War of 1812 Discovery Series (#3)

by Judi McWilliams

Over the past few years the Festival Nomad and I have had wonderful experiences visiting War of 1812 Re-enactments around Ontario. We find these re-enactments amazing and extremely interesting! In this NEW War of 1812 Discovery Series, I want to share with you some of our experiences, while attempting to shed some light into the actual historic.

Our Daily Rations (Part Two)
As with any food, even with today’s top advanced technology, foods can spoil and nature can inhibit or prohibit the quantity and quality of food available. Limited supplies of food can result from bruised and damaged fresh produce (due long haul distances) or to droughts, torrential rains or flooding. In 1812, the challenges were more oriented to such things as lack of proper storage. In 1808, mice damaged over 500 pounds of flour at one garrison alone. Fish, (although not supported by the military as “seldom a part of the men’s diet”) caused concern over fluxes and dysentery. Fish was fine, when caught fresh and were in abundance in the rivers. Hunting was practiced by soldiers, adding grouse and pigeons to their diets. However, supplies in 1803, had a series of poor harvests thus reducing food surpluses. In the War of 1812, all able-bodied Canadians were moved from the fields into the militia ranks. As the garrisons increased in size, there was a decrease in farm production. No “job search” would help them replace the vacant positions in the fields. The army’s demand for beef could not be met. Alas, our military officials sought to obtain the supplies from the U.S.A. and thus reduce the enemy’s resources along the border (Free Trade today?) Pork was used in a similar situation and had similar challenges. With little variety and “daily rations” for many in 1812, it now makes me wonder what they would think about the “foolishness and waste” in our society today? Gluttony of food occurs today and contributes to many health related issues, including diabetes, heart disease, obesity and just poor health in general! Perhaps we should all be aware of “our daily rations” and treat them as kindly as the soldiers of 1812 did!