Document Spotlight-Bread and Beef and Candles

One of the important things officers and administrators do for their soldiers is to keep them fed. Today’s document highlights the challenges associated with that process. Rations needed to be sourced, prices had to be negotiated, transportation had to be arranged. In this letter, transcribed by Perrin1, we get a peak at the prices the War Department negotiated for certain foodstuffs.

For 1796, the Department negotiated prices for bread and flour, beef and pork, candles, soap, and salt, including transportation to several different sites. The prices reflected different transportation costs; a pound of bread cost 4 1/2 cents delivered to Pittsburgh, but 9 1/2 cents transported to Presque Isle.

According to this letter, that contract included the delivery of half a million rations and fixed food prices for one year.

Read the original document here.

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