Their Last Suppers: Legends of History and Their Final Meals (20 page)

On the night of March 14 Caesar attended a dinner party at the house of Marcus Lepidus with ten other senators. As usual, Caesar worked through the meal, dictating orders for troop movements and reform to an endless procession of scribes while managing to be polite and cheerful to his dinner companions.

Rising early the next morning at the home of his wife, he had his usual breakfast of crusty bread and olive oil with lemon juice and honey, and despite the pleas of Calpurnia, who wanted him to stay at home, he marched off to the Curia to meet the Senate, disdaining a bodyguard and chatting jovially to all he encountered on the way.

Seating himself on his chair in the Senate and bringing out his scrolls, he started to dictate more edicts to his team of scribes.

Not noticing the approaching group of senators, he worked on, and only when the first dagger penetrated his back did he attempt to rise. Apparently making no sound at all, he remained on his feet as all twenty-three rogue senators stabbed him, each one encouraging the others.

As the last dagger pierced his heart he finally fell, pulling his toga over his face as if to hide his pain. The shocked senators, suddenly realizing the horror of what they had done, panicked and raced away.

As news of his murder swept the city, it was obvious to the plotters that they had badly underestimated the power of Julius Caesar and the love the people had for him. They were all eventually destroyed by the wrath of the people and his loyal avenging legions.

But nothing could undo the tragic death of one of the greatest generals and leaders in world history.

MENUS

Although Caesar retained many of his old habits from his legion days, rising every morning to a breakfast of crusty bread, olive oil, lemon juice, and honey, like all wealthy Romans he indulged in a variety of foods brought from around the empire. Many Romans had their own fishponds in their home, keeping a variety of freshwater and saltwater fish readily available. Specially built aviaries ensured a constant supply of fowls at hand. Spices from Asia, oysters from Britain, and a never-ending procession of exotic game from Africa supplemented the tables of the rich. Most of the food was prepared so it could be eaten by hand, as the Romans shunned the use of forks and ate reclining on couches, while slaves hovered around with finger bowls to wash their hands and keep the food and drink flowing.

Dinner at the house of Marcus Lepidus, on March 14, 44 B.C., was kept simple because Caesar was intent on working through it, preparing for his upcoming campaign, while socializing with the eleven senators.

Caesar’s Last Supper

• Combine all ingredients and chill for several hours.
  
• Serve on a bed of lettuce and garnish with pine kernels and radishes.
  

• Clean the mussels thoroughly.
  
• Mix all the other ingredients and cook gently as a broth for about 8 to 10 minutes.
  
• Add mussels last, cover, and simmer gently until mussels start to open.
  
• Serve immediately.
  

• Seal the cutlets gently on both sides in a frying pan. Put the cutlets in a large pot with the onion, celery, and spices. Add liquamen, oil, and wine. Cover and then cook gently for 40 to 50 minutes.
  
• Remove the cutlets, thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch, and after letting the cutlets rest for 3 to 4 minutes, place on a tray and cover with sauce. Serve with plums, figs, and fresh rosemary for garnish.
  

• Place oil in a large frying pan, then add the leek and coriander; cook gently for 2 to 3 minutes.
  
• Add the wine, salt, and spices with beans. Toss and serve.
  

• Seal chicken pieces in a frying pan until lightly golden on both sides. Remove from pan, mix with all the other ingredients except figs, and cook for about 1 hour in an oven at 400°F.
  
• Smear the fig paste on the plates, put chicken on top, sprinkle with red or black pepper, and serve.
  
• Garnish with bunches of fresh dill, hard-boiled eggs, and radishes.
  

• Whip cream until it gets body, then add egg yolks; fold in egg whites and strawberries, place in a mold, and chill for 2 hours.
  
• Serve with single cream, sliced apples, and pears.
  

GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER

On May 17, 1876, the Seventh U.S. Cavalry Regiment rode out of Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota, in what would be for many of them the last time. At its head was one of the most colorful and controversial soldiers in American history, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.

Finishing thirty-fourth out of a class of thirty-four at West Point Military Academy, Custer was court-martialed for the first time within days of graduation but eventually saved from punishment by the beginning of the American Civil War and the Union’s urgent need for officers of any type, a luck that followed him for many years.

He was flamboyant and headstrong from the outset of his career, and Custer’s aggressive battlefield forays quickly endeared him to an enraptured public, but he was detested by many of the men in his commands for his recklessness with their lives in battle and harsh treatment in peacetime, while he himself often rode off to engage in his favorite pastimes, hunting and carousing with his wife, Elizabeth Bacon.

His superiors loved Custer, though, and admired the dashing young officer who would take all manner of risks to win battles, always emerging as the victor, with large numbers of enemy prisoners, guns, and artillery. They never paid much attention to the fact that he lost more troops in battle than any other Union general in the Civil War.

Six feet tall with broad shoulders, blue eyes, and long golden hair, Custer could do no wrong in the eyes of his public. Receiving the South’s white flag of surrender at Appomattox from General Lee himself, Custer and his new wife, Elizabeth Bacon, set their eyes on furthering his career in politics, believing that the “Golden General” could one day aspire to the White House.

The end of the Civil War brought an end to glory and headlines. He was assigned to Texas at the head of the cavalry, and boredom set in. He frequently left his troops to have fun with his wife, while having any other deserters shot on the spot, without a hearing.

Eventually he went too far and was charged and convicted with abandoning his command. But General Philip Sheridan, who saw Custer as the perfect man to lead a campaign against the Cheyenne in Oklahoma, overturned his punishment.

Once more marching his men forward without proper intelligence or planning, Custer attacked the Cheyenne camp at Washita on November 27, 1868.

The warriors were absent hunting, but this didn’t stop a frustrated Custer. The Seventh Cavalry attacked, slaughtering 103 women and children and more than 800 animals and burning all the Cheyennes’ possessions. Again the public saluted their hero, but once again, they were never given the real facts of the “victory.”

Apart from the massacre of the helpless, Custer had allowed a detachment of his soldiers, under Major Joel Elliot, to look for the missing warriors by riding east of the village. Elliot finally found them and was promptly massacred with all his troops.

Returning to camp to celebrate his victory, Custer completely ignored his missing cavalry. When their remains were finally discovered 2 weeks later, no one dared question what had happened to them. They were written off as casualties of the battle.