C: I have read about cooking ware on your "Fannie & Vera's Guide for New Civil War Reenactors" website. You say that "graniteware" enamelware is not authentic for the CW period. I was wondering if plain white enamelware is authentic for the period?
Fanny: Yes, some white enamelware was available as pans, but they were not mass produced items and may have been imported from England. The Steamship Arabia Museum has two such pots on display--cast iron coated with white enamel. These were high-end purchases and would be treasured items.
There was no enamel cookware as we know it (black, gray, blue
or red with white speckles or marbling) during the Civil War, but there is an
interesting connection between the cookware and the Civil War...
Following the Civil War, displaced and disgruntled persons loyal to the Confederacy
migrated to Mexico and South America. Two families who settled in Mexico
founded a manufacturing concern producing tin pots and pans. A few years
later they were among the first to experiment with the new process of glass
coating (now called enameling) pots and pans. They were successful, and
mass production ensued in the 1870's. By the late 1800's, Enamelware was
tremendously popular and was produced by several manufacturing firms, both within
the US and abroad.
A German family in Illinois were tinkering with white enameled pots as early
as April 1874, but mass production did not begun until later in the Century.
This was the original Graniteware, so called because it contain granite in the
coating composite http://www.villageprofile.com/illinois/granitecity/granitecity1.html#history
The enameling process itself has been around for thousands of years (the Chinese
were experts), but was used for decorative and art objects. Using enamel
for coating mass produced kitchen utensils is a relatively recent development.
A more accurate material for ACW era cookware would be tin, steel, iron, copper
or silver. Try to find cookware authentic to the period whenever possible.
Look for cast iron and copper kettles at second hand stores, hardware stores
and suppliers of reproduction goods. Be advised that the solder joints
on tinware do not hold up well to the extremes of heat in open-fire cooking,
save tin items for serving ware (plates, cups, etc.)
However...there are times when enamelware is the only inexpensive cookware available to new reenactors just starting out. Enamelware abounds at sporting-goods stores and is relatively cheap. (It is often the only inexpensive source for durable coffee pots suitable for use on open fires). It should be camouflaged before use at a reenactment! I recommend purchasing dark blue or black enamelware and painting it with flat-black engine enamel (also called Bar-be-que paint, or high-temp paint) to duplicate the look of a well used, fire-blackened tin or copper pot. Paint only the outside of the pot/kettle and keep the lid on to hide the enamel coating inside.
*The good folks at the Cumberland General Store provided information on enamel ware. Read more about the enameling process in any Encyclopedia.
*Thanks to Miss K.A. of the ACWS for her help in researching this topic. She notes that the Steamship Arabia Museum has enamelware c.1856 on display as well as a fascinating array of needful items of the period--well worth a visit.