Hardtack (in British English more usually hard tack) – also called ship's biscuit, sea biscuit, pilot bread, sea bread or pejoratively dog biscuit – is a simple type of cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it was used during long sea voyages and military campaigns as a primary foodstuff. Hardtack was usually dunked in water, brine, coffee, or some other liquid or cooked into a skillet meal. Baked hard, it would keep for years as long as it was kept dry. For long voyages, hardtack was baked four times, rather than the more common two, and prepared six months before sailing.

The name derives from the British seamen's slang for food, "tack", and the fact it is so hard and dry. Hardtack was also known as "tooth dullers", "sheet iron" or "molar

breakers".

In 1801, Josiah Bent began a baking operation in Milton, Massachusetts selling "water crackers" or biscuits made of flour and water that would not deteriorate during long sea voyages from the port of Boston. A crackling sound occurred during baking, the source of the American term "cracker". His company later sold the original hardtack crackers used by troops during the American Civil War. The company is still located in Milton and continues to sell these items to Civil War reenactors and others.

Eating
Hardtack was eaten in various ways. It could be eaten like bread with jam, fat, lard, or anything spreadable. Theoretically hardtack could be eaten raw, but usually the hardtack was so hard that it was impossible to chew. Hardtack could be crushed by pounding it with a rifle butt or rock, and then placed in coffee or mixed with bacon grease making a soggy mush called skillygalee or cush. If sugar or berries were available they could be mixed in as well. Another treat was when the crushed hardtack was mixed with a can of condensed milk to make what people called milk toast.

Soldiers and sailors often complained of the hardtack being moldy or infested with weevils, worms, or maggots. The mold came from either becoming wet after being opened or the baking company not allowing the hardtack to dry thoroughly before packaging. Sailors would routinely tap their biscuits on the table to knock most of the weevils out before eating.

Hardtack is still made and eaten in certain parts of the world. In Newfoundland, Purity hard bread is commonly eaten and is a part of the traditional food "fish and brewis". Many outdoor enthusiasts prepare and pack hardtack as part of their expedition rations. It is also used in preparing chowder.

American Civil War

During the American Civil War, 3 inch by 3 inch hardtack was shipped out from Union and Confederate storehouses. Some of this hardtack had been stored from the Mexican-American War.

19th century hardtack, two different styles.With insect infestation common in improperly stored provisions, soldiers would just drop the tack into their morning coffee, and wait for the insects to float to the top so they could skim off the bugs and resume consumption.

Usage Today

Hardtack can comprise the bulk of dry food storage for some campers. Because it is so hard and dry, properly stored and transported hardtack will survive rough handling and endure extremes of temperature.

Most people who buy or bake hardtack in the United States are Civil War reenactors, of which there are more than three thousand. One of the units that continually bakes hardtack for living history is the USS Tahoma Marine Guard Infantry of the Washington State Civil War Association. British and French reenactors buy or bake hardtack as well.

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