An Unusual Photo Frame

This innovative piece of memorabilia is a tintype of Augustus B. Hayes in a hardtack frame. At the age of 18, Hayes enlisted in the 1st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery Battery B Aug. 8, 1862. He was wounded Dec. 31, 1862, in the Battle of Stones River in Tennessee. Despite this, he served three more years and was mustered out June 16, 1865.

Hardtack is a name given to a thick cracker made of flour, water, and sometimes salt. It has had several nicknames, but the Union Army of the Potomac referred to the ration as hardtack, and the name stuck. When stored properly, hardtack would last for years. Because it could be prepared cheaply and would last so long, hardtack was the most convenient food for soldiers.

Civil War soldiers would refer to hardtack as "jawbreakers" and "worm castles"—it often arrived at camps infested with worms or other insects.

This object is in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. It is not currently on view.