1

"Give us day by day our daily bread."1

Continental Army Bread, Ovens, and Bakers

John U. Rees

Contents

“Waste and bad management …”

Regulating Baking

"Hard enough to break the teeth of a rat."

Biscuit in the Armies of the Revolution

“A bake–house was built in eleven days …”

Contemporary Baking Operations and Army Masonry Ovens

“Seeing that the Ovens may be done right …”

Bake Oven Designs

“The mask is being raised!!”

Early–War Iron Ovens, and a Yorktown Campaign Bakery

“Hands are most wanted to bake bread for the Soldiers …"

The Superintendent's Bakers

"The essential service he rendered to the army ..."

Christopher Ludwick, Superintendent of Bakers

Addendum: Hard Biscuit Recipes

___________________________

“Waste and bad management …”

Regulating Baking

For thousands of years bread or grain has been a dietary staple in European communities

and a generic symbol of human sustenance. Bread and flour were prominent in the

Continental soldiers’ diet, and, of the two, baked bread was much preferred. Despite that

fact, in March 1781, after six years’ experience, Maj. Gen. Henry Knox noted it was in

converting flour into bread "we have been most deficient, arising from the want of some

general, invariable system to govern the whole Army ..."2

Flour to Bread. The way flour was baked into bread varied greatly, two factors being

available facilities and the army’s situation. Optimally, issued bread was produced in army

ovens, though before and during 1777 quantities were purchased from civilian bakers. While

Superintendent of Baking Christopher Ludwick was organizing the baking department that

July, Gen. George Washington urgently needed to feed his troops, writing to Quartermaster

Gen. Thomas Mifflin in Philadelphia that “providing a large quantity of hard Bread, is …

exceedingly necessary. I would recommend it to you to have all the bakers in the City

immediately set to work for that purpose, as in our desultory State we shall have the

greatest occasion for it, and shall feel much inconvenience if we do not have it.”3

2

When raw flour was issued, individual soldiers or mess groups often did the baking and

the resulting breadstuff was usually of poor quality. The crudest result was fire or ashcake,

flour baked on a stone next to the fire, or in hot ashes. Sixteen–year old fifer John

Greenwood described the process while campaigning in 1776; the flour was "mixed up with

the water from the lake by fellows as lousy, itchy, and nasty as hogs. I have seen it, when

made and baked upon a piece of bark, so black with dirt and smoke I do not think a dog

would eat it." After the army reached Morristown, New Jersey, in winter 1777 artist and

captain Charles Willson Peale "got a barrel of flour, and put some stones in the fire to bake

our bread on ... The men were very industrious, in baking, all the forepart of the evening."4

Another method was to take the flour ration to a nearby household and have the

inhabitants bake it. The night after the January 1777 Princeton battle, Captain Peale and his

men reached Somerset Court House: "I had the promise from Colonel Cox of a barrel of

flour and the use of an oven but could get nobody to assist me in bringing it to be baked."

Having failed that evening, he lay down to sleep. The next morning Peale "went into town

and got a barrel of flour and engaged a negro woman to bake it." General Knox noted that in

some regiments "soldiers are permitted to carry their flour into the country and endeavour to

exchange it for bread. This is always done at a disadvantage – besides, it is a pretence for

straggling, and affords opportunities to plunder and maraud." Sometimes the men were

prevented from doing this. Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne's Pennsylvania Division orders,

"Haver Straw, December 1st, A.D. 1778. ... The men must Bake their own Bread, & Not

attempt to Change the flour, nor Stragle from Camp, as Partys of Torys are hovering about

..."5

Maj. Gen. Knox described another way bread was produced. "In the field, all the troops

receive flour of the Commissary. Some regiments have soldiers who are bakers and are

permitted by the commanding officer to go to some neighbouring house with other soldiers

as their assistants, to bake for the regiment." Knox then related problems inherent in this

method: "it is a general received opinion among the officers and soldiers, that by the

equivocal expression, 'a pound of bread or flour' in the ordnance of Congress concerning the

ration, means a pound of hard bread in lieu of the flour, which, if well baked, will not

produce more than one hundred weight of hard bread for the same quantity of flour."6 He

then explained how this benefited regimental bakers.

These bakers receive the flour from the soldiers and return them a pound of [soft] bread for a

pound of flour, by which means the bakers make a neat profit to themselves of 30 percent in

flour; and often times more, as they put as great a proportion of water as they please, there

being no person whose duty it is to superintend them. This flour the bakers sell to the

country people in the vicinity of the camp, to the infinite damage of the public or occupy

public waggons, when the camp happens to move, to carry it away to a better market. Last

year at Tappan, one or two soldiers who baked for part of one of the regiments of artillery,

consisting of not more than 250 or 300 men, saved such a stock on hand of the profits of

baking for a short time, as to be able, on an emergency, to lend the Commissary of the Park

a sufficiency to issue one thousand rations for eight days ... Owing to this variety of waste

and bad management the same quantity of flour does not serve the troops so long a time by

nearly one third, as it would were it under a proper oeconomical regularity.7

3

Solutions in Supplying Bread. Several officers attempted to remedy these problems. Rather

than regimental bakers, beginning in 1777, and at various intervals till the war’s end, the use

of brigade bakers was suggested (a brigade usually consisted of three or four regiments).

Brig. Gen. William Smallwood's orders, "10th June 1777 The Commissary to pick out of

any Company at Princeton any Baker or Bakers that he thinks Necessary to Carry on the

Baking Business for this Brigade." In July 1777 Gen. George Washington recommended

"temporary ovens to each brigade, which, by men who understand it, can be erected in a few

hours," and in January the following year Brig. Gen. Jedediah Huntington gave his

observation that "Each Brigade should be attended with a traveling Oven – whoever has

experienced the Unwholesomeness of the Bread commonly made in Camp, or seen the

Waste of Flour, will desire no other Argument in favour of this usefull Appendage ..."8

Despite these early efforts, by 1781 the system of providing bread was still in such a state

that General Knox felt compelled to reiterate the need for brigade bakers and ovens. Though

he had written that bread was "most essential," it was in supplying that article that "we have

been most deficient ... To remedy these evils, in a great degree, I propose, That there shall be

a baker and two assistants to each brigade, who shall be engaged for this purpose if possible;

if not, soldiers, provided such can be found."9 Knox then laid out the practicalities involved:

They should be furnished with a travelling oven, troughs and the necessary implements for

baking, to transport which a waggon and four oxen should be allotted. One of the three

persons, besides getting wood &ca, would be able to take care of and on a march drive these

oxen … a fourth man might be added, to serve as a wood cutter, &ca, which would render

the assistance ample. The baker ought to be an honest faithful man. The Commissary [is] to

… see that the quantity of bread which he receives from the baker answers properly to the \

quantity of flour delivered him. Perhaps the Brigadier ought to receive weekly returns of the

flour baked and the quantity of bread issued, to see that the public has full justice. There

should also be a superintendent baker to the Army, whose business it should be to examine

into the goodness of the bread made by the respective bakers.10

According to Knox, "By this mode the Army would, under almost all circumstances, be

certain of good bread, regularly issued, and the public would make the same quantity of

flour serve nearly one third longer, than it does in the loose manner in which this business is

at present conducted. They will save 30 per cent in value on all the flour consumed. They

will also save the expence, risque and trouble of nearly one third of all the flour

transportation, to replace that quantity which is now disipated in the manner related.” The

general ended by estimating that "Probably there will be issued to each brigade daily 1500

rations of bread – multiplied by the days of the year it will produce 547500 pounds, which

must be supposed pounds of flour."11

So the Continental Army, still in many ways a fledgling force near the war’s end,

continued to seek ways to lessen baking waste and increase efficiency. In 1782 the

government decided to use contractors to supply the army, a system that continues to the

present–day. And we all know how cost–effective contractors can be.

4

Whether at large stationary ovens built by the army or requisitioned from civilian

establishments, or using the portable brigade ovens recommended by Henry Knox,

Continental Army bakers would have replicated the baking operation pictured

above in ad hoc situations, usually outdoors. “The Bakery,” Charles Coulston

Gillispie, ed., A Diderot Pictorial Encyclopedia of Trades and Industry:

Manufacturing and the Technical Arts in Plates Selected from “L’Encyclopédie, ou

Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers” of Denis Diderot (in two

volumes), vol. 2 (New York: Dover Publications, 1959), plate 449.

___________________________

"Hard enough to break the teeth of a rat."

Biscuit in the Armies of the Revolution

The Stuff of Legend. Revolutionary soldier life is usually associated with "fire cake," the

"sodden cakes" described by one man as "Flower ... Wet with Water & Roll[ed] ... in dirt &

Ashes to bake ... in a Horrible Manner..." Continental troops also frequently consumed

biscuit (or hard bread), but biscuit does not seem to have the same powerful association with

hardship as firecake. By contrast, hard bread or hardtack issued to Civil War soldiers

attained notoriety, and a connection to the troops who ate them. Hardtack was not so much

associated with poor living, as it was a badge of honor, a shared experience made stronger

by veterans' sentimental memories - some even retained one or two pieces as souvenirs. But

since biscuit played an important role in the Continental soldier's diet, it, too, deserves closer

examination.12

Hard Bread in the War for Independence. Bread, flour, and beef were at the foundation of

the Crown forces’ or Continental soldiers' diet. While flour was often issued to be baked by

regimental bakers or the soldiers themselves, ready-baked bread was either soft or hard, the

latter also known as biscuit, ship or sea bread. For troops on the move, commanders

5

preferred biscuit and salt meats; especially in warm weather when they needed to issue

several days rations at one time and there were inherent food spoilage problems. Better

known as hardtack during the American Civil War (1861-1865), biscuit was often issued in

the War for Independence, though without the recognition its culinary descendant would

enjoy. (For recipes for military biscuit, see the addendum at the end of this work.)

Continental Army orders repeatedly emphasized the desire for hard bread on campaign.

General orders, 23 August 1776, just prior to the Battle of Long Island, "The General ...

directs, all the Troops to have two days hard Bread, and Pork, ready by them ..."13

On 2

September, shortly after the evacuation of Long Island, Gen. George Washington expressed

his

hopes, after the inconveniences that have been complained of, and felt, that the commanding

Officers of Corps will never, in future, suffer their men to have less than two days

provisions, always upon hand, ready for any emergency - If hard Bread cannot be had, Flour

must be drawn, and the men must bake it into bread, or use it otherwise in the most

agreeable manner thay can ...14

With the appointment of Christopher Ludwick as "director of baking" in May 1777,

Congress attempted to rectify former problems. As a result, Washington's army experienced

the first large-scale biscuit issues during the New Jersey and Pennsylvania campaigns. For

example, army orders, 10 June 1777, Northern New Jersey, "The movements of this army,

either for offensive or defensive measures, will be sudden, whenever they do happen;

consequently no time can be allowed, either to draw or cook provisions ... the Commissary

[is] desired, if possible, to furnish biscuit and salt provisions, for this purpose, which the

men may keep by them, and continue to draw their usual allowance." General Washington

wrote Israel Putnam on 25 July, "General Clinton informs me, that he has ordered to your

post [at Peekskill, New York] a large quantity of hard bread. If it arrives in time, you will

direct Genl. Sullivan's and Lord Stirling's divisions to draw a Sufficiency of it for three days

..." Orders for Sullivan's Division, issued from "Head Quarters Kings ferry [Hudson River]

26th July 1777" noted, "the Commissary will Strive all means to get hard Bread for the use

of the Division on the Road."15

The previous day the commander in chief had written

Christopher Ludwick, from Pompton Plains, New Jersey,

I imagine you must by this time have a considerable parcel of hard Bread baked. I am

moving towards Philadelphia with the Army, and should be glad to have it sent forward.

You will therefore immediately ... send all that is ready down to Coryell's Ferry, except

about two thousand Weight which is to be sent to the place called the White House, and

there wait for the Division of the Army which is with me. ... You will continue baking as fast

as you can, because two other Divisions will pass thro' Pitts Town and will want Bread.16

Later that summer, the army marched south into Pennsylvania and Delaware to oppose

the British army after it landed at the head of the Chesapeake Bay. Washington's army,

"Head Quarters Newport [Delaware] 7th Sepr 1777 General Orders ... The Genl has

Received A Confirmation ... that the Enemy has Disencumber'd themselves of all their

Baggage ... this Indicates A Speedy and Rapid movement, & points out the necessaty of

following the example ... The whole Army is to Draw two days provisions [of salt meat]

exclusive of today ... otherwise one days fresh Provisions ... & two days hard Bread if to be

had ..." General orders, 10 September, one day before the Battle of Brandywine, "The

6

Commissary General to have, at least three days' provisions always on hand ... and draw in

what biscuit he can, and salt meat, for occasional serving ..."17

Soldiers referred often to biscuit in their writings, some New England soldiers

recognizing the breadstuff served to sailors. Connecticut Sergeant Bayze Wells served with

Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold's Lake Champlain fleet. Aboard the Gundalo "Providence," 20

August 1776, he noted, "Roed Down the Lake ... Gundelo Philadelphia ... Arivd which

made Nine Sail of the Line the Cpt sent ouur flowr on Shore to Be Baked into Ship Bread

Sent men for wood." In New York city, in late August 1776, Connecticut soldier Joseph

Martin's regiment waited for boats to ferry them to Long Island. "At the lower end of the

street were placed several casks of sea bread, made, I believe, of canel and peas-meal, nearly

hard enough for musket flints; the casks were unheaded and each man was allowed to take

as many as he could as he marched by ... I remember my gnawing at them; they were hard

enough to break the teeth of a rat."18

(Canel - or canaille, pronounced "canile" - "the coarsest

part of the meal, the shorts or inferior flour." See Food History News, vol. IX, no. 15

(Summer 1997), 7)

7

A small sheet–iron camp kettle, with rations of hard biscuit, beef, and chocolate.

Also pictured are a camp hatchet and soldier’s brimmed wool hat. Mess groups

occasionally carried provisions in camp kettles. Connecticut soldier Joseph Martin

wrote of this autumn 1777; his regiment halted in Burlington, New Jersey, "where

we procured some carrion beef, for it was not better. We cooked it and ate some,

and carried the remainder away with us. We had always, in the army, to carry our

cooking utensils in our hands by turns, and … as we were not overburthened by

provisions, our mess had put ours into our kettle …" Joseph Plumb Martin, Private

Yankee Doodle: A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a

Revolutionary Soldier (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Co., 1962), 81.

(Photograph by the author.)

8

Militia private John Adlum was present at Fort Washington when that post surrendered to

the enemy on 16 November 1776. He wrote: "I saw a number of barrells of biscuit and now

knowing that we were prisoners I cut open the lining of my coat and filled the skirts of it

with from a peck [to] a half a bushel of biscuit ..." Charles Willson Peale, the well-known

painter, was serving as an officer in the Philadelphia Associators with Washington's army

during the retreat across New Jersey in November and December. He considered himself

able "to endure the rigors of combat ... `better than many others whose appearance was more

robust ... By temperance and by forethought in providing for the worst that might happen.'

The forethought included a chunk of dried beef and a pocketful of hard biscuits plus a

canteen filled with water, a drink `better than rum'."19

While with the garrison of Fort Mifflin, in November 1777, Joseph Martin noted the food

they received. "What little provisions we had was cooked by the invalids in our camp and

brought to the island in old flour barrels; it was mostly corned beef and hard bread, but it

was not much trouble to cook or fetch what we had." After the evacuation of the fort in

November, he wrote, "We ... crossed the Delaware again between Burlington and Bristol.

Here we procured a day's ration of salt pork ... and a pound of sea bread."20

Foreign troops also used hard bread during the war. Capt. Johann Ewald wrote that

German soldiers in America "received biscuit instead of bread for entire years, and since our

soldiers finally got accustomed to it, they preferred biscuit to bread." During the Monmouth

Campaign in 1778, German Jägers marching across New Jersey "had to manage with dry

biscuit most of the time for three weeks." Lt. John Charles Philip von Krafft echoed this,

writing of the days after the Battle of Monmouth. Near Middletown, New Jersey, 30 June

1778, "On the march we got salt and fresh meat, biscuit and rum, nothing more." Once on

board ship off Sandy Hook, the situation did not improve. 5 July 1778, "Never had I been

hungrier and consequently I ate my salt pork, with the mouldy biscuit, raw and uncooked.

After many entreaties I managed to get some very thin coffee without milk or sugar for a

little money ..." German troops serving with the French had similar experiences. In the

spring of 1780 a French army under the Comte de Rochambeau embarked on ships for the

trip across the Atlantic Ocean to America. Private Georg Daniel Flohr, of the Royal Deux-

Ponts Regiment recorded the food eaten on the voyage. He wrote, "The food consisted of 36

Loth (a little over a pound) Zwieback (hardtack) daily ... [and] either salted bacon or beef,

which was prepared every day for lunch." (zwieback, "twice-baked).21

What was biscuit like for Continental and Crown land forces? Because of its density, it

probably required more flour than did soft bread. One 1777 ration list indicates this by

stipulating, "1 1/4 lb Flour or soft bread or 1 lb hard bread." Samuel Dewees tells of biscuit

being made of "shipstuff" (usually the lowest-grade flour), probably a common ingredient,

and not in the best condition, as reported in July 1777, when a large amount of flour "in

danger of perishing" was ordered to be "baked into biskit for the use of the army."22

Size and shape are not known for certain, but biscuit was probably made circular or oval,

similar to an original 1784 British ship biscuit in the National Maritime Museum,

Greenwich, England. That artifact is round (3 3/4 inches diameter by 9/16 inches thick),

and finely made, close in size and quality to Civil War hard tack. One source gives some

idea of size. Fifer Abiel Chandler noted while in the field, "tuesday the 21 [January 1777]

we lay on the hils north of King[s] brid[g]e ... we have to lay in the woods. our alowence is

3 biskits and 18 onces of pork a day or 24 onces of beaf." Chandler's meat ration agrees with

several ration allotments from 1775 through 1777. In these lists one pound of flour or hard

9

bread accompanied the meat ration. The biscuit issued to Abiel Chandler in January 1777,

amounting to one pound, possibly represents a short ration of bread; biscuits made to the

dimensions of the original 1784 British ship’s bread number nine or ten to a pound.23

"Round ship's biscuit ... [with] Pencil inscription inked in." The inscription on the

other side reads, "This biscuit was given – – Miss Blacket at Berwick on Tuesday 13

April 1784." Dimensions of the item are 95mm (3¾ inches) diameter by 10mm (9/16")

thick. In this view the pattern of holes can clearly be seen, with no broad arrow or

other Crown markings. (Museum negative number D4001–1), National Maritime

Museum, Greenwich, London.

___________________________

10

Biscuits and Cooking (1775-1865). How did Continental soldiers prepare and eat biscuit?

Most accounts infer that soldiers ate them as they were, Joseph Martin reported "gnawing at

them" in 1776. Only one source mentions any type of preparation prior to consuming them.

In his memoirs, Pennsylvania Fifer Samuel Dewees wrote, "Sometimes we had one biscuit

and a herring per day ... the biscuit ... were so hard that a hammer ... is requisite to break

them. This, or throw them to soak in boiling water ..."24

It is hard to believe that during eight years of war, Revolutionary soldiers never

experimented in cooking with biscuit or hard bread. Although any connection to cooking

practices during the American Civil War (1861-1865) is purely conjectural, lacking other

documentation, an examination of the use of hard bread (hardtack) by Union troops may be

enlightening.

Union soldier John Billings wrote: "Some [soldiers] crumbed [hardtack] in soups for want

of other thickening. For this purpose they served very well. Some crumbed them in cold

water, then fried the crumbs in the juice and fat of meat. A dish akin to this one, which was

said to `make the hair curl,' and certainly was indigestible enough to satisfy the cravings of

the most ambitious dyspeptic, was prepared by soaking hardtack in cold water, then frying

them brown in pork fat, salting to taste. Another name for this dish was `skillygalee.' Some

liked them toasted, either to crumb in coffee, or, if a sutler was at hand whom they could

patronize, to butter. The toasting generally took place from the end of a split stick, and if

perchance they dropped out of it into the camp-fire, and were not recovered quickly enough

to prevent them from getting pretty well charred, they were not thrown away on that

account, being then thought good for weak bowels. ... A few who succeeded by hook or by

crook in saving up a portion of their sugar ration spread it upon hardtack. The hodge-podge

of lobscouse also contained this edible among its divers ingredients; and so in various ways

the ingenuity of the men was taxed to make this plainest and commonest yet most

serviceable of army food to do duty in every conceivable combination."25

Another Civil War recipe was "hardtack pudding" which "was made by placing the

biscuit in a stout bag, and pounding bag and contents with a club on a log until the biscuits

were reduced to a fine powder; then we added a little wheat flour, if we had it ... and made a

stiff dough, which we next rolled out on a cracker box lid, like a pie-crust; then we covered

this all over with a preparation of stewed, dried, apples, dropping in here and there a raisin

or two just for Auld Lang Syne's sake, rolled and wrapped it in a cloth, boiled it for an hour

or so and ate it with wine sauce. The wine was usually omitted and hunger inserted in its

stead." This recipe is akin to roly-poly pudding. Roly-poly, skillygalee, and lobscouse all

existed prior to the nineteenth century.26

Whether or not Continental soldiers cooked something similar to "skillygalee," they

usually had the means to fry biscuit. (Though not an issue item, soldiers did obtain and use

frying pans.) General Washington noted in September 1776, "Our situation is now bad, but

is much better than the Militia that are coming to Join us from the States of Massachusetts

Bay and Connecticut ... These Eastern reinforcements have not a single necessary, not a pan

or a Kettle, in which we are now greatly deficient." Captain John Chilton affirmed the use of

such utensils in his description of a march in summer 1777: "No Waggons [were] allowed to

carry our Cooking Utensils, the soldiers were obliged to carry their Kettles, pans &c. in their

hands."27

Even when soldiers lacked pans, they persisted in this method of cooking. Quartermaster

General Timothy Pickering wrote in June 1782, "... I did not know that the Kettles were so

11

soon destroyed in the way you mention, or I would have been induced to propose there

being made with Covers, which would be vastly convenient not only as a frying pan (if they

ought to be suffered to fry) but as a dish to eat out of." A few months later Pickering

clarified just how the sheet iron camp kettles were "destroyed." "I cannot tell exactly how

long a camp kettle will last: but on an average probably not exceeding a year. As they are

used as frying pans, as well as kettles, they are thereby much sooner destroyed than if they

were used only in boiling."28

No matter how hard bread was consumed, or what insults were heaped upon them,

soldiers became accustomed to them. Bell Irwin Wiley writes in his study of the Union

Army, "many Yanks came eventually to like them. Hunger compelled soldiers to eat them

and taste was acquired with use ... Sometimes conversion came quickly. After only a few

months of service a Pennsylvania soldier wrote: `I have got to like the army crackers very

much. I eat them in the place of bread altogether now, though there is plenty of the latter.'"

Perhaps, like their descendants, Continental soldiers not only got used to eating biscuit, but

"came eventually to like them."29

“A bake–house was built in eleven days …”

Contemporary Baking Operations and Army Masonry Ovens

Bread from Original and Recreated Ovens. There is nothing like the aroma of fresh baked

bread to remind one of home cooking (regardless if it was ever baked in your home), and the

availability of well-made, perishable soft bread must have been appreciated by soldiers used

to hard biscuit and salt meat.

My first exposure to on-site bread baking occurred during an autumn 1984 living history

event at Jacobsburg State Park, near Nazareth, Pennsylvania. That circa 1930’s oven, still in

place in its own bake house, had not been used for some years, but Jim Wilson, Park

Education Specialist, related he was “told by those bakers of yesteryear that it’s one of the

best & most user–friendly bake ovens anywhere.”

Living in southeastern Pennsylvania I am familiar with that area’s historic sites, but

period wood–fired bake ovens can be found throughout the country. Here are a few original

and reconstructed ovens in my area, many of which still produce baked goods occasionally

or often: Newlin Grist Mill (Concordville), the John Chadd House (Chadd's Ford),

Thomas Massey House (Broomall), and Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation (Ridley Creek

State Park), Delaware County, and Ephrata Cloister, Hans Herr House, and Landis Valley

Farm Museum, Lancaster County. Further afield are the Oliver Miller Homestead, South

Park, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and Fort No. 4, near Charlestown, New

Hampshire.

My favorite bake oven experience occurred at the 225th

anniversary Saratoga Battle

event, at Fort Edward, New York, on Columbus Day weekend, 2002. A large event by

Revolutionary War reenactment standards, there were 3,103 men, women, and children

participants. All were greeted with a wonderful sight when they arrived. At the head of

the sutler area, Yannig Tanguy, Crown Point Bread Company proprietor, and his

helpmates had erected a large roofed–in bake oven, accompanied by several tents to

provide cover for baking supplies, a work area, and the resulting baked goods. I had

already done much research on Continental Army ovens and realized that here, finally,

was the real thing, built in an open farmer’s field, baking (and selling) bread, hard biscuit,

12

and meat pies to feed the ravenous military multitude. From what I could see sales were

brisk, and hopefully the enterprise was a fiscal success. The oven was constructed from

the Le Panyol pre–formed Larnage white clay brick system. Mr. Tanguy arrived the

previous Tuesday, and built base, oven, and roof in time for Friday baking. The only

problem I could see with any of the products was the hard biscuit size. Crown Point

bread’s round biscuit was at least 5 inches across and coarsely made; Revolutionary era

land forces’ hard biscuit were more likely similar in size to the 1784 British ship biscuit

described above (3 3/4 inches diameter by 9/16 inches thick).

Yannig Tanguy has built about ten ovens at sites in Quebec, plus one in autumn 2003

at Trenton Barracks, Trenton, New Jersey; all are of clay, not brick. Wayne Daniels of

the Barracks discovered a 1953 photograph showing a clay oven in French Canada

(possibly St. Anne de Beaupre) that is the same design as Tanguy’s Trenton oven. By

contrast, we know that Continental Army ovens were of brick, as were two large 1770s

commercial ovens recently excavated in Trenton. The Trenton Barracks bake oven is

used at special events, and the enthusiastic staff has become quite adept at their new

vocation.

Mr. Tanguy continues to bake full time at his Crown Point, New York, business, with

many weekends spent at nearby Fort Ticonderoga and other living history events.30

An interesting representation of a masonry ovens used by Continental Army bakers.

This example was built and operated by Yannig Tanguy, Crown Point Bread Co., at

the 225th

Battle of Saratoga event, October 2002. (Author’s photograph)

13

Front view of Saratoga oven, with mixing trough and other implements. Saratoga

225th

event, October 2002. (Author’s photograph)

14

Three–quarter view of Crown Point Bread oven, showing oven roof and

canvas awning for the workers. Saratoga 225th

event, October 2002.

(Author’s photograph)

___________________________

Ovens for the Army, 1776–81. Prior to 1777, the Commissary General, responsible for

procuring the army’s food, oversaw baking. A 23 August 1776 army order emphasizes this

role: "The Commissary General is directed to have five days Bread baked, and ready to be

delivered: If the Commissary should apply to the commanding officers of regiments, for any

Bakers, they are to furnish them without waiting for a special order." Early the following

year Congress attempted to organize and regulate bread production. On 3 May 1777,

Christopher Ludwick was appointed "superintendent of bakers, and director of baking, in the

grand army of the United States." In this role he had the "power to license ... all persons to

be employed in this business ... and using his best endeavours to rectify all abuses in the

article of bread."31

(For more on Ludwick, see below.)

The Superintendent's task was complicated by the need for new ovens in the army's area

of operations. On 25 July Gen. George Washington, referring to much–needed hard bread,

entreated Superintendent Ludwick to "continue baking as fast as you can," and "inform me

at what places you have erected public Ovens, that I may know where to apply for Bread

when wanted." In August, with the "Grand Army very often ... so divided as to extend over

a large Tract of Country," Ludwick noted "as there is no Corps of Masons & Workmen

following the Grand Army it is often impossible for one Man who is otherwise sufficiently

occupied to go out seeking Masons, buying lime, seeing that the Ovens may be done right

&c." He then asked "Whether … the Superintendant may not hire … Men thus employed

not strictly in the baking but in a business ... very necessary for the Oeconomy of Baking?"32

15

This undated list was likely made in response to the commander in chief's 25 July 1777

query about the location of the army's masonry bake ovens.

2 Ovens at Morris Town. Now baking 700 lb. p[er]day

2 Ovens at Pitts Town do. do.

3 Ovens at Trenton. No work done there, there being no Flour

1 Oven at Elizabeth Town. not at Work

2 Ovens at Valley Forge. employed baking soft Bread for the Army

1 Oven at Reading. 700 lb. p day

Several appended comments noted, "Only one Oven at Morris Town and one at Pitts Town

[New Jersey] at work for want of hands. If hands could be procured they would bake double

the above Quantity,” and "There were three Ovens Built at Amboy but they were never

used after our Troops left it."33

With the prospect of operations against the British army recently landed in Maryland,

Christopher Ludwick was busy indeed. General Washington wrote him on 5 September

1777, "Mr. Stewart Commy. Genl. of Issues ... [desires] you to repair to Camp, leaving the

ovens at Morristown under the direction of some other person, if you can find a proper one;

and directing you also in your way to call at Pittstown and Coryells, and forward all the

bread from those places by water to Camp [at Wilmington, Delaware], or near it ... you

should … use all the dispatch you can in coming yourself and in sending on the bread, for

which there is an indispensable necessity ... when you come to Philadelphia, I would have

you set as many ovens as you can procure to work in baking hard bread." Despite Ludwick's

efforts, Washington's troops suffered a lack of baked bread during autumn and early winter,

chiefly due to the 26 September British capture of Philadelphia and failure of the army's

transport system.34

As Washington’s army changed its base of operations new ovens had to be built or old

ones refurbished. Troops designated for Maj. Gen. John Sullivan’s campaign against the

Iroquois concentrated at Wyoming [present-day Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania]. The Rev.

William Rogers noted there in June 1779, "Had an interview with Mr. Ludwigg, baker–in–

chief for the army, who was sent on from Easton to this post, to prepare bread for the troops;

owing to his activity, a bake–house was built in eleven days, and a large quantity of bread

was in readiness for delivery on our arrival." That November the Morristown ovens were

needed once more when Washington’s troops set up their winter camp in the area, Moore

Furman notifying the quartermaster there, "This [letter] goes by a set of Bakers who I beg

will push to work as soon as Possible as I need not tell you the want of bread in our army.

Mr. Gamble will I suppose Superintend them so that you will have nothing more to do than

set them going by having the Ovens repaired and keep them in fire wood." In August 1780

Washington’s forces moved into northern New Jersey to forage much–needed foodstuff.

Taking advantage of nearby facilities, on the 28th the commander in chief requested "Two

Bakers from each Brigade to be sent this afternoon four 0'clock to Orange town to assist the

superintendent of the Bakers at that place."35

In the conflict’s final years the Continental Army concentrated its strength along the

Hudson River and around Manhattan Island. General Washington wrote in June 1780,

"There is so great a saving by delivering out Bread instead of Flour that I have sent up Mr.

Ludwig to have Ovens erected at West point, you will be pleased therefore to furnish him

with the necessary materials and proper Workmen to build one or two as he may think

16

proper." Four months later, when it seemed likely most of his forces would remain in New

York, Washington altered the number of ovens needed: "This will be delivered you by Mr

Ludwick Baker Genl. who is instructed by Col Stewart Commissary Genl of Issues to repair

to West Point and erect as many ovens at that Post as are equal to a daily supply of Six or

eight thousand pounds of Bread, exclusive of one [oven] to be appropriated solely to the

purpose of baking Biscuit; he is also ordered to erect one oven at Stoney Point for the supply

of the Troops there and at Verplanks." In July 1781 the American army moved to a position

near White Plains, New York, and one of Washington's aides asked the Commissary

General to "either go yourself, or send some Gentleman of your Department to the White

Plains to examine the Position, number and state of the Ovens at that Place; and to report to

him tomorrow Morng. where they are, What number there are, what quantity of Bread they

will Bake pr day, and what condition they are now in, with as much accuracy as possible."36

In September 1781, while the armies were gathering to lay siege to British–held

Yorktown, Washington wrote from Williamsburg, Virginia, that the troops for a period

"experienced a Want of Provisions, especially of the Bread kind, and I fear that they will be

in Danger of greater Distress, when the whole Force I expect is assembled, unless the most

vigorous measures are taken to prevent it." On 1 October the soldiers were informed, "It is

expected that bread of a good quality will be furnished by Mr. Ludwick, superintendent of

the Bakers, nearly sufficient for the Army ..." Seven days later a militia detachment was

ordered to be "sent to Williamsburgh and put under the orders of Mr. Morris, Deputy

Quarter Master for the purpose of procuring Wood for the Hospital and Bakery." October’s

end saw the capture of Cornwallis’ British army. While the war continued another two

years, Baker–General Ludwick’s military career of building ovens and producing army

bread was over.37

“Seeing that the Ovens may be done right …”

Bake Oven Designs

In August 1777 Continental Army Baking Superintendent Christopher Ludwick

lamented to Congress, "as there is no Corps of Masons & Workmen following the Grand

Army it is often impossible for one Man who is otherwise sufficiently occupied to go out

seeking Masons, buying lime, seeing that the Ovens may be done right." We may never

know the precise form these ovens took, but attempts to learn have shown me that more

research is needed on stand–alone 18th

century American bake oven construction. Along

the way I’ve run into several oven types comprising the database.38

Quebec Oven. Let’s begin with Quebec ovens. Crown Point Bread Company Yannig

Tanguy’s newly–built ovens have largely been of that design, being simple, effective, and

most familiar to him. Unfortunately, while efficacious, the form is not correct for most

North American historic recreations. Kathleen Wall, Plimoth Plantation Colonial

Foodways Manager, notes that Boily’s and Blanchette’s 1979 work The Bread Ovens of

Quebec inspired construction of the Plimoth ovens, but new research is needed, as “we're

not in Quebec, we're not French and much of the research in the book isn't 17th

century.”39

(An excellent photo and discussion of Yannig’s oven at Crown Point State

Historic Site, New York, may be viewed at

http://www.lakechamplainregion.com/cphistoricsite/cpbakeoven.htm)

17

Squirrel-tail Oven. My next “discovery” was the so–called “squirrel–tail” oven, possibly

of Pennsylvania–German origin, and found in the southeastern corner of the state. The

Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Pa., has recreated a squirrel–tail oven; the Newlin Grist

Mill oven in Concordville is a copy of the Mercer interpretation. The strange moniker

comes from the shape of the flue, as it would appear in a cutaway side–view (see

illustration). Henry Landis noted in “Early Kitchens of the Pennsylvania Germans,”

“Where it was desired to have the chimney in front, a flue led from the rear of the oven over

the top to the chimney, the flue being called a ‘squirrel’ because it resembled the tail of a

squirrel while sitting.” This is the only specific oven design I could find at Mercer

Museum’s Spruance Library, but the form seems unnecessarily intricate for most

freestanding bake ovens, and a poor choice for army facilities.40

Side view of a squirrel tail bake oven.

1. chimney

2. draft flue

3. oven

4. foundation wall

5. oven door

6. brick arch

7. fireplace

Squirrel Tail Bake Oven (in Henry Mercer’s hand), Llewellyn Deeme to Henry

Mercer, 26 January 1916, Henry Mercer Correspondence, Collections of the

Spruance Library of the Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, Pa. Courtesy

of B.C.H.S.

___________________________

18

William Richard’s Trenton Baking Operation. For me, the eureka moment came when I

learned of two more–or–less intact bake ovens uncovered in December 1999 during a

highway project along the Delaware River at Trenton, New Jersey. Excavated by Hunter

Research, Inc., each oven measured 4 feet high and approximately 11 feet diameter.

Richard Patterson, director of Trenton’s Old Barracks Museum, noted the ovens were built

by one William Richards, “an entrepreneur who owned a sloop, baking operation, fish

smoking operation and a store …” Little else is known of his baking operation, save a

receipt noting, "Wm Richards. 9 April 1782. Rec'd six shillings for 3 boxes of wafers

[biscuit?] sold to use of the [New Jersey state] Quarter Masters department." Richards

also served as Ships Husband (supplier) to the Pennsylvania State Navy, his name

appearing in the Committee of Safety minutes throughout 1776 and 1777. Continental

army and government records have been examined for mention of Richards’ ovens, but

thus far no luck. Still, it is likely the Trenton ovens were commandeered for army use

during the war, and may have been included in the summer 1777 return listing three

ovens in the city.41

The Hunter Research report notes a 1787 inventory describing Richards’ establishment

as a “Large frame Building part of it below the bank, the lower storey a complete Bake

House with 2 large ovens & a spring of water very near the house. The second storey, a

large Bread Room and a convenient dwelling for a baker & his family. The third storey

on the bank a store for wet & dry goods with a loft over it.” Situated on the river bank,

sewer work in the 1980s “had removed the west side of the entire oven complex including

the front or oven opening and possibly a chimney … The two ovens appear to have been

built as one structure, as the two domed roofs overlapped at the point where the …

foundation walls of both ovens were joined.” Only one oven survived relatively intact.

(See illustration and additional archaeological information in the endnotes.)42

My quest for a likely design (or designs) for Continental Army ovens underlined the need

for further research on historic regional variations in North American bake oven

construction. Yannig Tanguy provided the catalyst for this quest when he contacted me

concerning local Revolutionary–era oven forms while planning the Trenton Barracks

bake oven construction. Unfortunately, I was unable to help. Afforded advice from

various quarters, time constraints prevented me, then and now, from viewing ovens at

Ephrata Cloister and other southeastern Pennsylvania sites. Particularly intriguing was

information that many original 18th

and 19th

century ovens are still extant in the Oley

Valley, near Reading, Pa..43

___________________________

Images on following page

1. Overhead view of William Richards’ two 18

th century bake ovens at Lamberton,

New Jersey, Four feet high and approximately eleven feet diameter. Trenton

bake ovens (cutaway sketch based on archaeological investigations; Figure 4.26–

4.29; Plates 4.21–4.25).

2. One of Richards’ 18th

century bake ovens at Lamberton, New Jersey. (Same

dimensions.) Features: 2126, cobble layer; 2127, 2128, brick dome cap and side–

walls of bake oven; 2130, bed of fine sand; 2131, mortar base; 2132, 2133

mortared cobble wall and liner on oven feature. Trenton bake ovens (cutaway

sketch based on archaeological investigations; Figure 4.26–4.29; Plates 4.21–

4.25). Courtesy of Hunter Research Inc. and the State of New Jersey.

19

1.

___________________________

2.

___________________________

20

“The mask is being raised!!”

Early–War Iron Ovens, and a Yorktown Campaign Bakery

Portable Ovens. In July 1777 North Carolina brigade orders called for "One Subaltern

and thirty Men to Perrade tomorrow morning at six O'clock to make Ovens for [the]

Different Regts ... If there is any Masons in the Brigade they are to turn out to see the

work properly done ..." Most ovens were made of brick or stonework, but when General

Washington mentioned on July 5th "the sodden cakes ... too commonly used" by

soldiers, he recommended "temporary ovens to each brigade, which, by men who

understand it, can be erected in a few hours." That summer a number of portable sheet–

iron ovens were ordered for the army.44

The iron ovens, made at Ringwood Furnace, New Jersey, seem not to have reached the

army in time to be used the same year. From White Marsh, Pennsylvania, 14 November

1777, Washington wrote the manufacturer, "I shall be glad to know ... whether the portable

ovens bespoke last Summer are finished. If they are, you may send them down to the Army

if you can procure Waggons ..." Army surveyor Robert Erskine replied ten days later from

Ringwood, "The twenty Ovens ordered last Summer ... were delivered as follows; four to

Coll Mifflin [army quartermaster general], as the army passed Pompton; fourteen were sent

after it to Morristown, by seven Waggons impressed for that purpose; and two large and ten

small ones remained here, when I was at Wilmington, which I mentioned to Coll Mifflin,

who ordered me to send four (Viz two large & two small) to the Care of Major Taylor at

New Windsor, which was done, and to keep The rest here till further orders." January 6 1778

army orders at Valley Forge finally called the remaining ovens into use: "The Quarter

Master General is without delay to send for the Iron–Ovens provided by Mr. Erskine and

deliver one to each Brigade ..." It was not until the 9th that brigade quartermasters were

ordered "to receive the iron Ovens for their brigades." Erskine’s November 1777 accounting

of the ovens is confusing, first setting the total number at twenty, but then enumerating

twenty large and ten small ovens. Perhaps the small ones had been previously manufactured;

in any case fifteen ovens would have been needed to supply all the brigades at Valley Forge

that January.45

Further mention of the portable ovens has not been found after the Valley Forge winter,

evidently they were burned out, lost, stored, or recycled. It is interesting that in his 1781

proposal concerning bakers, Gen. Henry Knox suggested the use of a "travelling oven,"

presumably iron, for each brigade and included an estimate of the cost to manufacture

them.46

French Bakeries and the 1781 Campaign. Bake ovens played an interesting role during

the war's culminating campaign. In early summer 1781 the American and French armies

came together for joint operations against British forces occupying Manhattan Island. After

some skirmishing and a reconnaissance of the British fortifications, General Washington

decided to march the allied armies three hundred miles south in an attempt to capture enemy

forces under Lt. Gen. Charles Earl Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia.

To ensure success, the motions of this large body had to be concealed from the British. On

20 August American and French troops began crossing the Hudson River into New Jersey;

this same day Washington noted, "There will be a French Bakery established at Chatham."

A sub–lieutenant in the French Soissonnais Regiment wrote that "A dummy camp had been

pitched facing Staten Island, where fires were kept going for several nights in order to

21

screen our march and keep the English thinking that we planned to besiege New York. We

were much surprised when [Lt.] General [ Jean–Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de]

Rochambeau left for Philadelphia, thus upsetting our forecasts." The French ovens had their

part in this ruse: "M[onsieur]. de Rochambeau had given this order for the construction of

the ovens at Chatham on purpose, in order to make [British Gen. Sir Henry] Clinton believe

that we were seriously considering an attack on New York and that the army would remain

encamped in the region, whereas the ovens would serve equally well to provide food for our

army during its march towards the Delaware."47

During the search for usable oven materials "M. de Villemanzy, commissary of war ...

drew fire from [British General] Clinton's batteries when he went to collect bricks from

ruined houses on the Rariton River near Sandy Hook Bay." On 25 August a French officer

described the army's movements, noting, "The mask is being raised!!" Just when the French

ovens began producing bread is not known, but on August 28th from "Whipany Camp," just

west of Chatham, Baron de Viomenil wrote he had been "advis'd ... of [Washington's]

favourable disposition to protect our Bakers in Chatam till we could be done with them. the

intendant told me today that it is a strong necessitee to keep them till the Second of

September on purpose for to be able of giving bread to the army which would not be able to

get any." The Baron requested that General Washington "give the orders ... Necessary to

protect our Astablishment in Chatam till the day Mentioned." By 2 September both armies

were already far to the south, elements having crossed the Delaware River into

Pennsylvania, but the Chatham ovens had already assisted in making the enterprise against

Cornwallis's forces a success.48

“Hands are most wanted to bake bread for the Soldiers …"

The Superintendent's Bakers

Manpower was one of Superintendent Ludwick's chronic problems. In a list of ovens

available to the army (probably made in August 1777), five at various locations were

"baking 700 lb. p[er] day" (most likely biscuit), two at Valley Forge were "baking soft

Bread for the Army," and four others were "not at Work," at least partly due to "there being

no Flour" for three of them. Ludwick also noted that "Only one Oven at Morris Town and

one at Pitts Town[, New Jersey, are] at work for want of hands. If hands could be procured

they would bake double the above Quantity."49

22

The Company of Bakers. At least one expedient was attempted to ease Ludwick's burden.

In late February 1778, while Washington's army was in the winter camp at Valley Forge,

Congress directed that "a company of bakers be raised, to bake bread for the army."50

Intended to supplement Superintendent Ludwick's production of bread, the company met

with limited success and was disbanded after one year. Following is a return of the company

seven months after its formation:51

A Muster Roll of a Company of Bakers in the Service of the United States of

America, under the Command of John Torrey, Director

Appointed April 3, 1778 –– John Torrey, Director

do 20, do Josiah Richardson, Sub. do.

Appointed Formen For what term Remarks

1778

April 9 Samuel Motley One year

do 20 Edward Pell do

May 1 Thomas Shepard do

Inlisted Privates

Michael Bawer do

Frederick Christian do

May 1 Jacob Canada do

do Andrew Canada do

Adam Foot do On Commd at Genl Washington

John Harff do

Adam Hendle do

June 24 John Hanning do on furlough by Director

Jack Kisnon do [illegible] for 3 Days

Appointed Formen For what term Remarks

Cutlip Stromback One year

Josiah Henning Six mo.

Inlisted Privates

Paul Stromsal One year

Frederick Schanumkessel do

May 1 Alexander Touch do

do Leavt. Thaxter do

20 Francis Munro do Inlisted in Col. Hazen's Regt. July 23

do Joseph Voitney do do do do

do James Britten do do do 24th

do Francis Mulet do do do do

Danbury [Connecticut], October 3, 1778, Mustered then the above Company, as specified

in the above Roll Jacob Jno Lansing D[eputy].Q Master

When the Company of Bakers’ term of service expired, Christopher Ludwick was left to

make do as best he could, hiring workers as needed or drafting men from Continental

regiments when all else failed. But for several glimpses, little is known of army baking

23

operations in 1778 and 1779. In June 1779 a brigade chaplain noted Ludwick’s presence at

Wyoming, on the Susquehanna River, where, “owing to his activity, a bake–house was built

in eleven days, and a large quantity of bread was in readiness for delivery on our arrival."

Later that year Deputy Quartermaster Gen. Moore Furman informed Q.M. Joseph Lewis of

"a set of Bakers who I beg will push to work as soon as Possible … Mr. Gamble will I

suppose Superintend them so that you will have nothing more to do than set them going by

having the Ovens [at Morristown, New Jersey] repaired and keep them in fire wood."

General Washington wrote of Superintendent Ludwick building ovens at West Point (“two

excellent new Ovens and a Bakehouse"), and Stony and Verplank’s Points in 1780, all

which, along with the already established facilities, needed skilled personnel. At Tea Neck,

New Jersey, 28 August 1780, army orders called for "Two Bakers from each Brigade to be

sent this afternoon four 0'clock to Orange town to assist the superintendent of the Bakers at

that place," but more personnel than those gleaned from the army were necessary.52

The identity of the bakers at Wyoming in 1779 is not known, but we do have a roster of

men serving at Morristown some months after Furman’s November 1779 letter. "A List of

the Bakers in Continental service at present at Morris Town," 22 June 1780, names twelve

men,

Peter Wittig Gotlep Myers

George Michael Rittle Myer Jacob Rush

Jacob Liebtree Henry Harmless

Jacob Meyers George Phidner

Jacob Shegle Wm Marsh

Adolph Asman Conrad Shrink 53

These were only a portion of Superintendent Ludwick’s work force that year. He later

wrote "That his Department for the year 1780 ... had 25 Men at least in the service,"

including those on June roster. In a January 1781 "Memorial" the Superintendent detailed

his difficulties in keeping workers and the means he used to ensure they were well treated:

"... the Bakers heretofore inlisted ... have most all left ... (their Term of Inlistment being

expired) except three whom he inlisted from the first of September last for two shillings

specie, or the Exchange [in paper money], and a Gill of Rum per day and a Suit of Cloaths,

and twenty two who are drafted from the different Regiments (tho' with great reluctance of

the Officers) and are to have three Dollars Continl: money per day ... Your Memorialist hath

hitherto with great Trouble and Expence to himself procured and kept a number of hands in

the service of his Department but finds it impossible to retain them any longer unless intitled

to receive Pay, Cloathing & other Necessaries, equal, if not more than, the Artificers or any

other Corps in the Army." He went on to write of the construction of "two excellent new

Ovens and a Bakehouse," but noted that "Hands are most wanted to bake bread for the

Soldiers," and that "no proper Encouragement [is] given to the Bakers and Workmen to

induce and enable them to continue in the Service ..."54

In a post–war statement, Ludwick related that while in service he "greatly diminished and

injured his own private Property as well as his Constitution – That being Paymaster as well

as Director of the Bakers employed in said Department [he] ... sold a part of his Real Estate

at a Disadvantage in order to obtain Money to pay the Mens Wages, and has almost the

whole time of Service advanced and paid their Wages out of his own Monies before he

could receive any of the public ..." He had paid "the Bakers every two Months their Wages

24

and from time to time adding a few Dollars more as the money grew worse, he saved no

trifling Sum to the Public as these Men got no Depreciation of Pay like Soldiers in the Army

..."55

In March 1786, Gotlep Myers, one of the men on the June 1780 return (above), petitioned

the State of Pennsylvania "to make up the Depreciation of his pay" received during the war.

He wrote that he, "was enlisted ... in the Artificers Department where he served Three Years

... as a Baker under Christopher Ludwick Baker General, at the End of which Term he

received his Discharge ... your Petitioner hath suffered greatly by the Depreciation of his

Pay ... [he] was enlisted in the Service aforesaid in the Year 1778 for which Year his Pay

was Twenty [five?] Dollars Pr Month, The second Year his pay was Forty Dollars Pr Month

and the third and last Year his Pay was Sixty Dollars Pr Month ..." Myers' petition was

endorsed by Ludwick.56

"The essential service he rendered to the army ..."

Christopher Ludwick, Superintendent of Bakers

"Of the articles of subsistence bread is the most essential"; so wrote Maj. Gen. Henry

Knox in March 1781. In the same letter Knox also admitted that, after six years of war, the

Continental Army was still "most deficient" in converting the flour ration into bread "arising

from the want of some general, invariable system to govern the whole Army ..." In light of

this admission, it is appropriate to look at one man's role in supplying bread to Washington's

troops, but for the efforts of whom the soldiers would have fared worse than they did.57

In any era Christopher Ludwick would have been considered remarkable. Born in the

town of Giessen, Hesse (Germany), in 1720, he was taught to be a baker by his father. At

seventeen, Ludwick enlisted to fight against the Turks, took part in the siege of Prague, and,

in 1741, joined the Prussian army. Discharged at war's end, he soon went to London, where

he signed on as a baker aboard an East India Company ship. After almost four years in

India, Ludwick returned to London, then traveled home to Giessen to find his father had

died. Back in London, having spent his inheritance, he returned to sea as a common sailor.

From 1745 to 1752, according to one biographer, "he made voyages to the West Indies and

European ports. Desiring to quit the sea, he invested [25 pounds] in ready–made English

clothing and in 1753 embarked for Philadelphia." Selling the clothing at a considerable

profit, Ludwick went back to London, "where he spent nine months learning to bake

gingerbread and make confectionery." He returned to Philadelphia in 1754, "taking with him

implements for the bakery which he soon started in Laetitia Court ..." He married,

prospered, and was well–respected, being known as "The Governor of Laetitia Court." By

the time of the Revolution he owned nine houses, a farm in Germantown, and a large

fortune in Pennsylvania currency.58

Ludwick functioned in several roles when he first entered United States service in 1776.

Initially he volunteered for the Flying Camp, a militia force with Washington's Army in

New Jersey and New York. Later that year he further proved his commitment to the cause

by becoming involved in a plan to encourage desertion among German soldiers serving with

the British. Of this period, he later wrote he acted "as a Volunteer finding himself & Horse

without fee or reward."59

Because of this service, and his prewar occupation and reputation for civic activity in

Philadelphia, on 3 May 1777, the Continental Congress appointed 57 year old Christopher

25

Ludwick "superintendent of bakers, and director of baking, in the grand army of the United

States." Their resolve stipulated "That no person be permitted to exercise the trade of a

baker in the said army without" his license, with the mandate "to rectify all abuses in the

article of bread," by reorganizing that commodity's production and distribution. Little did

Ludwick know that he would struggle to feed the army and fulfill his mission over the

ensuing five years.60

The Continental army's logistical organization underwent many changes during the

Superintendent's term of service; unfortunately, the country's lack of proper support for the

army remained a constant theme throughout. This was echoed in Ludwick's experience, and

the difficulties encountered in 1777 were to recur throughout his tenure, such that by 1781

he was still able to remark, "the Baking Department, tho' far ... more beneficial than the

Doctor or Surgeon's Department, hath been too much neglected ..."61

Christopher Ludwick's first year as superintendent was arguably his most demanding.

Applying himself to the task at hand he immediately encountered what would prove to be

a chronic problem, finding and keeping workers. In July 1777 the Superintendent

informed Congress that having tried "to procure a number of journeymen bakers" in

Philadelphia, they were not to be had, "by reason that they are most of them engaged in

the militia." These men were soon recalled to bake bread, but manpower shortages

continued. An undated list of army bakeries, probably made in summer 1777, contained

the comment, "Only one Oven at Morris Town and one at Pitts Town [New Jersey, are] at

work for want of hands. If hands could be procured they would bake double the ...

Quantity."62

As the war continued, the Superintendent's diligence concerning his employees’ well–

being proved a boon to the army. In January 1781 he recorded that "Hands are most

wanted to bake bread for the Soldiers," but "no proper Encouragement [is] given to the

Bakers and Workmen to induce and enable them to continue in the Service." To rectify

this Ludwick noted having "sold a part of his Real Estate at a Disadvantage in order to

obtain Money to pay the Mens Wages, and ... [during] almost the whole time of Service

advanced and paid their Wages out of his own Monies before he could receive any of the

public ..." In an army where soldiers' pay was months or years in arrears, he paid his

"Bakers every two Months their Wages ... from time to time adding a few Dollars more

as the money grew worse ..." Of course, not all his workers were content. In May 1780,

Lawrence Powell, baker, was fined and jailed in Philadelphia for "defrauding the States."

Powell seemed to be "an open countenanced [truthful] man" who said he had "been very

ill used by Christopher Lodowick & that there is much [money] due to him."63

Baking for a mobile army was a difficult proposition. In July 1777, two months after

taking office, Ludwick was faced with the task of providing bread to an army on the move,

its regiments and brigades dispersed and marching over portions of three states. In this

situation he found it "impossible for one Man to review and direct the Business of baking

from the Van [the front of the army] to the Rear ..." All the while he continued to organize

the baking department, confronted by such problems as a lack of wagons to transport baked

bread, and the need for sites to store "the Bread that it comes under a good Roof and not

remain in the open fields." All the while the commander in chief entreated him to "continue

baking as fast as you can," to supply the army’s needs.64

26

A number of specialized implements were needed to bake bread, especially on a

large scale. Here are some examples of 18th

century French bake ovens, tools, mixing

troughs and dough boxes. Among these items are:

Fig. 6. fire rake

Fig. 8. swabber or scuffle

Fig. 10. wooden peel

Fig. 11. scraper

Fig. 12. iron shovel to draw out coals

Charles Coulston Gillispie, ed., A Diderot Pictorial Encyclopedia of Trades and

Industry: Manufacturing and the Technical Arts in Plates Selected from

“L’Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers” of

Denis Diderot (in two volumes), vol. 2 (New York: Dover Publications, 1959), “The

Bakery,” plate 449.

___________________________

27

Christopher Ludwick’s activity in the years following are not well recorded, but he

seems to have been everywhere trying to provide sustenance for the soldiery. The

Superintendent was noted to be in York, Pennsylvania, in late March 1778, probably

concerning an administrative matter as that city was then temporary capitol of the United

States. In July 1779 Rev. William Rogers noted Ludwick’s role in building a “bake–

house” for troops at Wyoming, on the Susquehanna. Twice in 1780 (June and October)

General Washington mentioned Ludwick's involvement in constructing new ovens, finally

noting that the "Baker Genl. ... is instructed ... to repair to West Point and erect as many

ovens at that Post as are equal to a daily supply of Six or eight thousand pounds of Bread ...

he is also ordered to erect one oven at Stoney Point for the supply of the Troops there and at

Verplanks." Ludwick himself wrote early in 1781 that "at West Point ... [I have] erected two

excellent new Ovens and a Bakehouse ..."65

In a January 1781 "Memorial" to Congress, Ludwick wrote that having "served his

Country honestly from the Commencement of the War ... [he had] built the greatest part of

the Bakehouses for the Use of the Army; [and] ventur'd his Life on several Occasions for the

Cause ... [he] is now willing and desirous to retire from the Service in the 61st. Year of his

Age, with the loss of his right Eye and a ruined Constitution." Despite this wish to retire,

Superintendent Ludwick continued producing bread at least until the end of 1781. At

Williamsburg, Virginia, on 15 September, while the armies were gathering to besiege the

British in Yorktown, Washington wrote that the troops for a period "experienced a Want of

Provisions, especially of the Bread kind ..." Two weeks later he informed the army, "It is

expected that bread of a good quality will be furnished by Mr. Ludwick, superintendent of

the Bakers, nearly sufficient for the Army ..."66

Ludwick probably left the army before the end of hostilities. In 1782 a system of supply

by contractors was put in place and it seems that the Superintendent of Baker's role became

obsolete; in any event there is no record of services rendered by him during that time.67

Christopher Ludwick's devotion to his adopted country's fight for independence is easily

understood in light of the success he enjoyed in America and his community ties. But what

was at the heart of Ludwick's willingness to undertake the formidable responsibility of

providing bread for the army and to persevere in that task? The answer may be found in a

temperament determined to see a job through in the face of repeated hardship and frustration

(stereotypically attributed to "hard–headed" Germans), combined with empathy for workers

and soldiers, and supported by his business acumen and long experience in the craft of

baking.

Historian Edward Channing noted, "An anecdote of a man is worth a volume of

biography." Three may shed further light on Ludwick's character. A Pennsylvania officer

related the story that the "Bakermaster–General of the army ... made a vow never to shave

his beard until ... we regained possession of Philadelphia," after the British occupation of

that city in September 1777. This at a time when purposefully grown and cultivated beards

were not common and thought to be uncivilized. (If true then Mr. Ludwick probably wore

his beard until June 1778.) Dr. Benjamin Rush wrote of his reply when informed by

Congress of their expectation that he produce one pound of bread for every pound of flour

received: "Not so: I must not be so enriched by the war. I shall return 135 lbs. of bread for

every 100 lbs. of flour." (One pound of flour will in fact produce a larger amount of bread.)

Another account, probably originating with Dr. Rush, noted the respect he engendered

28

within the army: "Washington was very fond of him, addressed him as 'old gentleman,' and

called him 'my honest friend.'"68

By his own testimony, Christopher Ludwick's sacrifices for his country included having

"had his Property ruined by the Enemy," and the loss of the "private fortune earned by his

Industry before the War." According to Benjamin Rush, at war's end "he had scarcely any

ready cash; but he would neither borrow money nor buy on credit." A biographical

compilation recounted his life after the Revolution. His first wife died in 1795 and he

remarried in 1798. "During the yellow–fever epidemic in Philadelphia, in 1797, he

volunteered his services to bake bread for the stricken." Having rebuilt his fortune, he

donated large amounts to various causes during his lifetime, bequeathing his estate to

churches and charities, the residue "to be used in providing free education for poor

children." He died on 17 June 1801 and was "buried in the grave–yard of St. Michael's

[Trinity] (Lutheran) Church, at the upper end of Germantown," now part of the city of

Philadelphia.69

A 1785 Memorial by the former Superintendent of Bakers was endorsed by such notables

as Generals Arthur St. Clair, William Irvine, Anthony Wayne, former Q.M. Gen. Timothy

Pickering, and Thomas Mifflin, a prominent Philadelphian. In his endorsement Pickering

noted Ludwick's "disinterested zeal, his indefatigable industry in the duties of his

department, his unsullied integrity, [and] the essential service he rendered to the army ..."

No one could ask for a finer epitaph.70

* * * * * *

The Superintendent Bakes for the General, 1778 and 1780. Christopher Ludwick’s

military legacy included some small contribution to the American commander–in–chief’s

sustenance. The first known instance occurred in April 1778 (the bill was not paid till the

following year):

His Excellency General Washington to Cristopher Ludwick.

1778. To 2 bbs. beer @ L 4 10 £ 9

April 1st.

To butter for rusk 3

To 1 Cullender 1 10

Head Quarters Raritan [New Jersey] 9th.

Feby 1779

[On reverse] Feby. 9th 1779 Chrisr. Ludwick Acct. for Sundries when at V[alley]. Forge

71

The Oxford English Dictionary describes rusk as “Bread in the form of small pieces

which have been re–fired so as to render them hard and crisp.” Sometimes sweetened,

rusk was used to dip in coffee or tea, similar to biscotti. As for the beer, although it is

unknown whether Ludwick brewed it himself or purchased it elsewhere, the reference is

interesting because of the age–old tie between bakers and brewers.72

In 1780 Ludwick tendered another invoice to the General. Reimbursement this time

seems to have been prompt.

29

His Excellcy Geo Washington Esqr C. Chief

To Christr Ludwick

To making two barrels of rusk [*] two barrels

of buttered bisquit and Ginger Bread

with the following Engredience Viz

Dollars

9 lb. Butter 78

Milk 42

Allspice 8 Dollars

1 lb. Careway seed 4 144

Ginger 8

Potash 4

HeadQuarters

Morristown 28th. March 1780

Recd. ye above in full from of Major Gibbs

Christoffar Ludwick 73

Notably, the “Major Gibbs” referred to above, was Caleb Gibbs, commander of

Washington’s Life Guard, who also handled the household accounts after the

commander–in–chief’s housekeeper Mrs. Mary Smith left his service in spring 1776.

Superintendent Ludwick’s recipes for “buttered bisquit and Ginger Bread” are unknown,

but given his 27 years in the baking business, they were probably stored in his head. Here

are sample recipes from Eliza Smith’s The Compleat Housewife (1758):74

To make Biskits. Take a pound of loaf–sugar beaten and sifted, and half a pound of

almonds blanch’d and beat in a mortar, with the whites of five or six eggs, when they are

both mingled, strew in your almonds; then put in a quarter of a pound of flour, and fill

your pans fast; butter them and put them into the oven; strew sugar over them, bake them

quick, and then turn them on a paper, and put them again into the oven to harden.

To make the thin Dutch Bisket. Take five pounds of flour, two ounces of carraway–seeds,

half a pound of sugar, and something more than a pint of milk; warm the milk, and put

into it three quarters of a pound of butter; then make a hole in the middle of your flour,

and put in a full pint of good ale yeast; then pour in the butter and milk, and make these

into a paste, letting it stand a quarter of an hour by the fire to rise; then mould it, and roll

it into cakes pretty thin; prick them all over pretty much, or they will blister; bake them a

quarter of an hour.

Several of Smith’s gingerbread recipes call for candied orange peel, “orange–peel dried,”

“orange–flower water,” “candied citron,” cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg. The simplest is

as follows:

Take a pound and a half of treacle, two eggs beaten, a pound of butter melted, half a

pound of brown sugar, and ounce of beaten ginger, and of cloves, mace, coriander–seeds

and caraway–seeds, of each a half an ounce; mix all these together with as much flour as

will knead it into a paste; roll it out, and cut it into what form you please; bake it in a

quick oven on tin plates; a little time will bake it.75

30

Afterword. On April 15 1953 the popular TV show Cavalcade of America aired an episode

called “The Gingerbread Man,” described as a “true story about Christopher Ludwick, the

baker, who came to America in 1776 from Germany … A comedy–drama about an

elderly German baker who persuades 123 Hessian soldiers to desert the British Army

during the American Revolution.”76

Ludwick was a strong believer in community service and, two centuries after his death,

his legacy lives on in the guise of The Christopher Ludwick Foundation Grants, funded to

support and advance "the schooling and education gratis, of poor children of all

denominations, in the city and liberties of Philadelphia, without exception to the country,

extraction, or religious principles of their parents and friends...." The original bequest of

$13,000 “has grown to over $5,000,000, and grants amounting to approximately

$250,000 are awarded each year.”77

(For more information see, The Christopher Ludwick

Foundation Grants, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia,

http://www.philaathenaeum.org/grants.html)

Acknowledgements

My thanks to the following friends and acquaintances for providing invaluable information and

advice: Barbara Bockrath, Kimberly Boice, Frank Cecala, Johanna Caldwell, Cate Crown, Wayne

Daniels, Rick Fellows, Dona M. McDermott, Richard Patterson, Mara Riley, Elizabeth Rump,

Robert A. Selig, Yannig Tanguy, Thaddeus Weaver, and Jim Wilson. And a very special thank-you

for my good friend and mentor Sandra L. Oliver.

About the Author

John Rees has written over 150 articles since 1986 on various aspects of the common soldiers'

experience, focusing primarily on the War for Independence and American soldiers’ food, 1755

to the present-day. In addition to his journal articles, John was a regular columnist for the

quarterly newsletter Food History News writing for 19 years on soldiers' food, wrote four entries

for the Oxford Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, thirteen entries for the revised

Thomson Gale edition of Boatner’s Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, contributed a

chapter to Carol Karels’ The Revolutionary War in Bergen County (2007), and two chapters to

Barbara Z. Marchant’s Revolutionary Bergen County, The Road to Independence (2009). He

was elected Fellow of the Company of Military Historians in April 2009. A partial article list plus

many complete works are available online at www.revwar75.com/library/rees . Selected Civil

War monographs are posted online at http://www.libertyrifles.org/research/. A complete list of

works may be obtained upon request.

Addendum: Hard Biscuit Recipes

My thanks to Jeff Pavlik for generously sharing his research and expertise.

(http://colonialbaker.net ; http://sunflourbakehaus.com/ )

Here are several recipes for hard biscuit, ranging from a published 18th century receipt

book for households, to several 19th century military and other works. First, this from Eliza

Smith, The Compleat Housewife - original edition 1758; reprinted London: Studio Editions

Ltd., 1994, 181-182 (Note: True military hard biscuit is made only with flour and water):

31

To make the hard Bisket.

Take half a pound of fine flour, one ounce of carraway-seeds, the whites of two eggs, a

quarter of a pint of ale yeast, and as much warm water as will make it into a stiff paste; then

make it into long rolls, bake it an hour; the next day pare it round, then slice it in thin slices,

about half an inch thick; dry it in the oven; then draw it, turn it, and dry the other side; they

will keep the whole year.

Next, via Jeff Pavlik, we have an exposition on biscuit from Anthony Florian Madinger

Willich, The Domestic Encyclopaedia; Or, A Dictionary of Facts, and Useful Knowledge,

Comprehending a Concise View of the Latest Discoveries, Inventions, and Improvements,

Chiefly Applicable to Rural and Domestic Economy, vol. 1 (London: B. McMillan, Bow-

Street, Covent-Garden,1802), 266-267:

Sea-Biscuit, a sort of hard, dry bread, formed into flat cakes: when intended for long

voyages, it is four times baked, six months before it is shipped … As the manufacture of

sea-biscuits is of considerable importance to a maritime country, we shall communicate

the method of baking practiced in France.

In the preparation of biscuit, a proportion of ten pounds of leaven (rather more stale

than that commonly used for bread), is diluted in warm water, with one hundred pounds

of flour which is kneaded; but the water should be added by small portions, to prevent the

necessity of adding more flour : when the dough can no longer be worked by the hand, it

is pressed with the feet till it is perfectly smooth, glutinous and compact … then made

into rolls, which again pass through the hands of the baker; this is called rutting. When

the weight of each piece is determined, it is made round, flattened with a rolling pin, and

then placed on a table or board exposed to the fresh air pierced with several holes, with

the point of an iron, which at once, flattens it, and gives vent to evaporation …

A good biscuit breaks clean and crisp, has a shining appearance is thin, and the outside

is glossy. When soaked, it swells considerably in the water, without crumbling, or sinking

to the bottom of the vessel.

William Burney’s 1815 revision of Falconer’s New Universal Dictionary of the Marine

included this description of hard biscuit properties and the manufacturing process

(William Falconer (revised by William Burney), Falconer’s New Universal Dictionary of

the Marine (1815 Edition; Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2006), 40-41.):78

BISCUIT, Sea, is a sort of bread much dried, to make it keep for the use of the navy, and

is good for a whole year after it is baked. The process of biscuit-making for the navy is

simple and ingenious, and is nearly as follows: A large lump of dough, consisting merely

of flower and water, is mixed up together, and placed exactly in the centre of a raised

platform, where a man sits upon a machine, called a horse, and literally rides up and

down throughout its whole circular direction, till the dough is equally indented, and this

is repeated till the dough is sufficiently kneaded. In this state it is handed over to a second

workman, who, with a large knife, puts it in a proper state for the use of those bakers who

more immediately attend the oven. They are five in number; and their different

departments are well calculated for expedition and exactness.

The first man on the farthest side of a large table moulds the dough, till it has the

appearance of muffins, and which he does two together, with each hand; and then

delivers them over to the man on the other side of the table, who stamps them on both

sides with a mark, and throws them on a smaller table, where stands the third workman,

32

whose business is merely to separate the different pieces into two, and place them under

the hand of him who supplies the oven, whose work of throwing or chucking the biscuits

on the peel must be performed with the greatest exactness and regularity. The fifth

arranges them in the oven, and is so expert, that though the different biscuits are thrown

to him at the rate of seventy in a minute, the peel is always disengaged in time to receive

them separately. So much critical exactness and neat activity occur in the exercise of this

layout, that it is difficult to decide whether the palm of excellence is due to the moulder,

the maker, the splitter, the chucker, or the depositor; all of them, like the wheels of a

machine, seeming to be actuated by the same principle. The business is to deposit in the

oven seventy biscuits in a minute; and this is accomplished with the regularity of a clock;

the clack of the peel, during its motion in the oven, operating like the pendulum. The

biscuits thus baked are kept in repositories, which receive warmth from being placed in

drying lofts over the ovens, till they are sufficiently dry to be packed into bags, without

danger of getting mouldy; and when in such a state, they are then packed into bags, of an

hundred weight each, and removed into store-houses for immediate use. At Deptford the

bake house belonging to the victualling-office has twelve ovens; each of which bakes

twenty shoots daily; the quantity of flour used for each shoot is two bushels, or 112

pounds; which baked, produce 102 pounds of biscuit. Ten pounds are regularly allowed

on each shoot for shrinkage, &c. The allowance of biscuit in the navy is, one pound for

each man per day; so that, at Deptford alone, they can furnish bread, daily, for 24,480

men, independent of Portsmouth and Plymouth.

Here are several 19th century biscuit recipes:

[Circa 1870’s] Hard Tack - Army bread, or ship bread, as furnished to crews. One barrel of

flour, 25 gallons of water (more or less; enough is wanted to make a stiff dough, no more).

Cut out oblong, about 3 by 2 1/2 inches square, for army use, as they pack more closely in

the boxes in which they are sold. For sea use they are generally cut out round. They are

docked one side, baked in slackish oven, to dry out thoroughly, and by some bakers kept in a

drying room 24 hours after baking. If properly kept, they will remain good a long time, and

have no bad flavor even after the weevil gets in.

Sea Biscuit, Captain's Biscuit, or Pilot Bread (Best). - One barrel of flour, 50 pounds of

butter (salted but not rank), or half butter and half good lard, 7 gallons of water or milk, or

half of each. Rub the butter in the flour until it is mixed and crumbly; make a bay; pour in

the milk, or water; mix to a dough. Brake well; roll thin; dock them on one side, and bake in

a quick oven. These are known in some quarters as captain's biscuits, as they were intended

for cabin use. A variation of this biscuit is, to mix with it sugar, 12 pounds to the barrel. If

half lard is used, put in 1 pound of salt; if all lard, 2 pounds of salt.

Sea Biscuit (No. 2). - Same as the last, omitting milk and using half the proportion of butter

or lard. Roll out thicker, about 3 to 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

Sea Biscuit (No. 3). - The same, with only 7 pounds of lard, 2 pounds of salt.

(Giuseppe Rudmani, et al, The Baker's Manual: A Practical Guide Containing Plain

Instructions for Baking Every Variety of Bread, Cake and Cracker Regularly Sold in the

Best Bakers of the United States (New York, N.Y., 1870 or 1879), 104-105. Note: In 1877

Rudmani was “Teacher in the Cooking School, St. Mark’s Place, New York, and Chef de

Cuisine, Newport.” R.R. Bowker Company, The Publisher’s Weekly, vol. XI, January to

June 1877 (New York: S.W. Green, Printer, 1877), 518.)

[1882] The best flour for making hard bread is that generally known as “winter-wheat

extra.” ... To mix one barrel of flour about eight gallons of water are generally required, but

the quantity will vary with different flours. If hard bread is made for immediate use, salt

33

should be dissolved in the water at the rate of two pounds to the quantity of water required

for mixing each barrel of flour, but the quantity should be diminished as the length of time of

keeping the bread on hand increases. ... The oven should be moderately heated; if too hot the

bread will not be baked through, and the center will, in drying, become hard and flinty.

It is usual to place hard bread, after it is baked, on a drying-kiln, so that all moisture may be

expelled. After the drying process, the hard bread being drier than the flour in its original

state, the average yield is less than the weight of the flour used, viz, from 175 to 180 lbs. to

the barrel of flour. ... Good hard bread 'springs' in baking, and when a cake of it is broken the

fracture will exhibit the resulting flakiness. Hard bread for army use should be crisp, but not

so brittle as to crumble in transportation. (George Bell (major), Notes on Bread Making,

Permanent and Field Ovens, and Bake Houses Prepared, by Direction of the Commissary-

General of Subsistence ... with Extracts from "Notes on Flour," by the same officer

(Washington, D.C, 1882), 29-31.)

And, finally, Baker Jeff Pavlik’s recipe for hard biscuit:

Sea Biscuit – 15 biscuits

To make leaven- start the day before you plan on making biscuits.

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup water

Mix and set in a warm spot for 24 hours.

Making Biscuit

13 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup leaven

4 cups water

Mix until smooth (about 5 minutes of hard kneading)

Divide dough into ½ cup pieces.

Round them like dinner rolls and flatten to about 4.5 inches in diameter. This biscuit will

weigh about 5 ounces.

Use a fork to prick holes over top of dough.

Bake at 375 degrees for 2 hours.

Turn off oven and open door slightly for 1 hour.

Bake again at 275 degrees for 1 hour.

Set biscuits on cooling rack for several days to dry.

Bon Appetit!

34

Endnotes

1. Luke 11:3, New Testament, King James Version.

2. Henry Knox to Washington, 24 March 1781, George Washington Papers, Presidential Papers

Microfilm (Washington: Library of Congress, 1961), series 4 (General Correspondence. 1697–

1799), reel 76.

3. Washington to Thomas Mifflin, 28 July 1777, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George

Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745–1799, vol. 8 (Washington: Government

Printing Office, 1933), 492–493.

4. William M. Dwyer, The Day is Ours! (New York, N.Y.: The Viking Press, 1983), 136, 376.

5. Ibid., 368–369. Henry Knox to Washington, 24 March 1781, George Washington Papers, series

4, reel 76. Division orders, 1 December 1778, The Orderly Book of the First Pennsylvania

Regiment. Col. James Chambers. July 26, 1778 – December 6, 1778, John B. Linn and William H.

Egle, eds., Pennsylvania Archives, 2d series, XI (Harrisburg: Lane S. Hart, State Printer, 1880), 388.

6. Henry Knox to Washington, 24 March 1781, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 76.

7. Ibid.

8. Joseph Brown Turner, ed., The Journal and Order Book of Captain Robert Kirkwood of the

Delaware Regiment of the Continental Line (Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1970), 82.

General Orders, 5 July 1777, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol. 8 (1933), 351.

Observations on the army, Jedediah Huntington to George Washington, 1 January 1778, George

Washington Papers, series 4, reel 46.

9. Henry Knox to Washington, 24 March 1781, ibid., series 4, reel 76.

10. Ibid..

11. Ibid.

12. Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris, The Spirit of 'Seventy–Six (New York,

Evanston, San Francisco, and London, 1975), 641. Jonathan Todd Letters, 1777-1778, surgeon's

mate, Colonel Heman Swift's 7th Connecticut Regt., born 17 May 1756, died 10 February 1819

(W2197) (National Archives Microfilm Publication M804, 2,670 reels; reel 2395) Revolutionary

War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, 1800–1900, Record Group 15;

National Archives Building, Washington, DC.

13. General Orders, 23 August 1776, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol. 5 (1932), 478-479.

14. General Orders, 2 September 1776, ibid., vol. 6 (1932), 7.

15. On 3 May 1777, Christopher Ludwick was appointed "superintendent of bakers, and director of

baking, in the grand army of the United States." Worthington Chauncey Ford, Journals of the

Continental Congress 1774–1789, vol. VII (Washington, D.C., 1907), 323–324. General orders,

10 June 1777, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol. 8 (1933), 212. Washington to Israel Putnam,

25 July 1777, ibid., 475. Turner, The Journal and Order Book of Captain Robert Kirkwood of the

Delaware Regiment, 124.

16. Washington to Christopher Ludwick, 25 July 1777, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol. 8

(1933), 466.

17. General orders, 7 and 10 September 1777, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol. 9 (1933),

165-166, 200.

18. "Journal of Bayze Wells of Farmington May, 1775-February, 1777 At the Northward and in

Canada," Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, vol. 7 (1899), 269. Joseph Plumb Martin,

Private Yankee Doodle: Being a Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a

Revolutionary Soldier, George F. Scheer, ed., (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Company,

N.Y., 1962), 23-24.

19. Howard H. Peckham, Memoirs of the Life of John Adlum in the Revolutionary War (Chicago:

The Caxton Club, 1968), 72. Dwyer, The Day is Ours!, 102-103. Original source Charles Willson

Peale, "Journal by Charles Willson Peale, Dec. 4, 1776-Jan. 20, 1777," Pennsylvania Magazine of

History and Biography, vol. 38 (1914), 271-286.

35

20. Martin, Private Yankee Doodle, 90, 97.

21. Johann Ewald, Diary of the American War: A Hessian Journal, Joseph P. Tustin, trans. and

ed. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1979), 138, 387 (note 145). J.C.P. von Krafft,

Journal of Lieutenant John Charles Philip von Krafft (New York, 1968), 49, 51. Robert A. Selig,

"Deux-Ponts Germans: Unsung Heroes of the American Revolution", German Life

(August/September 1995), excerpts from the journal of Private Georg Daniel Flohr, 51-52.

22. General William Heath's orders, 12 July 1777, Numbered Record Books Concerning Military

Operations and Service, Pay and Settlement of Accounts, and Supplies in the War Dapartment

Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93, National Archives Microfilm

Publication M853, reel 3, vol. 18, target 4. Samuel Dewees, A History of the Life and Services of

Captain Samuel Dewees ... The whole written (in part from a manuscript in the handwriting of

Captain Dewees) and compiled by John Smith Hanna (Printed by R. Neilson, 1844), 179. "Ship

stuff," Richard M. Lederer, Colonial American English – A Glossary (Essex, Ct.: Verbatim,

1985). Ford, Journals of the Continental Congress, vol. VIII (1907), 574-575.

23. "Revolutionary Journal Kept by Abiel Chandler of Andover, From December 2, 1776 Until April

1, 1777, During Service on the North River, New York," Essex Institute Historical Collections, vol.

47 (1911), 183. "... the following Rations to be delivered ... one pound and a half of Beef, or eighteen

Ounces of Pork ... One pound of Flour pr man each day - Hard Bread to be dealt out one day in a

week, in lieu of Flour," General orders, 24 December 1775, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol.

4 (1931), 180. "Boston July 12th. 1777 [per man per day] 1 lb Flour or Bread [and] 1 1/2 lb Beef or

18 oz Pork," Heath's orders, 12 July 1777, Numbered Record Books (Natl. Archives), reel 3, vol. 18,

target 4. "the Ration allow'd to the Army in future ought to be ... One pound & one quarter of a

pound of Beef or One Pound Pork ... 1 1/4 lb Flour or soft bread or 1 lb hard bread,"

Recommendation of rations for the army by a Board of General Officers, 10 November 1777,

George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 45.

In his memoirs Hard Tack and Coffee ((Boston: George M. Smith & Co., 1887, 113-121.), John

D. Billings of Massachusetts, formerly with the artillery of the Union Army of the Potomac,

frequently mentions food and includes an account of hardtack and its use. "What was hardtack? It

was a plain flour-and-water biscuit. Two which I have in my possession as mementos measure three

and one-eighth by two and seven-eighths inches, and are nearly half an inch thick. Although these

biscuits were furnished to organizations by weight, they were dealt out to the men by number, nine

constituting a ration in some regiments, and ten in others; but there were usually enough for those

who wanted more, as some men would not draw them. While hardtack was nutritious, yet a hungry

man could eat his ten in a short time and still be hungry.

In a phone interview, Steve Wright, curator of the Civil War Library and Museum (1805 Pine St.,

Phila. Pa., 19103, Phone: 215 735-8196), corroborated Billings' physical description of Federal

hardtack. He noted that due to mass production and rigid standards, size and shape varied little. The

Museum has original specimens of both Union and Confederate hardtack. Manufacture in the south

was less standardized; the Confederate hardtack in the Museum's collection is "oval in shape and

slightly larger than Federal hardtack." Besides these differences, there are similarities between the

two. Both have a pattern of holes imprinted in the dough, and, at least in the Museum's examples, the

flour quality seems to be the same.

24. Dewees, A History of the Life and Services, 179.

25. John D. Billings, Hardtack and Coffee or The Unwritten Story of Army Life (Boston: George M.

Smith & Co., 1887), 113-121.

26. Bell Irvin Wiley, The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union (Baton Rouge and

London: Louisiana State University Press, 1978), 238.

27. Washington to the President of Congress, 20 September 1776, Fitzpatrick, Writings of

Washington, vol. 6 (1932), 85-86. 27 July 1777, John Chilton's Diary, Virginia Historical Society

and John Chilton letters, A. Keith Family Papers, 1710-1916, Virginia Historical Society.

36

28. Timothy Pickering to Peter Anspach, 26 June 1782, Miscellaneous Numbered Records (The

Manuscript File) in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records 1775-1790's,

National Archives Microfilm Publication M859, (Washington, D.C., 1971), reel 87, item no. 25345.

Timothy Pickering to Captain Walker, 22 March 1783, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 91.

29. Wiley, The Life of Billy Yank, 238-239.

30. Contributors of information on extant working ovens:

Trenton Barracks: Old Barracks Museum Staff – Cate Crown, Wayne Daniels, Richard Patterson,

VivianLea Stevens.

Jacobsburg State Park: Jim Wilson

Newlin Grist Mill: Rick Fellows

Hans Herr House: Carol Huff

Landis Valley Farm Museum: Mara Riley

Oliver Miller Homestead: Barbara Bockrath

Thomas Massey House, John Chadd House: Thaddeus Weaver

Fort No. 4, New Hampshire: Johanna Caldwell

Ephrata Cloister: Elizabeth Rump, Brandywine Battlefield State Park, Dona M. McDermott,

Valley Forge National Historic Park

Crown Point Bread Co. contact information:

Phone: (518) 597–4466

Address: 2744 Main St., P.O. Box 403, Crown Point, NY, 12928

Website: http://www.crownpointbread.com/sitemap.htm

31. General Orders, 23 August 1776, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol. 5 (1932), 478–

479. General orders, 2 September 1776, ibid., vol. 6 (1932), 7–8. Worthington Chauncey Ford,

Journals of the Continental Congress 1774–1789, vol. VII (Washington, D.C., 1907), 323–324,

574–575.

32. Washington to Christopher Ludwick, 25 July 1777, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol.

8 (1933), 475. Christopher Ludwick to the Continental Congress, 4 August 1777, The Papers of

the Continental Congress 1774–1789, National Archives Microfilm Publications M247,

(Washington, DC, 1958), reel 50: 193–194.

33. Return of ovens on Bakermaster's Department, undated, Papers of Continental Congress, Natl.

Archives, reel 199: 449.

34. Washington to Christopher Ludwick, 5 September 1777, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington,

vol. 9 (1933), 185–186.

35. Journal of Reverend William Rogers, 24 June 1779, Journals of the Military Expedition of

Major General John Sullivan Against the Six Nations of Indians in 1779 (Glendale, N.Y.:

Benchmark Publishing Co., 1970), 248. Rogers was chaplain to the Pennsylvania regiments under

Brigadier–General Edward Hand. They arrived at Wyoming on 23 June. Moore Furman to Joseph

Lewis, 8 November 1779, The Letters of Moore Furman, Deputy Quarter–Master General of

New Jersey in the Revolution (New York: Frederick H. Hitchcock, 1912), 35. General orders, 28

August 1780, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol. 19 (1937), 464–465.

36. Washington to Udny Hay, 30 June 1780, ibid., vol. 19 (1937), 103–104. Washington to

Nathanael Greene, 12 October 1780, ibid., vol. 20 (1937), 169. D.H. Humphreys to Charles

Stewart, 16 July 1781, ibid., vol. 22 (1937), 390.

37. Washington to James Hendricks, 15 September 1781, General orders, 1 and 8 October 1781,

ibid., vol. 23 (1937), 120–121, 165–166, 198–199.

38. Christopher Ludwick to the Continental Congress, 4 August 1777, Papers of Continental

Congress, Natl. Archives, reel 50: 193–194.

39. Kathleen Wall to author (email), 18 September 2004 (author’s collection). Lise Boily and

Jean–Francois Blanchette, The Bread Ovens of Quebec, (Ottawa: National Museums of Canada,

1979; available in French or English).

37

Here are several other online ovens to compliment Yannig Tanguy’s Crown Point oven (World

Wide Web), http://www.lakechamplainregion.com/cphistoricsite/cpbakeoven.htm:

19th century bread baking at The Historic Village at Allaire, Allaire Village, Inc., PO Box 220,

Farmingdale, NJ 07727; (732) 919–3500, http://www.allairevillage.org/Baking.htm;

Bake oven and baking at Fort Scott National Historic Site, P.O. Box 918, Fort Scott, KS 66701–

0918; 620–223–0310, http://www.nps.gov/fosc/bake_info1.htm;

Outdoor bake oven “Moved from a farm near Kidron, this structure is typical of the massive

outdoor ovens which were once found on virtually all German farms in the area during the 19th

century, but have now almost completely disappeared. It is fired on special occasions.” The

Wayne County Historical Society and Museum, 546 E. Bowman St., Wooster, Ohio 44691,

http://www.waynehistorical.org/oven.html

40. Henry Kinzer Landis, bake ovens in “Early Kitchens of the Pennsylvania Germans,”

Proceedings of the Pennsylvania German Society, vol. XLVII (Norristown, Pa.: Norristown

Press, 1939), 37–38. Llewellyn Deeme to Henry Mercer, 26 January 1916, Henry Chapman

Mercer Correspondence, Spruance Library, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, Pa.

(including side view sketch of “Squirrel tail” bake oven). Dr. Mercer collected other material on

old ovens. Frederic B. Jaekel, in his work “Squirrel–Tailed Bakeoven in Bucks County” (Bucks

County Historical Society Papers, vol. 5 (1916), 571), noted that Mercer described ovens “built

entirely outside the house, standing alone in the yard as an outbuilding, about nine by twelve feet

in size by seven or eight feet high and furnished with a roof.” Correspondents supplied Mercer

with details on other local ovens, some of which may still exist. A letter dated Frenchtown, New

Jersey, 14 July 1920, informed the good doctor that “Some time recently the Y.M.C.A. of Phila.

(I think) bought the Stover island [Marshall’s Island, Delaware River, currently owned by the

Cradle of Liberty Council, Boy Scouts of American, Philadelphia] just about opposite Erwinna,

where the mill stands … they have been fixing up the old house and outbuildings. This evening I

saw a stone mason who is working there & he says they discovered an old ‘out oven’ which he is

repairing. The date on it is 1767 & the name W.W. Marshall. He says he has not found any date

in the house yet, but thinks it is older than the oven … I asked the stone–mason, Andy Hann, to

see that none of the old marks of date &c was destroyed.” (Allan Emory to Frank (B.F.)

Fackenthal, 14 July 1920, Mercer Correspondence, Spruance Library, BCHS.)

Mr. Fackenthal supplied additional information in a 20 July 1920 letter:

“This afternoon I drove down to see the old bake oven, taking Mr. Emory with me.

We found it on Marshall Island which now belongs to the Y.M.C.A. of Trenton … The old bake

oven has been repaired but restored as nearly as possible to its original form. The man who went

with us … did not know whether it had a squirrel tail over its top or not and I could not examine it

as it had been filled up with sand in order to repair the arch over the [top of?] the fire–place.

This flue may lead from the back end of the oven. wh[ich]. w[oul]d. make it squirrel tailed but

there does not appear to be room for a flue on top judging by the outside shape & space … The

date & initials are still quite legible and are thus MM 1763”

B.F. Fackenthal to Henry Mercer, 20 July 1920, Mercer Correspondence, Spruance Library,

BCHS (including two sketches and photo of Marshall Island bake oven).

See also, Henry C. Mercer, opening address, 25 January 1916, “Old Bakeovens,” Bucks County

Historical Society Papers, vol. 5; James R. Blackaby, “On the Trail of the Elusive Bake Oven,”

Mercer Mosaic (Journal of the Bucks County Historical Society), vol. 2, no. 3 (May/June 1985),

5–6; and, Amos Long, Jr., “Outdoor Bakeovens in Berks,” Historical Review of Berks County,

vol. 29 (Winter 1962–63).

41. “William Richards’ 18th century bake ovens Lamberton,” archaeological investigation report,

Hunter Research, Inc., Historical Resource Consultants, 120 West State Street, Trenton, New

Jersey 08608; phone (609)695–0122; (World Wide Web) http://www.hunterresearch.com/ .

Return of ovens on Bakermaster's Department, undated (circa summer 1777), PCC, Natl.

Archives, reel 199: 449. Richard Patterson to author (email), 8 March 2004, author’s collection.

38

Dorothy Agans Stratford and Thomas B. Wilson. Certificates and Receipts of Revolutionary New

Jersey, Records of New Jersey, Vol. II (Lambertville, N.J.: Hunterdon House, 1996), 129.

42. William Richards’ 18th century bake ovens Lamberton,” Hunter Research, Inc.:

“Bake Ovens (Figures 4.26 – 4.29; Plates 4.21 – 4.25)

After the upper six feet of bank had been removed for the construction of the tunnel, a pipeline

for a storm sewer was excavated parallel to the edge of the bank cut, 15 feet east of a storm sewer

pipeline constructed in 1980 that also ran parallel to the bank. Machine excavation 25 feet north

of the ‘fishery boiling house’ revealed two adjacent 18th century brick vaulted bake ovens at 22

feet above sea level and 10 feet below Lamberton Road (Figure 4.26; Plate 4.21).

Documentary references, the form of the structures, the extent of the heat to which the bricks

have been subjected, and the hand–made character and dimensions of the bricks, all support the

bake oven interpretation. A large portion of the southernmost oven dome was removed by the

trackhoe excavating the pipeline, but fortunately most of the northern dome survived (Plates 4.22,

4.23). The ovens appeared to be identical in size and form. Excavation concentrated on

dismantling the second oven in a controlled manner in order to document and interpret its

structure, and to obtain further archaeological dating evidence and specific functional

information. Detailed drawings and photography played a key role in the excavation. Placement

of a sewer line in 1980 had removed the west side of the entire oven complex including the front

or oven opening and possibly a chimney.

The northernmost oven survived almost completely intact and is the focus of this description.

The oven structure was constructed on a bed of unmortared cobbles [2133] two feet thick, laid

directly on top of the natural bank (Figure 4.27). The ovens were contained within a mortared

cobble wall [2132] forming the exterior walls of the ovens. Context 2132 was probably

constructed before the brick domed vaults, forming an oval shaped stone–lined pit measuring

approximately 24 feet by 12 feet. The wall was approximately 1.50 feet wide, and appeared to

function as a retaining wall between the natural bank and the outside edge of the oven. Figure

4.27 shows the relationship between Wall 2132 and the brick wall of the oven. The brick oven

wall was built against the 2.20 foot high cobble wall.

The exterior brick foundation walls [2128] of the ovens were constructed directly on top of the

cobble base. The mortared brick foundation wall was circular, one foot wide and extended

vertically 1.40 feet. The floor of the oven consisted of three separate layers. A mortar base [2131]

0.20 feet thick, was laid directly on top of the cobble base Context 2133. A bed of fine sand

[2130] 0.20 feet thick overlaid the mortar. A one course thick brick floor [2129] was laid on the

sand base abutting the circular brick foundation Wall 2128 (Plate 4.24, 4.25).

The dome or roof of the ovens was constructed of brick [2127], set directly on top of

foundation Wall 2128. During construction of the dome, the arched brick roof was probably laid

on a convex shaped wood form, that may have been burned out during the initial firing of the

oven. The roof of the bake oven consisted of three separate layers, two of brick [2127] and one

cobble layer [2126]. The lower brick layer of the roof consisted of vertically–arranged mortared

brick suspended 1.50 feet above the floor of the oven. The vertical bricks were overlaid by one

course of mortared horizontal laid brick, arranged in a concentric ring pattern. A layer of

mortared cobbles [2126] overlaid the horizontal brick. Figure 4.27 shows the north oven in cross

section. The east side is shown constructed against the natural bank, the west side cut by the 1980

combined sewer pipeline trench. The two ovens appear to have been built as one structure, as the

two domed roofs overlapped at the point where the two foundation walls [2128] of both ovens

were joined. The mortared cobbles overlying the two brick domes may have functioned as a

basement floor.

The interior of the ovens remained clear of sediment suggesting the front of the ovens

remained sealed during subsequent floods. No artifacts were found in association with the bake

ovens with the exception of early–to mid 19th century bottles found in the vaults. The bottles

may have been tossed in after the ovens were abandoned.

39

There is little reason to doubt that these ovens were part of the ‘Large frame Building part of it

below the bank, the lower storey a complete Bake House with 2 large ovens & a spring of water

very near the house. The second storey, a large Bread Room and a convenient dwelling for a

baker & his family. The third storey on the bank a store for wet & dry goods with a loft over it’

described in the 1787 inventory. No traces of the other portions of the structure were noted.”

43. Two bake oven studies have been brought to my attention that may be useful: Richard M.

Bacon, The Forgotten Art of Building and Using a Brick Bake Oven: A Practical Guide : How to

Date, Renovate, and Use an Existing Brick Oven and How to Construct a New One from Scratch

(Dublin, N.H.: Yankee, Inc., 1977), 64 pages; and, Lynne J. Belluscio, "Brick Ovens in the

Genesee Country, 1789–1860: Architectural and Documentary Evidence," Dublin Folklife

Seminar Proceedings Foodways in the Northeast, 1982 (Boston Univ.)

44. 32. Brigade orders, 7 July 1778, "Jacob Turner's Book," Walter Clark, ed., The State Records

of North Carolina, XII, 1777–1778 (Wilmington: Broadfoot Publishing Co.,1993), 459. General

orders, 5 July 1777, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol. 8 (1933), 349.

45. Washington to Robert Erskine, 14 November 1777, ibid., vol. 10 (1933), 63. Robert Erskine to

Washington, 24 November 1777, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 45. General orders, 6 and

9 January 1778, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol. 10 (1933), 271, 283. Return of Continental

brigades at Valley Forge, dated 31 January 1778, Charles H. Lesser, The Sinews of Independence:

Monthly Strength Reports of the Continental Army (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976),

58. Brigades listed are, Woodford’s, Scott’s, 1st Pennsylvania, 2

nd Pennsylvania, Poor’s, Glover’s,

Learned’s, Paterson’s, Weedon’s, Muhlenberg’s, Maxwell’s. Conway’s, Huntington’s, Varnum’s,

and McIntosh’s.

46. Henry Knox to Washington, 24 March 1781, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 76.

There is at least one claimed portable bake oven still in existence at the Museum of the Long Pond

Ironworks State Park, West Milford, New Jersey. Based on photographs and dimensions provided by

Robert A. Selig, the purported bake oven turns out to be a late 18th century or early 19

th century six-

plate stove for home heating. Mr. Elbertus Prol, Curator at Ringwood Manor, continues to claim

the artifact as one of the original bake ovens made for the Continental Army in 1777, but

additional research and examination of original six-plate stoves shows that his contention is

incorrect. My thanks to Sandra L. Oliver for her advice in this matter.

47. Henry P. Johnston, The Yorktown Campaign and the Surrender of Cornwallis 1781 (New York:

Harper & Brothers, 1881; reprinted by Eastern National Park & Monument Association, 1975), 88.

Washington to Elias Dayton, 19 August 1781, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol. 23 (1937),

23–25. Journal of Jean–Francois–Louis, Comte de Clermont–Crevecoeur (sublieutenant, Soissonnais

Regiment), Howard C. Rice and Anne S.K. Brown, eds. and trans., The American Campaigns of

Rochambeau's Army 1780, 1781, 1782, 1783, vol. I (Princeton, N.J. and Providence, R.I.: Princeton

University Press, 1972), 42–43, 133. Rations for French troops in America, 1778 to 1782 were

based on the 1756 stipulation, pour chaque soldat aussy par mois [roughly, "for each soldier for a

month"], "60 l[ivres]. de pain [bread]," "15 l. de lard [salt pork]," "7 l. de pois [peas]," "1 pot

d'eau de vie [brandy]," "l. tabac [tobacco]." [l = livre = 1.08 pounds; 1 pot =1/2 gallon] (At an

average of 30 days per month: daily ration, 2.16 pounds of bread, .54 pound salt pork, .25 pound

peas, 2.1 ounces brandy, and .036 pound tobacco.) The Lapause Papers (Rapport de L'archiviste

(Quebec) 1933-34), 74 (Courtesy of Robert A. Selig). "Under the Consulate and the Empire the

ration became 24 ounces of bread and 8 ounces of meat," plus rice, beans, wine, brandy, and

vinegar. "The average French soldier had grown up accustomed to simple living: Soupe and bread

with a little wine and brandy kept him happy, so long as there was enough of them. (Dutchmen,

especially Dutch sailors, found French rations a course in slow starvation.)" John R. Elting,

Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armee (New York and London: The Free Press

(Macmillan), 1988), 575.

48. Journal of Jean–Baptiste–Antoine de Verger (sublieutenant, Royal Deux–Ponts Regiment), ibid.,

vol. I, 133. Evelyn M. Acomb, ed. and trans., The Revolutionary Journal of Baron Ludwig von

40

Closen 1780–1783 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, N.C., 1958), 109. Baron de

Viomenil to Washington, 28 August 1781, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 80.

49. Return of ovens in Bakermaster's Department, undated, Papers of Continental Congress, Natl.

Archives, reel 199: 449.

50. 27 February 1778 resolve, Ford, Journals of the Continental Congress, vol. X (1908), 206. Erna

Risch, Supplying Washington's Army (Washington: GPO., 1981), 196.

51. “Muster Roll of a Company of Bakers in the Service of the United States of America, under

the Command of John Torrey, Director,“ Revolutionary War Rolls, National Archives Microfilm

Publication M246, Record Group 93, reel 122, section 74–2, Continental Troops, Carpenters and

Bakers (Courtesy of Frank Cecala).

52. Journal of Reverend William Rogers, 24 June 1779, Journals of the Military Expedition of Major

General John Sullivan, 248. Moore Furman to Joseph Lewis, 8 November 1779, The Letters of

Moore Furman, 35. Washington to Udny Hay, 30 June 1780, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 19 (1937),

103–104. General orders, 28 August 1780, Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, vol. 19 (1937), 464–

465. Washington to Nathanael Greene, 12 October 1780, ibid., vol. 20 (1937), 169. "The Memorial

of Christopher Ludwick Baker Master for the Army of the United States" to the Continental

Congress, 27 January 1781, Papers of Continental Congress, Natl. Archives, reel 50: 230–231.

53. "A List of the Bakers in Continental Service at present at Morris Town," 22 June 1780, ibid., reel

50: 193–194.

54. "The Memorial of Christopher Ludwick Baker Master for the Army of the United States" to the

Continental Congress, 27 January 1781, ibid., reel 50: 230–231. "A List of the Bakers in Continental

Service at present at Morris Town," 22 June 1780, ibid., reel 50: 193–194.

55. "The Memorial of Christopher Ludwick late Superintendant of the Baking Department in the

Army of the United States" to Congress, March 1785, ibid., reel 50: 411–412.

56. Petition of Gotlep Myers to the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, 17 March 1786,

ibid., reel 55: 357–358.

57. Henry Knox to Washington, 24 March 1781, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 76.

58. Dumas Malone, ed., Dictionary of American Biography, vol. VI (New York: Charles

Scribner's Sons, 1961), 497–498. One source cited in this work is, Benjamin Rush, M.D. An

Account of the Life and Character of Christopher Ludwick, late citizen of Philadelphia, and

baker–general of the Army of the United States during the Revolutionary War, first published in

the year 1801; revised and republished by direction of the Philadelphia Society for the

Establishment and Support of Charity Schools (Philadelphia: Garden and Thompson, c. 1831;

New York: Garrett Press, Inc., 1969).

59. Malone, Dictionary of American Biography, vol. VI, 497–498. "The Memorial of Christopher

Ludwick Baker Master for the Army of the United States" to the Continental Congress, 27

January 1781, Papers of Continental Congress, Natl. Archives, reel 50: 230–231.

60. Ford, Journals of the Continental Congress, vol. VII (1907), 323–324, 574–575.

61. E. Wayne Carp, To Starve the Army at Pleasure: Continental Army Administration and

American Political Culture, 1775–1783 (Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina

Press, 1984), 19–25, 35–51, 77, 175–181. "The Memorial of Christopher Ludwick Baker Master

for the Army of the United States" to the Continental Congress, 27 January 1781, Papers of

Continental Congress, Natl. Archives, reel 50: 230–231.

62. Ford, Journals of the Continental Congress, vol. VIII (1907), 575. Return of ovens on

Bakermaster's Department, undated, Papers of Continental Congress, Natl. Archives, reel 199:

449. Christopher Ludwick to the Continental Congress, 4 August 1777, ibid., reel 50: 193–194.

63. "The Memorial of Christopher Ludwick Baker Master for the Army of the United States" to

the Continental Congress, 27 January 1781, "The Memorial of Christopher Ludwick late

Superintendant of the Baking Department in the Army of the United States" to Congress, March

1785, Papers of Continental Congress, Natl. Archives, reel 50: 230–231, 411–412. "Journal of

41

Samuel Rowland Fisher, of Philadelphia, 1779–1781," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History

and Biography, vol. 41 (1917), 292.

64. Christopher Ludwick to the Continental Congress, 4 August 1777, Papers of Continental

Congress, Natl. Archives, reel 50: 193–194. Washington to Christopher Ludwick, 25 July 1777,

Fitzpatrick, Writings of George Washington, vol. 8 (1933), 475.

65. "Items of History of York, Penna., During the Revolution," Pennsylvania Magazine of

History and Biography, vol. 44 (1920), 313. Journal of Reverend William Rogers, 24 June 1779,

Journals of the Military Expedition of Major General John Sullivan, 248. Washington to Udny

Hay, 30 June 1780, Fitzpatrick, Writings of George Washington, vol. 19 (1937), 103–104.

Washington to Nathanael Greene, 12 October 1780, ibid., vol. 20 (1937), 169. "The Memorial of

Christopher Ludwick Baker Master for the Army of the United States" to the Continental

Congress, 27 January 1781, Papers of Continental Congress, Natl. Archives, reel 50: 230–231.

66. "The Memorial of Christopher Ludwick Baker Master for the Army of the United States" to

the Continental Congress, 27 January 1781, ibid., reel 50: 230–231. Washington to James

Hendricks, 15 September 1781, General orders, 1 and 8 October 1781, Fitzpatrick, Writings of

George Washington, vol. 23 (1937), 120–121, 165–166, 198–199. In his 1781 "Memorial," dated

Philadelphia, 27 January 1781, Ludwick wrote:.

"To the Honorable the Congress

The Memorial of Christopher Ludwick Baker Master for the Army of the United States"

... the Bakers heretofore inlisted by him have most all left him (their Term of Inlistment being

expired) except three whom he inlisted from the first of September last for two shillings specie, or

the Exchange [in paper money], and a Gill of Rum per day and a Suit of Cloaths, and twenty two

who are drafted from the different Regiments (tho' with great reluctance of the Officers) and are to

have three Dollars Continl: money per day ... Your Memorialist hath hitherto with great Trouble and

Expence to himself procured and kept a number of hands in the service of his Department but finds it

impossible to retain them any longer unless intitled to receive Pay, Cloathing & other Necessaries,

equal, if not more than, the Artificers or any other Corps in the Army –

... at West Point ... your Memorialist hath erected two excellent new Ovens and a Bakehouse, Hands

are most wanted to bake bread for the Soldiers –

That the Baking Department, tho' far preferable to and more beneficial than the Doctor or Surgeon's

Department, hath been too much neglected, and no proper Encouragement given to the Bakers and

Workmen to induce and enable them to continue in the Service ...

Ludwick wrote that he had "served his Country honestly from the Commencement of the War (the

first Months as a Volunteer finding himself & Horse without fee or reward) built the greatest part of

the Bakehouses for the Use of the Army; – ventur'd his Life on several Occasions for the Cause; –

had his Property ruined by the Enemy;– expended his private fortune earned by his Industry before

the War; and by his Assiduity and Vigilance in his Department saved great sums of money to the

States, is now willing and desirous to retire from the Service in the 61st. Year of his Age, with the

loss of his right Eye and a ruined Constitution."

"Your Memorialist begs leave further to represent That his Department for the year 1780 during

which he had 25 Men at least in the service did not cost the United States above Three thousand

Pounds Cash Continental Currency exclusive of his own Pay – Your Memorialist having employed

the Sweepings and empty Barrels towards making up the Deficiency"

"The Memorial of Christopher Ludwick Baker Master for the Army of the United States" to the

Continental Congress, 27 January 1781, Papers of Continental Congress, Natl. Archives, reel 50:

230–231.

67. Carp, To Starve the Army at Pleasure, 213–215.

68. George Seldes, Witness to a Century (New York: Ballantine Books, 1987), introduction.

Alexander Graydon, Memoirs of His Own Time: With Reminiscences of the Men and Events of

the Revolution (Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston, 1846), 161–162, see also footnote, 162. John

Fanning Watson and Willis P. Hazard, eds., Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the

42

Olden Time, 3 vols. (Philadelphia: Edwin S. Stuart, 1884), vol. II, 44. Malone, Dictionary of

American Biography, vol. VI, 497–498.

69. Graydon, Memoirs of My Own Times, 161–162, see also footnote, 162. Malone, Dictionary of

American Biography, vol. VI, 497–498.

70. Endorsement by Timothy Pickering, "The Memorial of Christopher Ludwick late

Superintendant of the Baking Department in the Army of the United States" to Congress, March

1785, Papers of Continental Congress, Natl. Archives, reel 50: 411–412. In this March 1785

memorial, Ludwick (then 65 years of age) stated that "by his Skill & Knowledge in the Baking

Business and strict Care and Attention to prevent fraud is confident that he saved vast Sums to the

public, but at the same time greatly diminished and injured his own private Property as well as his

Constitution – That being Paymaster as well as Director of the Bakers employed in said Department

[he] ... sold a part of his Real Estate at a Disadvantage in order to obtain Money to pay the Mens

Wages, and has almost the whole time of Service advanced and paid their Wages out of his own

Monies before he could receive any of the public, so that by the Depreciation of the Money he was

continually losing, but for want of Knowledge in Accounts and book keeping he cannot justily

ascertain his loss.

That his own honest Principles and Confidence in those whom he took to be good Whigs laid him

open to their Views and he became a Victim to their Wiles and Deceit, – that having employed Mr.

Moore Furman to pay some of the Bakers, and Your Memorialist repaying him, was duped by said

Furman out of a french Bill of fifteen hundred Dollars Specie instead of so many Current Dollars –

That Your Memorialist paying the Bakers every two Months their Wages and from time to time

adding a few Dollars more as the money grew worse, he saved no trifling Sum to the Public as these

Men got no Depreciation of Pay like Soldiers in the Army ... That having faithfully served the States

and been a great Loser by it Your Memorialist with due submission conceives himself intitled to a

Compensation or Bounty in Land or otherwise equal with other Officers who have served in the

American Army."

Ludwick's 1785 memorial was endorsed by such notables as Generals Arthur St. Clair, William

Irvine, Anthony Wayne, former quartermaster general Timothy Pickering, and Thomas Mifflin, a

prominent Philadelphian. In his endorsement Pickering noted Ludwick's "disinterested zeal, his

indefatigable industry in the duties of his department, his unsullied integrity, [and] the essential

service he rendered to the army ..."

Endorsement by Timothy Pickering, "The Memorial of Christopher Ludwick late Superintendant of

the Baking Department in the Army of the United States" to Congress, March 1785, Papers of

Continental Congress, Natl. Archives, reel 50: 411–412.

71. Christopher Ludwick to George Washington, 9 February 1779, Revolutionary War Accounts,

Vouchers, and Receipted Accounts 1, George Washington Papers, series 5 (Financial Papers).

72. Rusk is also defined as “U.S. ‘Bread or cake dried or browned in the oven, and reduced to

crumbs by pounding.’” “A piece of bread hardened or browned by re–firing and sometimes

sweetened.” Oxford English Dictionary, Compact Edition, two vols. (Glasgow, New York, and

Toronto, 1971), II, 2609.

73. Christopher Ludwick to George Washington, 28 March 1780, Revolutionary War Accounts,

Vouchers, and Receipted Accounts 1, George Washington Papers, series 5.

74. Eliza Smith, The Compleat Housewife (originally published 1758; reprinted London: Studio

Editions Ltd., 1994), gingerbread and Dutch gingerbread, 174, 179.

75. Ibid., 181.

76. “The Gingerbread Man,” Cavalcade of America, American Broadcasting Corporation

(television, episode 15, 15 April 1953; repeated 21 December 1954), World Wide Web,

http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/GuidePageServlet/showid–4151/epid–224219

77. “How to Apply for a Christopher Ludwick Foundation Grant: For two centuries the trustees

have fulfilled Christopher Ludwick's mandate, and applications for projects that advance the

education of poor children in the City of Philadelphia are accepted annually between February 1st

43

and March 31st. The City of Philadelphia limitation is strictly followed; no grants will be given

for programs not specifically targeted at children resident within the city limits.

A special application form must be used which should be requested from the Foundation at The

Athenaeum of Philadelphia (telephone 215–925–2688). As a general rule, the Foundation makes

no grants for building campaigns, endowment drives, equipment purchases, or general operating

support. Nor does it make direct grants to individuals. Current funding priorities target secondary

school children; no grants are given for pre–school or primary school age children or for

programs targeted at children with disabilities for which other funding sources exist. The Board

of Trustees meets in May and awards are usually announced on or about June 1.

World Wide Web, http://www.philaathenaeum.org/grants.html

For more on Ludwick, see the biography by his close friend Benjamin Rush, M.D., An Account

of the Life and Character of Christopher Ludwick, late citizen of Philadelphia, and baker–

general of the Army of the United States during the Revolutionary War (First published in the

year 1801; revised and republished by direction of the Philadelphia Society for the Establishment

and Support of Charity Schools, Philadelphia, c.1931 Garden and Thompson, c. 1831: New York,

Garrett Press, Inc., 1969) Copy in the collections of the David Library of the American

Revolution, Washington Crossing, Pa.

78. William Falconer was a purser in the Royal Navy and poet best known for his poem, “The

Shipwreck“(1762). His Universal Dictionary of the Marine was published in 1769. Later that

same year he was drowned in the sinking of the frigate H.M.S. Aurora after the vessel left Cape

Town. The Dictionary was reprinted in 1771, 1780, 1805, and in a much revised edition of 1815.