U.S. Government Bakery

U.S. Government Bakery. Four Centuries: City Point, Virginia 1613 A.D.. , "After breakfast I mounted and rode...to look at the Bake House just completed. It will turn out 100,000 rations in 24 hours. Every thing is on a grand scale and of the most convenient and economical character." – General Marsena Patrick, Provost Marshall, October 25, 1864, Feeding the Union army was not an easy task. Much labor was required to ensure that thousands of U.S. soldiers received their daily rations. On August 30, 1864 the U.S. Military Rail Road construction Corps received an order to construct "an immense building for a bakery...[&] to have a side track" built to accommodate the transportation of the bread to Union troops at Petersburg. Construction of the bakery started a month later and was completed by the end of October., The bakery complex consisted of the five frame structures which included an office, a yeast house, two large bakeries and a storehouse. Numerous civilian bakers kept the ovens going day and night producing more than 100,000 rations of bread daily. The bread was loaded onto trains and transported to the front with such efficiency that Union soldiers often received warm bread. The bakery stood at the end of East Broadway, the present site of The Heritage Gardens., [Captions:] , One of the busiest establishments at City Point, the U.S. Government Bakery produced over 100,000 rations of bread daily., The Commissary Department of the Army was responsible for supplying food. The commissary depot and bakery stood on a railroad spur just outside the interior defense lines. Before reaching the bakery, the railroad spur split into a Y. The northern let went to the commissary depot where supplies brought in by train were unloaded. The southern leg ran to the bakery storehouse.