The Poor Lieutenant's Feast
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- Опубликовано: 8 июн 2024
- The position of the Lieutenant was quite difficult. In this video we explore the hardships of what the Lieutenant faced, how nearly impossible it was to maintain proper appearance, and of course the problem of keeping food stores. Thanks for watching another video In our Poor Feast series!
A special thanks to the Old Fort at Fort Wayne oldfortwayne.org/
Inventory from the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin www.townsends.us/products/aut...
Recipes referenced in this video:
Rice pudding • Well-To-Do Rice Puddin...
Welsh Rabbit • Welsh Rabbit: Frontier...
Ship's Biscuits • Food That Time Forgot:...
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The inventory mentioned in this video is from the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin www.townsends.us/products/autobiorgraphy-of-benjamin-franklin
Add the supply list and measurements to the video description , and then more viewers can buy the list of supplies and try them for a 1776 Holiday feast ! :-)
Do you have a video about old spice? can't find too much just googling it. Great videos, i always enjoy them a lot!
This is the best series of videos that townsends has ever done. The life of the everyman is the most important topic of history in my opinion.
Agree, and it's grand to talk about the good times (feast) and the poor times.
Thank you for watching!
This series and the time travel series are two of my favorites
i agree! cant wait to see the next one
That feast looks amazing. I would consider myself blessed to receive a plate of that.
As a retired 18th Century Lieutenant, I can say this is very accurate for the fine meals I ate during the war.
😂
God Bless you for your service and sacrifice!
Did the packages have nutmeg
😂
I hear you Sir! By the way, Sir, how much did you spend to buy your rank of commission
. Did you have your sister service the colonel?
And here comes Jon Townsend, bringing peace and education to our troubled world again. Thank you, Jon.
truly a treasure and we're all thankful for him
Jon is a gift, after a hard day of work, he is nice to come home to and show how as much as life was difficult, it was still simpler with less bs stress that the average day brought. ive done a few of his recipes and they turned out delicious. my dr might say otherwise but i dont care, i want to go to bed with a full belly and have a good sleep than waking up to go #2 because my dr says i have to eat more salads and veggies.
He should develop a series of how to commit Guerilla Warfare against the British back in the 1700s to 1800s
Don't forget bringing nutmeg to our troubled world. LOL
and nutmeg.
there's something special about the concept of these "poorman feast" dishes, being myself a cook it never fails to amaze me the results you can obtain with limited ingredients (and water available).
i praise not the recipes but all the knowledge behind them, thanks for sharing with the world the joy of simplicity
I love the way these are filmed in natural daylight. Reminds me of times when I was a kid and we would spend summer vacations in an old Maine farmhouse without electricity - kerosene lamps at night, and cooking on a wood stove. It's hard to remember that this is how everybody saw and heard (and tasted and smelled) the world back then.
It’s not that long ago. Every hot meal I ever ate till I was ten years old was cooked on a wood fired oven. Every glass of water came off the roof via spell in a corrugated iron tank, and the toilet was out the back of the house in the yard - fortunately plumbed into a septic tank! I’m now fifty five and grew up in rural Australia.
Sounds lovely.
It was nice - could have done with fewer mosquitoes, but overall wonderful times for a 10 year old. @@avanticurecanti9998
Reminds me of the movie "Barry Lyndon".
Bet they managed their time better too
I love how the care package had to have nutmeg in it 😂
He's the sole reason I've started asking myself "does this need nutmeg?" whenever I cook up something that doesn't have a fixed recipe.... and surprisingly often the answer is "yes... yes it does!".
@@andersjjensen Well, you try nutmeg in a recipe once and you're hooked.
@@andersjjensenIf it has allspice or cloves, then may as well add nutmeg
yeah, its like: "no there is not any indication there was nutmeg but come on, who does not have some nutmeg with themselfs at all times, of cause there was nutmeg, so I am going to add that"
Lol; rice pudding without nutmeg would be an abomination…
"You have to have certain kind of skills to move up in the military."
I am so used to every other creator finding some way to shoehorn in that word, I was expecting Jon to say "which is why I am proud to be sponsored by SKILLShare!" :)
*LOL OF COURSE YOU SNUCK NUTMEGS INTO THE CARE PACKAGE BRO* love ya man
I strongly suspect that the greater amount of food given was also to support the officer's servant as, being a gentleman, he was expected to have one.
You think juniors officers would have them as well? Or would army orderlies be tasked with that’s as well
@@DavidSpratt123 With the british army it was expected for all officers to have had at least 1 servant, with the official regulations being set down where Subalterns (Lieutenants) were authorized to have 1 Batman (more like Alfred than Bruce Wayne) and 2 servants, but weirdly Captains and field officers would have 1 servants and 2 batmen although this regulation would change as the war dragged where by 1781 there apparently was 1 servant per officer. Given that the American army of the Revolutionary War more or less took its entire structure and doctrine wholesale from the British Army (considering the majority of the early war Officers had been British Army officers before the war, such as George Washington himself) it makes sense that they would have servants as well.
In the US Army the practice does continue but in the modern day the only officers who have attaches or orderlies are General officers due to the wide range of tasks and responsibilities Generals have.
@@DaHuntsman1 thanks mate, very interesting and insightful
@DaHuntsman1 Slight add on, field grade officers will have a singular Adjutant, but this is typically only when they are serving in a command capacity.
Honorable act of kindness from Benjamin Franklin
He's still venerated for a reason.
What did he do for the rankers rations? America rejected British rule but to this day, practice 1700's British class snobbery against the poor.
What he gave was an amazing amount, even today that would be very generous.
Might want to brush up on your history a bit. The problem with the old world was snobbery through nobility and title that was through lineage.
Simply one of the best channels on all of RUclips. Loved it as always, great work.
Thank you so much!
Our ancestors really did the most incredible things under the most incredible circumstances
I do hope our descendants are as amazed by us as we are of our forefathers. Cheers to both those both before and after
meanwhile on the other end of human generations, we have resorted to act like how AI replicating humans way back then on the internet for money. But I won't lose hope on humanity that easily just because of them.
The world is pure chaos, then Townsends uploads a video and all is right for just a bit.
All of the videos are worth downloading and documenting. In my opinion, we're all going to be eating as they did back then in the near future.
Settle down, doomers...
@@robertcole9391 Clearly know nothing about anything. You people wouldnt survive the great depression. Or WWII. Lol!
What do you eat@@Wmoore1
@@Wmoore1Everyone has the right to see the world however they wish. However, I personally think the world is doing much better than it ever has been for a very long time. It only looks "bad" to some because they never realized how horrible the past really was. Now, all the "bad' is available for everyone to see. No more hiding it; we all can deal with it and clean house and eventually live in a better world if we so choose to.
Been adding nutmeg to all my savory dishes, my beef cabbage 15 bean stew is now the best stew I've ever made! Next dish is roasted Cornish game hens😁
I cook my Cornish game hen in a smoker. Fabulous!
@@daviddansereau1793 I don't have one unfortunately, but I plan on getting bricks and making one!
I love how you take the list of ingredients from the care package and use that to recreate the daily lives of these lieutenants
One of the great differences between officers and men in the military has always been that the men are 'equipped and victualed' by the government and officers must purchase their own. In modern times, this means simply that officers must buy their own uniforms and pay for their meals out of a rations allowance in their pay. What's more, they pay for **exactly** the same food and uniforms as enlisted men are getting.
And speaking as a former enlisted man, it's very hard to feel sorry for the lieutenant when he gets **double** your rations in addition to all the luxuries. When all you get is a mug of somewhat brownish, slightly tea-flavored hot water, 6 pounds of tea AND coffee is quite the Christmas present.
Don't mistake me, all this was just part of the system of the era. It was 'just how things are done, old boy', and it took World War One for the military systems around the world to even begin to be more egalitarian when it comes to the officer corps.
I should also say that, as a Civil War reenactor, one of my recommendations to everyone starting in the hobby is to 'watch Townsends and memorize everything' 😉 Just as the Great Depression still influenced American society into the 70s, the Revolutionary period deeply influenced the America of the 1860s and so a good grounding in the basics of the Colonial period is pretty necessary to understand the Civil War era.
OTOH;
A private is only responsible for himself and his equipment. An officer is responsible for an entire unit and knowing and being mindful of the men's welfare and employing them to preserve the unit. Its a much greater responsibility and so the rewards are better.
@@obsidianjane4413 It depends.
Staying in the Colonial period, many regiments were formed from militia companies where each man brought his own equipment. Uniforms were issued, but these were expected to wear out under campaign conditions. The primary reason why many state regiments pushed for commonality of muskets was because most of the commanders felt that the bayonet was the primary weapon of war. Most hunting arms of the period wouldn't take a bayonet, and some calibers were too small to take even a plug bayonet.
And the fact remains that Colonial logistics ranged from 'miserable' to 'almost nothing' for the majority of the war. Hard to say you're responsible for equipment you were never issued, you know? And then to see a captain and lieutenant get double rations while you're being issued short rations [and not very palatable or healthy ones at that], well, troops tend to get grumpy about that.
@@carlhicksjr8401 I agree with you. Also, many, if not most units during the Revolution were county militia units, to which I don't think much was provided to the officers. My ancestor got his commission as a LT of militia from a Virginia Committee of Safety in 1775 at the age of 17, and I don't believe he received much in the way of wine and cheese and vittles, especially because Virginia Committees of Safety weren't exactly rolling in wealth in those early days. The units were known as "shirtmen" because they showed up in their hunting shirts, rather than any sort of uniformity. And I doubt the officers were any different.
@@carlhicksjr8401It should be recognised however that in the British Army of the time you would actually be bleeding money as an officer by paying your servants, mess bills, uniforms and mounts that you wouldn’t actually be making money until you reach Captain(which means you would have had to buy three commissions at that point). This was one of the reason that officers from the ranks usually just sold their commission as fast as possible if they were allowed to.
@@imadeanaccounttocomment7800 Certainly true, but I have two counter-points for you...
1. Most [but certainly not all] British officers had private means [aka family money] to help them along. The purchase system tended to keep officer commissions in the upper thousand families of the UK.
2. This video is detailing Continental American practices in regiments where the officers were elected as often as not.
Love your channel, been following for more than 7 years. Congrats on 2 million subscribers!
Gorgeously shot, wonderfully clear background info, Townsends did a great job again!
I love how peaceful and wholesome this channel is. All the best to you
I'm delighted to see you back at Historic Fort Wayne! We got to visit it in June. Such a wonderful location! Best wishes and much love to all the Townsends and Friends.
I wish the Townsend series were shown in our schools today! This wonderful history is being lost! Thanks for all the day to day details and a true understanding of the hardships our ancestors went through for all the comforts we take for granted today. People were so much tougher and resilient then. So much to learn from them and so humbled by their fortitude and spirit.
my favorite thing about townsends videos is when i can point at the screen in excitement after John says something i can relate to my everyday life, like sugar, being in cones rather than granulated.
Whenever im stressed or feel like shit, this video is an oasis in the hectic storm. Keep on, your works are a comfort to the mind
Fantastic! Cooking and learning. Jon is a great teacher.
These videos are genius! You figured out how to distill the best concepts of the long-format content into a shorter and more widely accessible format. I love it.
Always a good day when a Townsend video comes out.
My 3rd Great-grandfather was a First Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War! I had NO idea of his hardships!
May I ask what state, what unit?
@@historyandhorseplaying7374 First Lieutenant Philip Pindell was in Maryland. I have to look at my notes about his unit.
Gunpowder Upper Battalion.
Captain Nicholas Kelly was his commanding officer.
@patmccoy8758 very cool, my ancestor was an LT in the Virginia militia, right across the Potomac from Maryland
Always good to see a Townsend video
This channel has always been educational, entertaining, and wholesome. Thank you Jon for all the years of allowing us all to learn from your knowledge of the past and how our ancestors as well as military personnel survived. Hope you're well Jon 😊
Just for remembering Franklin's missing nutmeg order, Townsends needs to be on the 101 dollar bill!
Love the combination of history and food, thanks!
Benjamin Franklin was so influential, and awesome. A true American to those he saw as needing assistance. Great video.
Wow, that care package is huge, has to last tho. I've had both the rarebit and the pudding, still great meals enjoyed today. Thanks Jon
It’s interesting that you bring up naval officers. As a veteran of the Navy, I’d say the divide between officer and enlisted is probably the largest of the 4 branches of service. They’re pretty much sea-aristocrats. If they want to be aloof and distant from the enlisted, it’s encouraged in many commands.
Yep. Which I why I chose not to join the navy. And the US Navy is probably one of the more egalitarian around the world. Some of it is for pragmatic reasons (familiarity breeds contempt etc.) but most is a tradition that benefits those with power to change it, so it doesn't change.
@@obsidianjane4413That's funny as hell, a navy recruiter came to my high school sort of talking about all the technical training I could get and I said but I want to be an officer! He didn't have much to say to me after that. I guess with my glasses I was never going to be an aviator.
This is the best American history channel I’ve ever seen. Some might call it a cooking channel, but I think it’s a history channel before anything else!
This is my favorite channel. I enjoy the mix of history and cooking. The Lieutenants were basically just making charcuterie boards.
you should do the same for naval officers
Love the history that goes along with the food! Thx Townsends!
That list of ingredients in the care package already had me drooling - as you showed, so many lovely things you can make with that. I did notice the lack of nutmeg, but then you fixed that little typo 🤣. Though seriously, maybe they figured people would at least have their own spices because there really weren't any in there.
I had enough service in the field to save this to my watch later playlist, and as a 2LT in the Army this was a great watch now I'm home!
It's great to learn history in such a peaceful atmosphere. I thank you for both the education and the respite.
I would be cool to see a collaboration between Townsends and Tasting History, with both of their loves for historical foods. Keep up the great work!
Yes!
That would be a dream team. 😊
Man I love historical food videos. Townsends and tasting history, both great.
The thorough information, the love and care put into each of these videos is unparallelled.
It was such a great idea when you all decided to begin posting all those years ago! I have absolutely appreciated the time and work you each put into each video. Allowing "strangers" a glimpse into your lives. Watching the children grow into fine young folks has been fun😄. After a few years, many of we subscribers no longer feel like strangers nor even acquaintances but, oddly, friends😄.
God Bless each of you.
Brook🧑🌾🍏🍎, and
Opy & Asa🐕🐕😃❤️
I’ve been watching your videos regularly for a couple years now and they never fail to entertain and educate. Please keep up the fantastic work! Best history channel on RUclips
So awesome to see Fort Wayne on your channel! Your channel got me excited to start doing living history and I volunteer now at the fort!
The editing and location on this video is amazing! I always look forward to a new Townsend video.
Great video! One thing about which I was curious: the initial list of provisions seemed like more than one man could eat before spoilage even if they were preserved. Where these officers behooved to share this food with subordinates, sort of as a treat here and there? I imagine an officer gathering a few men and opening a big chest filled with awesome food would really gain some respect.
Yeah I also don't get it. He said that they got TWICE the rations of the enlisted men? But also made it sound like they had to buy their own food?? I understand that the provided rations were probably nothing fancy and that promotions were partially based on things like food they served/ate, so probably they had to supplement their reasons with "nicer" ingredients out of their own pay in consideration of that. But it still sounds like they had plenty to eat regardless, so I struggle to justify calling something like this a "poor man's" feast. Maybe next time we'll get a "poor baron's feast" or even a "poor king's feast" 😂
It might help your understanding if you read the Aubrey Maturin series ("Master and Commander" is the first book, all written by Patrick O'Brien).
Although it's the English navy in the series, it is 18th century and addresses the officers needing to provide for their mess and to be able to present themselves as good provisioners. Jack Aubrey loves to eat and loves good food. More than once it's noted that he is generous at the table.
While an army lieutenant would not be a leader of a huge group, he nevertheless is an officer and has to uphold the customs of an officer.
I was wondering kind of the same thing. How long could these rations last? Not just spoilage but how many meals could you get from this (on average, I realize some of it depends on how much is eaten in a day and what was cooked)
Pretty much all of the supplies in that list would last for months and months the way they were preserved in that time period. The butter, for instance, was usually very heavily salted, much saltier than any butter you can buy at a grocery store today. I’d also wager that it would only last that officer maybe a month, maybe two if they stretched it (and they likely would have). By way of example, the enlisted man in that era would have received a pound of meat daily as the meat portion of their rations.
Last day of vacation, came home last night from dinner with a friend who insisted I take the last bit of the leftover cheese. I had ham in the freezer, raisins in the cabinet, I figured, why not? I've never made rice pudding before - I'm glad I made it, but I must admit I may not make it again (though I do eat rice porridge with spicy cured meat a lot). Otherwise, this Welsh Rabbit toast might become my new favorite thing ever. Thanks for the vid!
Your videos are always so chill man, my stomach was in shambles earlier and watching this totally calmed it down. Huge W
So cool, you were in Fort Wayne, I thought I recognized that fort!
The filming and story telling in these videos is exceptional.
Great way to start my day. Awesome video !!😊
Insights, atmosphere, and a little bit of craving. How can one not like this? Always a pleasure :)
These videos are wonderful. You get an insight into the lives of the folks who lived back then, and even get some cooking done as well
My daughter is almost two but we both enjoy your show! It’s a educational program but it’s relaxing to watch and very lively. You show a lot of passion for your work. Thankyou
Welsh rabbit! The first time I encountered that term was just maybe two years ago, reading Poe's "Some Words with a Mummy" (1845), which opens up with the narrator describing his meal of Welsh Rabbit.
A light supper of course. I am exceedingly fond of Welsh rabbit. More than a pound at once, however, may not at all times be advisable. Still, there can be no material objection to two. And really between two and three, there is merely a single unit of difference. I ventured, perhaps, upon four. My wife will have it five; -- but, clearly, she has confounded two very distinct affairs. The abstract number, five, I am willing to admit; but, concretely, it has reference to bottles of Brown Stout, without which, in the way of condiment, Welsh rabbit is to be eschewed.
Having thus concluded a frugal meal...
wow, lol thanks for sharing.
Nicely worded! 😆
Poe, when he got into tongue-in-cheek mode, was hilarious. And his satires could be absolutely vicious. An author I enjoy very much. "Some Words with a Mummy" is one of his more amusing tales.
Upon the Mummy showing signs of life:
"I cannot say that I was _alarmed_ at the phenomenon, because "alarmed" is, in my case, not exactly the word. It is possible, however, that, but for the Brown Stout, I might have been a little nervous."
The old saying of the Brits, "The first son inherits, the second joins the military, and the third the church." Your description of young officer finances hasn't changed much to this day. In 1976, I was given money to buy about half of what I needed: (green) Class A for graduation/commissioning and two pair of fatigues. But I had to pay for my Dress Blues and a second pair of boots and extra fatigues. Plus, we had to pay for our food, even if at the mess hall or in the field. By the end of the month, I didn't have much more money than a private who was issued everything for 'free' (tax-payer funded).
But that changes quickly with promotion and time-in-service. Relatively anyway.
Continental officers still got on better and much more comfortably than the common soldiers. The main difference between American and English officer corps is that they didn't have a landed aristocracy backing them. Some would be from plantation owners, but not all were wealthy etc.
Pretty sure that was to teach you how to live by your men's means
I just love how Townsends continually serves us up a beautiful blend of history and storytelling, with cook work and book work.
Just added another item to my bucket list. Spending a day in the life of a revolutionary war character in your village.
That would be awesome.
Wow! One of the most interesting, informative, and practical videos I’ve seen yet. You had me hanging on every word. I love the care package info. It’s a little different than the ones we send to our servicemen and women today.
This is by far, the most underrated channel on RUclips.
When he said “I’m sure the recipe probably (perhaps not) included some nutmeg”. HAHA
Very well done Mr. Townsend. Love this type of presentation from you folks, keep it up!
4:28 you better believe they had some nutmeg in there
Truely one of the best youtube channels out there. I think diving into the meals of a person says alot more about the daily lives of the times they are living in than even the notable history. I mean, you just explained who these people were and what they had to do all just to explain why they eat what they eat. love it.
I’ve learned & remembered so much historical information from Townsends videos then I did in a lot of my history classes. You make learning truly exiting!
This channel is so informative and wholesome. Love it.
My father introduced me to your videos a long time ago, I'm glad that you're still making quality stuff now that he's gone. ❤
I love a new a Townsends video! Educational, interesting, re-creatable, great for all ages and so incredibly visually beautiful.
Honestly... you guys are great all around!
This was a great episode. So much history and cooking skill back in the 18th century. Thanks for sharing
Jon knowing he has to eat what he's gonna cook: "Today I want a victory for this officer!"
and as a culinary student I agree lol
"I'm sure those care packages had a few nutmeg" LOL!
No matter the recipe you always manage to sneak in some nut meg! Thanks for the great videos!
Idk why after workI like to roll up something crazy, light a wood wick candle and read a book with Townsends in the background it’s my fav❤️
Your videos always makes me appriciate the old, more basic foods our ancestors had to eat for thousands of years. And it always makes me hungry for some bread, butter and cheese lol. Very good channel.
We need more Benjamin Franklins in today's politics.
If only he could see our VA hospitals today...
@@scottanos9981 Well I'm not sure he would be for VA hospitals, or anything of the kind. That was purely a 20th century invention.
i love "the poor" series ! good work townsends
Another brilliantly entertaining video from you. Thankyou so much!
Thank you. I learn so much watching your videos.
You can always count on Ben Franklin.
Excellent video! Thanks for doing what you do :)
Importantly: meritocracy was a thing inspired by the first French revolution and Napoleonic restructuring of the French military so it was fantastic having this insight in how things were in the US before the inspiration of French meritocracy.
It predates the French Revolution. The US never did commission purchasing, even during the American Revolution. The British also never did commission purchasing in the engineers or artillery and commissioned their officers from those who passed training schools and promoted them
based on seniority and merit.
Love your videos, they bring history to life. What a wonderful thing to wake up to, I didn’t expect this. I need to make a grocery run and Franklin’s care package is going on my list! Well, ingredients if not quantity. 🥰👍👍
I’m not sure there is better content on RUclips, love how cozy your vids make me feel
Thank you for sharing!
If you soak the raisins in the rum (by the warm fire to get the maximum effect) before hand you could add a lot more flavor with only the loss of maybe a half an ounce or less of rum from your allotment. Just saying.
poor feast is my favorite series! love that it talks about how these ingredients are available to them. It really paints a picture of what life was like for the common man back then.
I have shown and will show your channel videos to my pupils. Some of them are very very very interested in US early history which is not generally included in our school history curriculum (which is a pity). Your videos is a treasure for these younglings. Thank you very much for all your work. I thank you kindly.
I love these videos. They give me a sense of calm and ease.
It's good how you explain difficult concepts. Definitely a skill you have ..
i love it! a mini documentary about history about culinary culture. it's so calming, cozy, and always so DELICIOUS
Out of all your videos, These Feat videos are absolutely my favorite
You are much like my favorite teachers when I was in school. Engaging, fun and lively.
Very Interesting and detailed video. Thank you for the insights!
What an amazing show you have. Thank you.
Me and my wife was talking the other day about ship biscuits and i told her it was the first biscotti.. lol
Fantastic work team. Great video!