Near Key West in Monroe County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Bread, Bugs, and Beef
Fort Jefferson
— Dry Tortugas National Park —
Photographed By Pete Payette, May 7, 2024
1. Bread, Bugs, and Beef Marker
Inscription.
Bread, Bugs, and Beef. Fort Jefferson. Other than bread, fish, shrimp, and turtles, most of the food, salted pork, salted beef, and beans, came from the mainland. Officers fared better than the soldiers and prisoners. "The bread was a mixture of flour, bugs, sticks and dirt," Lincoln assassination conspirator Sam Arnold complained "Meat was rotten to such an extent that dogs ran from it." One soldier said the bread was "filled with Black Bugs...we pick out some...& eat the rest." Fresh vegetables were rare. A gleeful soldier wrote of enjoying "good Canada red potatoes...sweet yellow turnips [and] good fresh beef.", (caption) The huge ovens built into the walls in front of you were used to bake bread. Look around and consider how this space may have looked and smelled when these ovens were used to bake for 400 people three times a day.
Other than bread, fish, shrimp, and turtles, most of the food—salted pork, salted beef, and beans—came from the mainland. Officers fared better than the soldiers and prisoners. "The bread was a mixture of flour, bugs, sticks and dirt," Lincoln assassination conspirator Sam Arnold complained "Meat was rotten to such an extent that dogs ran from it." One soldier said the bread was "filled with Black Bugs...we pick out some...& eat the rest." Fresh vegetables were rare. A gleeful soldier wrote of enjoying "good Canada red potatoes...sweet yellow turnips [and] good fresh beef."
(caption) The huge ovens built into the walls in front of you were used to bake bread. Look around and consider how this space may have looked and smelled when these ovens were used to bake for 400 people three times a day.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Location. 24° 37.662′ N, 82° 52.436′ W. Marker is near Key West, Florida, in Monroe County. The marker is located on the grounds of Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Key West FL 33040, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 17, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 15, 2024, by Pete Payette of Orange, Virginia. This page has been viewed 37 times since then. Photos:1, 2. submitted on May 15, 2024, by Pete Payette of Orange, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
