Feeding the U.S. Navy
By Patrick McSherry
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A
mess on the OLYMPIA sits down for a meal. Note the ropes supporting
the table, and
the man at left dining off a trunk of some sort. The men have hung
their hats on the hooks that
will later be used to support their hammocks (Photo: Library of
Congress)
General:
This article will address how the crews of the ships of the U.S. Navy were
fed.
The article:
Most people assume that the naval crews of the Spanish American War period
were simply provided with food by the U.S. government and that this food
was prepared by a cadre of professional navy cooks. This was not true in
the Spanish American War period or before. However, after the Spanish
American War, the system was changed and modernized.
Feeding the Enlisted Men:
During the Spanish American War, ships’ crews were divided into “messes”
of about twenty men each. The Navy allotted thirty cents per day to
feed each man. A certain portion of that money, usually twenty-five per
cent, was paid cash to each mess, with the remainder carried on the books
of the mess. Each mess appointed a treasurer or “caterer” whose job it was
to handle the money. The funds carried on the books were used to purchase
basic supplies from the paymaster’s storerooms – salt beef or salt pork,
potatoes, onions, etc. The cash was used to purchase supplemental items
while in port from stores or from “bum boats” – boats which would come out
to the ship and offer things for sale to the crewmen, such as fresh
produce, eggs, various spices or condiments.
If a mess had a good “caterer,” the funds would be used wisely to
supplement the somewhat boring – and sometimes unappetizing - shipboard
fare. If the caterer was not wise, the money could be spent too rapidly,
and would not last until the next allotment of funds was made available
the next month. This could simply result in the mess having to eat only
the more monotonous supplies available from the storeroom, or in worse
cases, the mess may not even have the fund to purchase from the storeroom.
In this case the mess was fed on coffee and hardtack until funds were
again available. On occasion, crews would not choose well, and man
selected as caterer had an affinity for alcohol, Such a person may spend
the cash portion of the mess’ monetary allotment on whiskey from a bum
boat…
The food supplies purchased from the paymaster’s storerooms or while in
port would have to be prepared. Again, this was the responsibility of the
mess. The mess would appoint a cook, known as a “berth deck slusher,” who
would be required to cook the meals in the ship’s kitchen, known as the
galley, under the watchful eyes of a navy cook. The navy cook did not
prepare a menu, as the supplies from each mess would vary. The quality of
the food depended on the capabilities of the berth deck slusher. Most men
did not enter the service with experience cooking for twenty people, so
there was usually a learning curve. Unlike the army, the navy had not
created a cookbook for the use of the cooks. That would not happen until
1902, when the navy went to a mess system where the mess was not managed
by its members, and a staff of cooks and bakers were provided.
Many of the recipes were simply handed down by word of mouth or
demonstration and were given interesting names such as “Plum
duff,” “lob dominion,” “lobscouse,” "sea pie," “skillagallee,” "slumgullion,"
and “burgoo,” etc. Plum
duff
was traditional aboard ships of many nations, including the U.S. and
Great Britain. The “duff” in the name supposedly came from a
mispronunciation of “dough.” “Dough” is spelled like “rough” and must
pronounced the same, hence “duff.”
At times the messes had unique opportunities to supplement their larders.
In one case a naval vessel encountered a schooner hauling watermelons. The
ship stopped to allow the messes to purchase watermelons, and large
quantities were purchased. The same naval vessel encountered a fishing
boat and the messes purchased almost the entire catch. During the war,
Spanish ships hauling cattle or pigs were captured and their cargo
supplemented the ship’s larder with fresh meat, a welcome switch.
As a point of reference on the sheer amount of food supplies that a navy
vessel would require, the following is a list of foodstuffs consumed
aboard from the Armored Cruiser Brooklyn to feed its 470 enlisted crewmen
for one month. The list does not include supplies purchased independently
by the various messes:
“This crew in one month consumed 6,000 pounds of bread, 35 pounds of
yeast, 3,000 pounds of sugar, 300 pints of condensed milk, 600 pounds of
coffee, and 100 pounds of tea, I,000 pounds of butter, 200 pounds of lard,
8,000 pounds of fresh beef, 2,000 pounds of fresh fish, I,800 pounds of
salt pork, I,200 pounds of salt beef, 800 pounds of liver, 6oo pounds of
ham, 480 pounds of bacon, 600 pounds of pork chops, 300 pounds of
sausages, 400 pounds of salt mackerel, 500 pigs' feet, 800 pounds of
tinned meats, 240 pounds of bologna, 240 pounds of cheese, 800 pounds of
rice, 300 pounds of macaroni, 300 gallons of beans, 400 bushels of
potatoes, 12 bushels of onions, 20 bushels of turnips, 600 heads of
cabbage, I20 quarts of clams, 480 quarts of catsup, 12 pints of flavors,
I00 pounds of dried fruit, 300 pounds of salt, 30 pounds of pepper, 24
pounds of curry powder, 300 pounds of pickles, 3o gallons of vinegar, 30
gallons of syrup, and to make one omelette for the immense crew for one
morning's breakfast, I,500 eggs.”
The tables were stored on racks or by ropes over head on the berth deck. When meals were rady to be served, the tables
were lowered. After the meals, the tables were replaced in the racks or
raised back up. At night, the crews' hammocks were slung from hooks on the
overhead. It has been said that the men ate under where they slept and
slept under where they ate.
Feeding the Officers:
For officers the situation was quite different. The government did not
purchase food for the officers. That was the officer’s personal cost and
responsibility. Officers would contract with a catering company, some of
which had worldwide operations. These companies would provide food
directly to the ship and to the officers’ mess. There were stewards whose
job was to prepare and serve the food.
The different systems for the officers and enlisted men created some
friction. The enlisted men would see their limited options or suffer a bit
in a period where supplies would run low. When this happened, they may
note that the officers were still living quite well, making the enlisted
men indignant. Often the enlisted men did not understand that the officers
had to provide their own food, which would still be delivered even if the
government-supplied basics did not. Alternatively, if an officer was
well-liked or respected by the crew, should the officer’s food run low, a
mess may decide to provide some of their larder with him. If an officer
was not well-liked, times of want could be difficult.
Bibliography:
Alden, Cmdr. John D., USN (Ret.), American
Steel
Navy , (Annapolis: United States Naval Institute Press,
1972), 277, 289.
Brady, Cyrus Townsend, Under Tops'ls and Tents. (New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1901) 122-123.
Graham, George Edward, Schley and Santiago. (Chicago: W. B.
Conkey Co., 1902), 62-63, 67-68.
Young, Louis Stanley, The Cruise of the U. S. Flagship OLYMPIA.
(Cruise Book), 85.
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