Civil War food was very different from the types of food we eat today.Food during the Civil War was not high quality and did not taste good. Confederate soldiers usually didn’t receive much food at all especially as the war dragged on.Most cooking occurred on an outdoor fire.Since the focus was on health and nutrition, not culinary delight, and there were around 2 million soldiers to feed, the food tended to be bland, basic and simple. Each soldier’s daily rations included:

1. Three-quarters of a pound of pork or bacon, or one and one-quarter pound of fresh or salt pork
2. Eighteen ounces of flour or bread or 12 ounces of hardtack
3. One and one-quarter pound of cornmeal

Due to war-time food shortages and a lack of both refrigeration and large-scale food processing, most meals were simple, easy to prepare dishes made from basic ingredients that could be grown in a garden or purchased and stored easily.When the army was fully supplied, the soldiers ate fairly well, though not too fashionably. Here is how one Union soldier described his typical meal, “We each get a piece of meat and a potato, a chunk of bread and a cup of coffee with a spoonful of brown sugar in it.” When the supply lines were interrupted, however, soldiers had to scavenge their own food or do without.

Source :20 Civil War Food Recipes