A coffee recipe for a Civil War military hospital from the “The Hospital Steward’s Manual,” by Joseph Janvier Woodward, published in 1862:
“No.1. Coffee for ten men.
“Put 9 pints of water into a canteen, saucepan (or other vessel) on the fire; when boiling, add 7 1/2 oz. of coffee; mix them well together with a spoon or piece of wood; leave on the fire a few minutes longer, or until just beginning to boil.
“Take it off, and pour in 1 pint of cold water; let the whole remain ten minutes, or a little longer; the dregs will fall to the bottom, and the coffee will be clear. Pour it from one vessel into another, leaving the dregs at the bottom; add 2 teaspoonfuls of sugar to the pint. If milk is to be had, make 2 pints less of coffee, and add that much milk; boiled milk is preferable.
“REMARKS. – This receipt, properly carried out, would give 10 pints of coffee, or 1 pint per man.”
Source: Woodward, Joseph Janvier, M.D., “The Hospital Steward’s Manual,” Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1862.
Image credit: Detail from “City Point, Cooking, West Point, Virginia,” Library of Congress.
