Civil War Cooking

Today we will look at a pair of books on foods of Civil War soldiers.

Dosier, Susan. Civil War Cooking: The Confederacy. Mankato, Minn.: Blue Earth Books, 2000.

A look at the Civil War and foods that Confederate soldiers might have eaten. All recipes have been modernized for today's readers, using appliances such as microwaves.  Still, I think that having children try their hands at making dishes such as hardtack, peanut brittle, and hoppin' john could be a good experience for budding genealogists as they try to understand what the Civil War might have been like for their Confederate ancestor.

Dosier, Susan. Civil War Cooking: The Union. Mankato, Minn.: Blue Earth Books, 2000.

A look at the Civil War and foods that Union soldiers might have eaten. All recipes have been modernized for today's readers, using appliances such as microwaves.  Having children try their hands at making dishes such as johnnycakes, Navy bean soup, and gingerbread cookies will enable them to understand the types of foods that their Union soldier may have encountered during his service. The author probably painted too rosy of a picture of the Union soldiers as she seemed to lead her readers to believe that the Union soldiers never took food (plant or animal) from farms without purchasing it.

This is part of the Friday series on children's literature and genealogy.