Pre-World War II: Chocolate Makes A Soldier Smile
The utilization of chocolate by the U.S. military to improve morale, patriotism, and soldiers’ diets dates back to the Revolutionary War. In fact, Dave Borghesani, a historian for the Mars Wrigley Chocolate Company, and Patrick Madden of the National Archives Foundation published a video highlighting the important role that chocolate played in several American military conflicts; for example, George Washington was such a staunch proponent of chocolate that he frequently carried the candy with him into battle. (1) The video also celebrated the fact that American soldiers have enjoyed chocolate for more than two hundred years. Since chocolate bars are lightweight and have a relatively long shelf life, chocolate has been included in American military ration packs since the Revolutionary War. (2) In fact, Benjamin Franklin sent six pounds of chocolate to each junior officer in a Pennsylvania regiment to help supplement their diets. (3) The Continental Congress passed legislation that attempted to prevent war profiteering, by keeping the price of chocolate low so that the army could use the candy in its rations. (4) For example, colonels and chaplains in the Continental Army were supposed to receive four pounds of chocolate each month, while majors and captains were allocated three pounds per month. (5) At times during the war, the Continental Army was so low on funds that George Washington was forced to pay soldiers with blocks of chocolate, further demonstrating the importance of chocolate to the American war effort. (6) Moreover, Patrick Madden argues in the video, “we beat the British with chocolate and not tea.” (7) Furthermore, author James Turner, described in the Journal of the Southwest that General “Stonewall” Jackson was a passionate consumer of chocolate during the Mexican-American War. In fact, Turner wrote, “Thomas J. Jackson, who later earned the moniker ‘Stonewall,’ also enjoyed drinking chocolate alongside pan dulce. One regular even reported that he spent most of his 7-dollar-a-month salary on chocolate.” (8)
By the onset of the Civil War in 1861, chocolate had become a popular part of both American diets and lifestyles. However, due to the Union naval blockade preventing goods from the Caribbean from reaching the South, chocolate became scarce and more expensive and as a result, it was not frequently used in Confederate ration packs. (9) However, chocolate was still enjoyed by both Union and Confederate troops as evidenced by recipes containing chocolate found in Confederate soldiers’ journals. In addition, Walter Baker & Co. sold the U.S. Sanitary Commission, a private relief agency, more than 20,000 pounds of chocolate to benefit Union soldiers. (10) Moreover, the video recounted several Civil War nurses describing the beneficial impact that chocolate had on their patients morale and well-being:
Catherine Worley, a volunteer in the U.S. Sanitary Commission, wrote a letter commenting on the medical treatment of Confederate prisoners in 1862. She commented that in the evenings after work the person who possesses a dinky of chocolate (which is a small piece) is the hero. Also, Florence Nightingale recommended a warm beverage be given to every soldier and she suggested cocoa for the sick in lieu of tea or coffee. (11)
Chocolate also played an important role during World War I; for example, the United States developed the American Chocolate Fund to send chocolate to the American troops fighting in France. (12) The image of the poster illustrates the link between patriotism on the homefront and chocolate on the front lines. This poster encouraged Americans who were not fighting in World War I to support our troops by donating to the American Chocolate Fund; therefore, by extension Amnericans could demonstrate their patriotism by donating chocolate to the troops. The satiated expression on the young soldier’s face along with the gesture of having a full stomach illustrates the popularity of chocolate among the soldiers; in fact, during World War I, soldiers consumed chocolate on the battlefield both in powdered drinks and in solid bars.(13) Chocolate’s popularity and link to patriotism is also supported by Corporal R. Derby Holmes, an American fighting in the British Army and the author of A Yankee in the Trenches, when he argues that:
Next to smokes, there is nothing so important for the soldiers as chocolate. In the first place, it is sweet, and the soldier craves for something sweet after stew, corned beef and biscuits, day after day. Secondly, although sweet, it does not create thirst, as does candy and other like things. It is durable and keeps—that is, until the soldier gets it—then it doesn’t last long, for he goes for it like a drowning man in a life preserver. It is most sustaining, and I could tell of an experience of mine where I was in a shelter with three other men for hours without food, except that one man discovered a bar of chocolate in his haversack. Maybe your donation will help your own boy in just such circumstances, or maybe your neighbor’s boy—so give, people, give. (14)
In addition, Ida Tarbell, an investigative journalist during World War I, also reported on the popularity of chocolate amongst the soldiers on the front lines. (15) From the Revolutionary War through World War I, several primary sources, including journals from soldiers and nurses as well as select advertisements clearly demonstrate that chocolate was used to improve morale and to foster patriotism.
1. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.
2. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.
3. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.
4. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.
5. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.
6. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.
7. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.
8. Turner, James. "Tortilla, Pepper, Chocolate, and Mezcal: A Food History of the U.S.-Mexican War, 1846–1848." Journal of the Southwest, vol. 62 no. 1, 2020, p. 145-176. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/jsw.2020.0004.
9. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.
10. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.
11. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.
12. American Chocolate Fund Depository Equitable Trust Company. Colonial Branch. (New York). “Princeton University Poster Collection: Contents.” SOVA, 1915. https://sova.si.edu/details/NMAH.AC.0433#ref7594.
13. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.
14. “Chocolate For Our Soldiers,” The Tea & Coffee Trade Journal 35:2, August 1918,143-144.
15. Archives Foundation. History of Chocolate and the Military, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOEP2LLENA.