12. The South Was Agriculturally Rich, but its Soldiers Were Often Poorly Fed
Civil War Union soldiers were usually well fed and supplied with provisions by the standards of their era. Compared to their Confederate foes, Northern troops were routinely issued items that seemed like luxuries to Southern ones, such as sugar and coffee. Real coffee, that is, in the form of actual or ground coffee beans, not the substitutes that Rebel soldiers used in its stead. Union soldiers were also regularly issued meat, usually in the form of salt beef or park. Their opponents often had to do with meat substitutes.
Basic Confederate soldiers’ rations consisted of corn bread, and little if any meat. Much of the South was an agriculturally rich region brimming with foodstuff. However, supply and distribution network breakdowns kept many provisions, especially meat, from Southern field armies. Rebel troops often had to do with mule meat, and when even that was unavailable, resorted to meat substitutes. One of the most common was a mixture of rice and molasses, with cornmeal sometimes added to, or used in lieu of, rice.