opinion about what is authentic and what is not. For instance some of these recipes very authoritatively call for no baking powder, yet we have US Army Recipes that clearly include Baking Powder in the Hard Tack. For our purposes find one or two recipes you like, that keeps well, and that you can actually eat in the field on a mission or while training.

• Mix: two cups of all-purpose flour and a half teaspoon of salt. Use more salt for authenticity. Mix by hand. Add a teaspoon of shortening and a half cup of water, stirred in a little at a time to form a very stiff dough. Beat the dough to a half inch thickness with a clean top mallet or rifle butt. Fold the sheet of dough into six layers. Continue to beat and to fold the dough a half dozen times until it is elastic. Roll the dough out to a half-inch thickness before cutting it with a floured biscuit cutter or bayonet. Bake for about a half hour in a 325? F oven.

• The basic ingredients are flour, salt and water. General directions are also similar: Dissolve the salt in water and work it into flour using your hands. The dough should be firm and pliable but not sticky or dry. Flatten the dough onto a cookie sheet to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut into squares 3 inches by 3 inches.? Pierce each square with 16 holes about ? inch apart. Bake in oven until edges are brown or dough is hard. Preheat the oven to 400? F.

• Use one part water to six parts flour. Mix in salt. Roll the dough flat and score into cracker shapes. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400? F and let it cool until completely dry before storing in canisters. The crackers should be hard as bricks and indestructibly unappetizing.

• Ingredients 1 cup of water, 2 cups of flour, 6 pinches of salt?
• Directions:? Mix flour, water, and salt into a stiff dough, kneading it several times. Spread dough ? inch thick onto baking sheet and slice into 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch squares. Poke holes in dough, four lines of four holes across and four down. Bake for ? hour at 400.? F. Remove from the oven, cut the dough into 3 inch squares. Turn dough over, return it to the oven, and bake for another ? hour. Turn the oven off, leaving the oven door closed. Leave the hardtack in the oven until it is cool.

Non-Traditional:

From: http://www.nps.gov/gett/gettkidz/hardtack.htm

• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup water
• 1 tbl spoon of Crisco or vegetable fat
• 6 pinches of salt
• Mix ingredients together into a stiff batter, knead several times, and spread the dough onto a baking sheet at a thickness of 1/2 inch. Bake for one-half an hour at 400 degrees. Remove from oven, cut dough into 3-inch squares, and punch four rows of holes, four holes per row into the dough. Turn dough over, return to the oven and bake another one-half hour. Turn oven off, leaving door closed. Leave the hardtack in the oven until cool.

A Southern Rebel Equivalent - The "Johnnie-Cake"

Make a batch of "Johnnie Cakes", Confederate Army soldiers and militiamen loved this Rebel Ration.

These are also called "Hush Puppies" and the recipe is very simple:

• two cups of cornmeal
• 2/3 cup of milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• Mix ingredients into a stiff batter and form eight biscuit-sized "dodgers". Bake on a lightly greased sheet at 350 degrees for twenty to twenty five minutes or until brown. Or spoon the batter into hot cooking oil in a frying pan over a low flame. Remove the corn dodgers and let cool on a paper towel, spread with a little butter or molasses, and you have a real southern treat!

Another Non-Traditional recipe:

• 5 Cups Flour (unbleached)
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• ? cup Water (how much water?)
• Preheated Oven to 450
• In a bowl, combine the ingredients to form a stiff, but not dry dough. The dough should be pliable, but not stick a lot to your hands. Take this mound of dough, and flatten it out onto a greased cookie sheet (the ones with a small lip around the edge...like a real shallow pan...), and roll the dough into a flat sheet approx. 1/2 inch thick.
• Using a bread knife, divide the dough into 3x3 squares. taking a 10-penny nail, put a 3x3 matrix of holes into the surface of the dough, all the way thru, at even intervals (Village Tinsmithing works sells a cutter that does all of this...works great!). Bake in the oven for approx 20 Min., till lightly browned. Take out and let cool.
• Do this the day before your go on the field, and your will have enough tack to fill your haversack. It will be somewhat soft on Saturday morning, but, by Sunday, you should soak it in your coffee before eating, else you will have a hard time chewing.

Here is a very good variation from the Alps:

Swedish Hardtack

• 1 cup water
• 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp. honey
• 3 cups rye flour (or 1 1/2 cups rye & 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour)
• 1 1/2 tbsp. brewer's yeast (optional)
• 1/4 tsp. salt

• Mix liquids together. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Combine the mixtures, stirring to moisten throughout. Form a ball. On a floured surface, flatten the dough, and roll out thinly. Cut into squares and prick each cracker with the tines of a fork a couple of times. Transfer to lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 425? F for around 8 minutes, checking to be sure not to over-brown. It is best served warm.

Here is another.  Less Traditional Recipe:

• 2 c Flour
• 1/2 tb Salt (optional)
• 1/2 tb Sugar (optional)
• 1/2 c Water

• Mix together in an electric blender at medium speed until it has the consistency of playdough. Roll it out with a rolling pin to about 1/3" or so, the thinner the crisper, then cut it into 3 x 3 inch squares. I use the barrel of a ball point pen to punch 16 holes (4 x 4) in each square. Bake at 375? F on the first side for 20-25 minutes or until it turns a light brown color, then turn them over and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

For Those Who Only Want To Try A Little Taste of the Legend:

(Small Batch, Just for a taste, and for those who are scared of these legendary bad biscuits.)

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2- 3/4 cup water

• Mix to a stiff dry dough. It should not stick to your hands. Add water slowly. Add more flour if needed.
• Cut to 3x3 inch squares 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Now put 16 little holes in each one, using a 10 d nail or some other such thing. Toothpick are too small. Bake in an ungreased cookie pan, preheated to 400? F for about 20 to 30 minutes on each side, or until dry. Check it every now and then.

Army Bread Hardtack Dessert:

• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 cup flour
• 4 teaspoons real maple syrup
• 3/8 teaspoons salt
• 1-1/2 tablespoons shortening

• Preheat oven to 425? F. Mix the soda and buttermilk, then set aside. Combine flour, syrup, and salt. Cut in the shortening. Add the buttermilk mixture. Roll out very thin and score rectangles in the dough without cutting all the way through. Prick each rectangle several times with a fork. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Ready For a 'Tack Breakfast:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2` cup cracked wheat
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

• Combine the flours, cornmeal, wheat, sugar and salt. Add buttermilk, mix well, and knead briefly. Shape dough into golf-ball-sized portions. Dust with flour and roll very thin. Place on greased and floured baking sheet. Bake at 400? F turning several times, until lightly browned on both sides. Cool; then store in waterproof container.

We Ain't Eatin' At The Ritz! But this is as close to it as it gets with hardtack!

• 2 Level teaspoons baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, well beaten
• 1 jelly glass of orange marmalade
• 1 lb Finely chopped walnuts
• 1 lb Finely chopped dates

• Sift ingredients together. Add the remainder of ingredients; mix well. Bake about an inch thick on a cookie sheet in an oven at 375? F for about 45 minutes. Cut into squares while warm.

Yet another recipe:

• Ingredients:
• 8 to 10 cups of All Purpose Flour
• 2 Tablespoons of Salt
• Water

• Tools:
• Large Mixing Bowl, Large Wooden Spoon, Rolling Pin, Table Knife, Fork
• 2 Large Baking Trays, Oven heated to 300 degrees

• Place the flour in the bowl and break up any lumps. Add the salt and stir until well blended. Start adding water one cup at a time and stir with the spoon. Keep adding water until a thick dough is created. It should be rather dry, and have just enough water added to hold the flour together well.
• Take the dough from the bowl and knead well. Cut lump of dough into two pieces and roll each out with the rolling pin until it is about ? inch thick. With the table knife, cut the dough in 3 inch squares. Using your fork, poke each square two or three times.
• Place cut squares on baking sheets and bake in 300 degree oven for one hour. It may take a bit shorter or longer sometimes, but when the pieces just begin to get ever so slightly brown, they are done. Take out of oven and allow to cool completely. Place in brown paper bag, not in a plastic bag. Hardtack can mold if kept in plastic.

 

No cook in the family, squad, or clan? As late as 1997, Nabisco? continued to make a Hardtack-type cracker for limited markets on the East Coast. Northeastern states appear to be the market they targeted for this product. With the increase in the numbers of people getting involved in War Between The States ("Civil War") and other reenacting sports/hobbies, other small companies have sprung up to provide Hardtack and other rations common to the time period. Check out Civil War Sutlers.

You can buy some Hardtack from Bent's Cookie Factory -

Bent's Hardtack Crackers

Bent's hardtack and hardtack crates were featured in the Warner Bros. movie Gods & Generals released February 21, 2003.

http://www.bentscookiefactory.com/hardtack.htm

"In order to redeem the name of this fine food we would like very much for you to try our hardtack." - Bent's Army 'Tack 

For the survivors and victors of the battles fought in the great "War Between the States" there was often a fate worse than death still to be faced; a dinner with a main course of hardtack!  We heard of a song that was sung by many of the Civil War soldiers, it was meant to be amusing but with a message that is very strong and clear: 

There's a hungry, thirsty soldier
Who wears his life away,
With torn clothes, whose better days are o'er
He is sighing now for whiskey
And, with throat as dry as hay,
Sings, "Hard crackers, hard crackers, Come again no more."

After you have eaten a pound or two, or perhaps even a bite or two of Militia Cookies you will completely understand why they call it Hardtack and you will appreciate the little poem written long ago by a soldier who had no doubt eaten far too many of the Army Crackers. The illustration below is a life-size drawing of a Militia Biscuit and is also just about as tasty if you cut it out and eat it instead of going to all the trouble to bake a batch, only it is not near as filling and nutritious. Shelf life is about the same! All Militiamen should have some genuine Army Crackers in their field kit along with some duct tape. Duct tape some Hardtack to your hand grenades for added fragmentation! It will work, and it is probably not even against the Geneva Conventions on Warfare. Keep in mind however that feeding Hardtack to prisoners of war is considered to be a form of torture according to the Geneva Convention, so save your Army Biscuits for yourself and your squad. Now we are deadly serious about the fragmentation properties of Hardtack and it has proven to be more than hard enough to penetrate helmets and bullet proof vest, and this is a real technological breakthrough. Thus far this is the only "top secret" high-tech weapon we really have in the White Christian Patriot, Anti New World Order, Pro-Freedom Rebel Militia Movement, so do not e-mail a link to this web page to any of our enemies or hostile ZOG agents, because this is a real "force multiplier" when it comes to using hand grenades in close quarters combat. The top secret code word for this weapon is 'tack grenade, remember it; along with, "Where you think we a'int, we are! Remember it!" One of these days there will be a reckoning and then the joke will be on the New World Order and the Zionist Occupation Government, because we are truly "Everywhere - but nowhere!"

"Hard Times"

'Tis the song that is uttered in camp by night and day,
     'Tis the wail that is mingled with each snore;

'Tis the sighing of the soul for spring chickens far away,
     'Oh hard crackers, come again no more!'

'Tis the song of the soldier, weary, hungry and faint,
     Hard crackers, hard crackers, come again no more;

Many days have I chewed you and uttered no complaint,
     Hard crackers, hard crackers, come again no more!"

-from a soldiers' parable called "Hard Times"