In the spring of 1942, a new problem was emerging in wartime America: food shortages. Most commercial crops were sent overseas to the troops, and anything left over couldn’t be distributed to civilians around the country due to wartime supply chain complications. Food rationing was implemented to remedy the situation, but it did little to curb the hunger pangs of millions of Americans, who turned to a food production plan that had emerged decades earlier during World War I. In March 1917, the National War Garden Commission encouraged private citizens to “sow the seeds of victory” and grow produce to feed people at home and abroad. School grounds, vacant lots, and backyards were transformed into bountiful gardens, which became known as “victory gardens.” 

Victory gardens came back bigger and better than ever during WWII, succeeding thanks to the cooperation of schools, government agencies, businesses, and private civilians. The movement was heavily promoted by the government through propaganda posters and messages, and although victory gardens weren’t mandated, many Americans embraced the idea as a patriotic duty. It didn’t take long for millions of victory gardens to sprout up around the country, producing bushels of carrots, kale, lettuce, beans, cabbage, and other veggies. The gardens came in all shapes and sizes, from tiny window boxes to grow a few tomato plants to large community plots that could feed several families — every bit helped. By 1944, a year before the end of the war, an estimated 20 million victory gardens had produced around 8 million tons of food for U.S. troops and civilians. Even First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted one right on the White House lawn. 

When the Civil War began in 1861, the United States Navy had just 90 warships. By the conflict’s end four years later, it had 626. Sixty-five of the ships were ironclads, which were the strongest seafaring vessels in the world at the time. But they were also expensive and made from scarce resources, which is why they accounted for such a small percentage of either side’s fleet. Hence the Confederacy’s eventual reliance on “cottonclads,” which were armored with 500-pound bales of cotton lining their sides. Because they were weaker than their iron counterparts, cottonclads would often steam at full speed toward their combatants as the cotton absorbed as much enemy gunfire as possible, then would attack once they were within firing range. 

This proved more successful than you might expect. The Battle of Galveston began before dawn on January 1, 1863, with cottonclads playing a crucial role in the Confederate victory; the South held the Texas port for the rest of the war. Nevertheless, the Confederates were ultimately bested on the sea just as they were on land, failing to defend their rivers, coasts, and seas en route to their eventual surrender.