We are going to just barely skim the surface of this vast subject by simply relating our comments to Parquin's Memoires. We have seen how prisoners of war were fed by the Russians exclusively with lower quality bread. [7] From the above, we can guess how potatoes could supplement the soldier's diet while on campaign. We 20th Century folks know the importance of potatoes, but that was not always the case! The potato originated in South America and was introduced into France as an ornamental plant in 1540. It was considered suspect as food not only in France but in the rest of Europe as well. In 1563 the potato was first introduced into England by Sir John Hawkins but its cultivation failed to spread. It was reintroduced in 1586 by Sir Francis Drake. Sir Walter Raleigh grew potatoes in Ireland where it soon became the basic food. By 1619 potatoes figured among the foods served at the Royal table in England. In Scotland the potato had been cultivated since 1683. The English introduced it into Flanders during the wars against Louis XIV and its cultivation spread to the rest of Europe. However, in France the potato was still considered suspect in 1771. It was said to be unfit for human consumption. It was Parmentier who rehabilitated it and slowly its cultivation spread, especially during the period of scarcity of 1787. So, during the Napoleonic period, the potato was still a relatively new food item. During the Campaign of 1806, potatoes were of great help to the soldiers in the field as the battles took place in the middle of the potato harvest season. As Parquin suggests, they were just there for the picking. How could the Napoleonic soldier cook his potatoes? Well, a number of simple ways were available. [8] For one, they could be added to the traditional beef soups described in EE&L #6 (page 9). Or, they could be cooked in ashes, a favorite method while on campaign. The recipe is simple and required no equipment: After washing and drying, the potatoes are simply baked in ashes with glowing embers on top. The potatoes are then cleaned off and served with fresh butter (which was often available to the Napoleonic soldier) or plain salt. Believe me, try it! Potatoes cooked this way are better and tastier than the traditional baked potatoes. Potatoes can also be easily boiled, another technique well within the cooking ability of the average Napoleonic soldier. If the soldiers had ham, bacon, or fresh pork, they could not miss the opportunity to saute their boiled potatoes with it to make it tastier. If eggs were available, the dish could be further improved by adding a few of them and making a delicious de facto potato omelette. Try it, this is also delicious. Footnotes [7] The Russian soldiers were not much more favored. [8] Obviously, the present day popular French Fries were impossible because they require relatively elaborate equipment unavailable to the Napoleonic soldier in the field. Yet, still today in Germany, French Fries are called pommes frites. Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 2 No. 8 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by Emperor's Headquarters This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com