hardtack

[ hahrd-tak ]

/ ˈhɑrdˌtæk /

a hard, saltless biscuit, formerly much used aboard ships and for army rations.

Also called pilot biscuit, pilot bread, ship biscuit, ship bread.

Origin of hardtack

First recorded in 1830–40; hard + tack²

But with us in the west the hardtack was generally our standard bread diet, and nothing could beat it.

The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865 |Leander Stillwell
Both sides were starving, the one for tobacco and the other for hardtack and bacon.

The Crisis, Complete |Winston Churchill
"Hardtack without grease's no more taste than chips," he murmured.

Si Klegg, Book 4 (of 6) |John McElroy
Nary a bit of hardtack, but the wagons will be along presently, and you can get all you want.

An Autobiography of Buffalo Bill (Colonel W. F. Cody) |Buffalo Bill (William Frederick Cody)

But it will be salt beef and hardtack that will keep them from it.

The Young Continentals at Bunker Hill |John T. McIntyre

hardtack

/ (ˈhɑːdˌtæk) /

a kind of hard saltless biscuit, formerly eaten esp by sailors as a staple aboard ship Also called: pilot biscuit, ship's biscuit, sea biscuit