Open Hearth Cooking Demonstration: The Victualler’s Dilemma and The Commissary’s Challenge—Feeding the Troops of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War

The Victualler’s Dilemma and The Commissary’s Challenge: Feeding the Troops of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War

With Guest Cook Dennis Picard!

Date: September 5

Time: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Location: Hall Tavern

Each soldier in America’s Revolutionary Army was entitled to a set list of foods and beverages daily or weekly—bread in various forms, fresh or salted meats, rum or beer, and dried beans or peas—but in reality, the men rarely received the items or quantities they were promised.

Much has been written about the privations suffered by the men who served under George Washington at the winter encampment at Valley Forge, but how many of us today know anything about the Continental Army’s New England winter encampments in Redding and West Hartford, Connecticut?

Dennis Picard will share stories preserved in the diaries and memoirs of soldiers who lived through supply shortages during the War for Independence, including some who lived in the “huts” in Redding. We’ll cook foods such as burgoo and salt pork hash, among others, using the equipment and techniques of the army of that period, and explore the role the Connecticut Valley—and Deerfield in particular—played in supplying troops with provisions.