Feeding the Revolutionary Army of 1775-83 was a major undertaking. Congress and the colonies had difficulty raising funds to purchase supplies.

Gen. George Washington estimated that the Army needed 100,000 barrels of flour and 20 million pounds of meat to feed 15,000 men for one year.

But rations were irregular during the first few months of encampments. Soldiers were supposed to receive daily amounts of beef, pork or fish; flour or bread; cornmeal or rice, and rum or whiskey.

Limited food resources near encampments, combined with a lack of an organized distribution system, meant soldiers went several days with little or no food during the winter.

When the army could not supply food, it often requisitioned it from local farmers. Washington required that soldiers keep receipts for what they took, so civilians could later request compensation from Congress. However, residents of places like Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, were not happy about this arrangement.

Hunting and fishing and foraging also supplemented the soldiers’ diets.

Soldiers who shared living quarters cooked their own food.

The army issued one tin kettle to every six men. Men also shared wooden bowls and other eating utensils.

Before soldiers could eat, they had to chop wood, haul water, build a fire and cook their meager rations. Camp followers, typically the wives and children of the soldiers, helped with cooking, carrying water and firewood.

At Valley Forge, several earthen kitchens were also dug. Those were circular trenches dug in the ground, creating a large round shelf for multiple stations. Fire boxes were dug into the side of the shelf. The displaced dirt from the trenches made a mound in the center of the kitchen.

The story of German immigrant Christopher Ludwick (1720-1801) demonstrates how the work of one man helped to sustain Washington’s army just by baking a simple staple of bread.

He also acquired a fortune with his baking.

In his early life, Ludwick supported the British. But by the time of the Revolutionary War, he fortuitously had turned his allegiance to Washington and the Continental Army.

“An Account Of The Life and Character Of Christopher Ludwick,” written by Ludwick’s friend Benjamin Rush, who became a Founding Father and signer of the Declaration of Independence, reports that Ludwick arrived in England in 1742 and joined the British Royal Navy.

He served as a baker aboard HMS Duke of Cumberland until 1745, and then served as a seaman in the merchant marines.

In 1753, he sailed for Philadelphia with little money in his pocket and some clothing. His time in Philadelphia proved lucrative as he practiced his profession.

With the money he acquired from baking, he returned to London and continued work as a baker. He also learned to make specialized cakes and confections for London’s wealthy residents.

Ludwick returned to Philadelphia in 1754, and expanded his business as a gingerbread baker and confectioner. He married in 1755, and owned four homes in the Philadelphia area and a farm in Germantown.

In 1776, at age 56, Ludwick enlisted as a volunteer in the Continental Army. Ludwick proved to be of great service to the American cause.

He first persuaded his fellow German (Hessian) countrymen who fought for the British to desert and become residents of Philadelphia. He showed them how well citizens of German heritage could prosper in the American city.

Ludwick was often invited to dine at Washington’s dinner parties, and frequently their conversations were in relation to bread supplies for the Continental Army.

Washington asked Congress to appoint one person to be in charge of baking. In 1777, the Continental Congress appointed Ludwick as Baker General of the Continental Army.

“I make no doubt he will do to the entire satisfaction of the troops, and in such a manner as to save considerable sums to the public,” Founding Father John Hancock wrote to Washington, in praise of Ludwick.

Ludwick’s appointment gave him much responsibility. He hired bakers, trained them, paid them and reported on their progress.

He helped ensure that soldiers received their proper ration of bread when circumstances allowed. He promised greater efficiency: For every 100 pounds of flour, there would be 135 pounds of bread.

He also constructed many baking ovens and paid bakers out of his own pocket when necessary. His pay was $75 per month, and two rations daily.

At war’s end, he even returned to supporting the British through his connection to Washington. When the general defeated Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va., the Americans had many prisoners. Washington ordered Ludwick to make 6,000 pounds of bread for the British army.

Upon his death in 1801, at age 81, Ludwick bequeathed $13,000 ($6 million today) for schooling and education of poor children in Philadelphia.

Ludwick, a hero of the American Revolution, continued his championship of Americans even after his death.

Ken Cherry, of Oakland Township, is a local colonial re-enactor.

Sources for this article include: “Feeding Washington’s Army, Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778” by Ricardo A. Herrera, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 2022. Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 16, No. 3, October 1892, pp. 343-348. “An Account of the Life and Character of Christopher Ludwick” by Benjamin Rush, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Society, 1801.