Prospects of Peace 1864 Tour: Large Arsenal

The 8 ovens baking soft bread for Sheridan’s army.

Alfred Waud, 1864

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

During the 1864 Valley Campaign, Union General Philip Sheridan required that 8 bake ovens be installed in this large structure, capable of baking 5,000 loaves of fresh bread a day. This industrial town that had wafted rotten egg aromas from sulfur in burning coal, to manufacture firearms, now smelled wonderful for the first time! 

The sketch of the interior of the bake oven operation shows men on the right, bending down over very large vats, mixing dough. Commercially available yeast could have been purchased by the time of the Civil War. To make it from “scratch”, would have been time consuming. The dough proceeded through different stages of mixing until it was elastic enough to trap air, released by the yeast inside the dough, which allowed the dough to rise. The men on the left, are busy pushing or pulling baked bread or raw dough in and out of the ovens. In their hands are very long iron or wooden bread peels. The long length of the peels indicates how deep the oven was. Compare the length of the peel pole to the man holding it. The sketch indicates the oven could have been 6 to 8 feet deep. Over the men’s head on the left, are extra peels up out of the way, but still close by when needed. These ovens were kept hot and ready to bake around the clock, or 5,000 loaves a day would not be possible!