I believe it was Army hardtack, which was shipped in fairly small
packages during the Civil War, both to prevent breakage and to
facilitate loading/unloading from Army supply wagons.  These wagons were
smaller than standard freight wagons of the era, with the idea (not
always realized) that they would be transporting supplies relatively
short distances from railheads to supply depots, also to provide for
better maneuverability on narrow roads or battlefields.  But, I think
the Civil War crackers were shipped in rectangular boxes, not
barrels--fairly flimsy wooden crates, which is where the expression
"cracker box," meaning something unable to support much weight, comes
from.  This refers to Union Army practice--Confederate supply (which, if
we hold to the more romantic view, was often accomplished by capturing
Union supplies) may have been different.

Maybe, following the war, crackers were shipped in larger barrels?  Or,
without reference to the Civil War, was the reference to hardtack as
part of ships' rations, with the crackers being stored in barrels?  In
the old movies, the cracker barrel in the country store is fairly large,
at least big enough for two male persons of advanced years (this is PC
for "geezers") to play checkers on top of.  A stereotype--any reality?

FYI, Army rations still, at times, include hardtack.  Individual
crackers shrink wrapped and packed in MREs.  Disappointing that the
crackers don't have "BC" impressed anymore, for "Boston Cracker," the
company that made many such for both ships and the Union Army.  If they
did, today's soldiers would be at even a further remove, in time, from
the period that the Union soldiers decided that the crackers had been
made.  I guess, today, the crackers would have to read "BCE."

D. Babson.


-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carl
Barna
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 1:14 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cracker barrels


Howdy --

We've all heard the expression "sittin' round the crackel barrel."

Well, how big was a cracker barrel?  How big were these crackers? Do  I
assume they were just loose in the barrel, or were they packed in
something to prevent breakage?

I assume we're not talking about Saltines here, but something akin to
block-like items such as army hardtack?

Thanks.

Carl Barna
Lakewood, CO