This might be as useless and phony as the continental dollar so everybody crack open the books again. I heard a little blurb indicating that military regulars in the revolutionary war could not eat chicken. The officers could have all they wanted, but the regulars had a death sentence cast over their heads for snacking on a small morsel of the dead yard bird. I guess they could have turkey or buzzard but no KFC. It might be a British thing, but either way it sounds screwy. It's hard to imagine George Washington with an army of starving men at Valley Forge trying not to think of food when a bunch of pecking hens might have been trying to keep warm with them. The nearest thing I can find was when Henry Knox swallowed a chicken bone and it caused an infection which killed him. But that was after the war. Other than that.....crickets.
Hmmmm... she says hmmmm. Well, I've never heard this, but I'm much more into the Civil War. According to this one source, chicken was rather common (and it's not just talking about officers, but rather "patriot soldiers.) Source: http://revolutionarynews.com/?p=764 Chicken sure sounds better than the Calf Head Soup that is also mentioned. gag gag Do you have Revolutionary ancestors? I do... and a number more than Civil War ancestors and relatives.
I do not believe so Kate. Although, I am starting a little better research into my grandmother's background. She was a Lowe. There are a bunch of them around, but when I was doing a little research into the civil war and the balloon thing I came across the name of Professor Lowe who invented the war balloon. I have had goats head soup, and my grandfather loved hogs head cheese, so I suppose the calf head thing makes sense. I think the chicken thing might be bogus, but then again, officers of the time deemed themselves as being extra privilaged and very much above the regular soldiers so....dunno.
