So what exactly is this cracker that is as hard as a rock?

Hardtack is a very simple recipe. It is a thick cracker made from flour, water and occasionally salt to add some flavor. It is mixed and cooked at an even temperature until it is completely dried. This recipe was very inexpensive to produce and was reasonably nutritious and very light weight - making it a very useful food source for a variety of soldiers, sailer’s and explorers. This cooking/drying process allowed hardtack to be safely stored for years with no deterioration. As long as it didn’t get damp, it would be as good as the day it was made many years in the future. This made it ideal as a food for the armies of the Civil War as it could be produced and there was no rush to get it to the soldiers as there was no worry about spoilage.

While hardtack was universally cheered as an ideal food source for the soldiers of the Civil War, it was not without its detractors.

For many soldiers, they complained that the hardtack was not very filling and that it was so hard that it was almost impossible to eat.

To help alleviate these issues, soldiers were creative in their consumption of hardtack. Some broke it up and mixed it with coffee to soften it. Others used it in soups as a thickener. And when available, they would soak the crumbs in water, mix in a bit of meat juice and fat and make a disk known as skillygalee or cush. Others toasted them and spread butter or sugar on them when such luxuries were available.

But there was an even bigger problem than soldier’s challenges feeling full eating hardtack. That problem was being sure it was edible. Often the hardtack would arrive moldy or wet. This could occur if it was boxed up too soon after baking or if it got wet during travel. And sometimes these defects could attract maggots and weevils. That meant that as little as the soldiers really cared for hardtack, they were quite happy when a shipment arrived in good condition as it did make life in the field a bit easier.

Given all the challenges faced by hardtack eaters in the 18th and 19th century, one would expect it to be a food that is no longer in demand.

But that is not true. It is still being used even today as a survival food and as a staple food in Alaska. In fact, the biggest producer of hardtack is Interbake Foods of Richmond Virginia where it is sold under the “Sailor Boy” label - with 98% of its production going to Alaska where it is sold in many local and chain stores. Most of the rest of the production goes to people who build food storage programs and are looking for a long lasting survival food.

Want to make your own hardtack? It is quite easy.

Ingredients

* 2 cups of flour
* ½ to ¾ cup water
* 6 pinches of salt

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients into a dough and roll out to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Cut into three inch squares and pierce several times with a fork
2. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (205°C) for one hour.
3. Remove from oven, flip the crackers and return to the oven for another half hour.
4. Let sit in a dry place for a day to ensure that all moisture is removed.

When done, they will be very hard and when you break one in half, it will be dry all the way through. When they reach this state, they are ready for long term storage in a dry location.

For those who like to see the process of making hardtack, here is a neat video showing how it is made.

The makeup of the K ration evolved and was first put in use in 1942. At that time, they were assigned to U.S. Airborne troops on an experimental basis. Initial reports of this evolved K ration were favorable. The tests were held in a variety of conditions for three day periods. After the testing, the soldiers were tested and found to be healthy. Based on these findings, the use of the K ration became widespread through the armed forces. (It should be noted that these tests were performed on optimal conditions -without the stresses of rugged terrain, heavy packs or combat conditions so that the decision to roll out the K rations was based on conditions that an adventurous hiker might encounter rather than a soldier under fire.) As the war geared up for the United States, the idea of a K ration as a short term ration for soldiers fell by the wayside and became a staple of many soldiers fighting on the front lines.

As WWII continued and winded down, it became obvious that the K ration had problems - especially when used as a long term food source by the soldiers. Problems included the lack of vitamin content and the fact that even these high calorie levels were insufficient for a soldier working all day in combat conditions. The other problem was the monotony of the meals. K rations were all the same so soldiers were forced to eat the same identical foods day in and day out. In spite of these issues, the K ration remained the common food source for the military for the duration of the war - including for troops fighting in the most extreme of conditions.

So what was actually in a K ration package?

K ration packages were broken into three containers - one for breakfast, one for lunch and one for dinner.

Breakfast Unit: canned entree (chopped ham and eggs, veal loaf), biscuits, a dried fruit bar or cereal bar, Halazone water purification tablets, a 4-pack of cigarettes, chewing gum, instant coffee, and sugar (granulated, cubed, or compressed).

Lunch Unit: canned entree (processed cheese, ham, or ham & cheese), biscuits, 15 malted milk tablets (early) or 5 caramels (late), sugar (granulated, cubed, or compressed), salt packet, a 4-pack of cigarettes and a book of matches, chewing gum, and a powdered beverage packet (lemon (c.1940), orange (c.1943), or grape (c.1945) flavor).

Supper Unit: canned meat, consisting of either chicken pate, pork luncheon meat with carrot & apple (1st issue), beef & pork loaf (2nd issue), or sausages; biscuits; a 2-ounce D ration emergency chocolate bar, Tropical bar, or (in temperate climates) commercial sweet chocolate bar; a packet of toilet paper tissues; a 4-pack of cigarettes; chewing gum, and a bouillon soup cube or powder packet.

The K rations were produced by the Cracker Jack company and fit in a box about the same size as a commercial Cracker Jack box. Each box contained all three meals and represented a caloric intake of between 2,830 and 3,000 calories depending on the components that were used. K rations were so integrated into the Army’s food plans that the U.S. Army M-1943 herringbone twill (HBT) fatigue uniform had simplified, but large, pockets that were designed to be able to hold a K-Ration box.

Due to its nutritional deficiencies, the K ration was abandoned after WWII in favor of more varied and nutritionally balanced rations. But during the war, it did serve its purpose in keeping U.S. soldiers fed on a daily basis under battlefield conditions.

Check out this newsreel produced about K rations to learn more:

Do you like writing about history? Submit your writings to HistoryPub (http://www.historypub.com) and share your thoughts with the world.

For more vintage Oldsmobile video, visit the Vintage Oldsmobile page at The Historical Archive:

Be sure to check out these great vintage Oldsmobile DVDs at The Historical Archive. They are sure to please any vintage Olds fans.

The first video is the Pontiac Star Chief Custom Catalina:

The second is a commercial talking abou the Bonneville, Ventura and the Safari:

To learn even more about the early Pontiacs, check out the selection of vintage Pontiac DVDs at The Historical Archive.

The first military submarine was Turtle. It was created in 1775 and was a hand-powered egg-shaped device designed by the American David Bushnell to accommodate a single man. It was the first known submarine capable of independent underwater operation and the first to use screws for propulsion. The Turtle was used unsuccessfully during the American Revolutionary War to try to sink the British warship HMS Eagle in New York harbor on

During the War of 1812, in the year 1814, Silas Halsey lost his life while using a submarine. He attempted to attack a British warship stationed in New London harbor.

During the American Civil War, the Union was the first to use a submarine. It used the French designed Alligator - the first submarine to use compressed air and air filtration for its air supply. It was initially propelled by oars but was later retrofitted witha screw propeller powered by a hand crank. It held a crew of 20 but was lost in a storm in 1863 as it was being towed to its first combat deployment in Charleston.

The Confederates used several submarines during the Civil War. The first was the Pioneer which successfully sank a schooner using a towed mine during testing. It never made it to combat.

The most successful submarine of the Confederacy was the H.L. Hunley. For weaponry, it had a spar torpedo - basically an explosive charge on a large pole in front of the sub. The sub was extremely dangerous to its crew and sank two times, the first time killing half the crew and the second time killing the entire crew. In spite of these problems, the Hunley was the first successful wartime submarine - sinking the USS Housatonic off Charleston Harbor on February 18,1864. It sank shortly after this success.

Recently the Hunley was raised from its watery grave. This fascinating video features a documentary of the epic voyage of the Hunley as well as the technology used in the raising of the Hunley.

Since this time, submarines have become extremely capable vessels and are a fundamental part of every developed country’s military arsenal.

To learn more about the submarines of the 1950’s-1960s, created based on the successes and shortcomings of WWII submarines, check out A Historical Look At Submarines From the 1950s to the 1960s DVD

Learn more about this and other early manned Apollo missions with the Apollo 8, 9 and 11 Documentary Film Collection DVD

Operation Greenhouse nuclear weapons testing was conducted in the months of April and May of 1951. This test series consisted of four weapons related test shots from the 300-foot level on towers on the Enewetak Atoll Pacific Ocean. Two of these weapon tests greatly aided the pursuit of a hydrogen, or thermonuclear, weapon.

These tests were carried out by the Atomic Energy Commission. The test shots were:

Dog, April 7, 81 kilotons
Easy, April 20, 47 kilotons
George, May 8, 225 kilotons
Item, May 24, 45.5 kilotons

The George experiment was particularly important. It proved a hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) was possible and led to a crash development program for the first true thermonuclear weapon. Item was the first test of the boosting principle, which involved increasing the yield of a weapon.

Here is a film clip of the Operation Greenhouse explosions.

Get all the details about greenhouse with the Operation Greenhouse Nuclear Testing Program on DVD

The video below plays the Battle of Antietam Creek while showing a slideshow of actual images that were taken of the area and the troops involved in the battle - both living and dead.

Learn more about the Battle of Antietam with The Civil War Battle of Antietam Collection CD

The 1939 New York World’s Fair time capsule was created by Westinghouse as part of their exhibit. It measured 90 inches in height, weighed 800 pounds and had an interior diameter of 6.5 inches. It was constructed of a copper, chromium and silver alloy which Westinghouse named “Cupaloy”, which they claimed was harder than steel. It contained everyday items such as a spool of thread and doll, a Book of Record, a vial of staple food crop seeds, a microscope and a 15-minute RKO Pathe Pictures newsreel. Microfilm spools condensed the contents of a Sears Roebuck catalog, dictionary, almanac, and other texts.

The New York Times maintains a complete list of all the items contained in the time capsule. The list included hundreds of items in a broad range of categories including:

• Small articles of common use
• Textiles and materials
• Miscellaneous items
• More than 22,000 pages of materials in microfilm with an included microfilm reader
• and much more

The list of items is fascinating as it captures the life, technology and times of 1939. It is well worth investing a few minutes reading the list to see how much has changed since then (and how much is still the same.)

The film clip below is part of the film The Middleton Family at the New York World’s Fair. This clip discusses how it is made of Cupaloy a mix of tempered copper, chromium and silver and an overview of some of the contents and its purpose.