If you are a devoted reader of the American Civil War and its period, then you know William Davis is one of its most respected historians. Here he regales us with a fascinating history of not only what the soldiers ate, but also what they had to go through to obtain their food.

He makes the point that both armies---Federal and Confederate---had no provision for cooking vast amounts of food by men who often never cooked their own food at home, as that is what their wives and hired cooks did. Imagine getting up before dawn, marching 20 miles in the heat, cold, rain or snow and then being handed a variety of raw ingredients---IF you were lucky---and told to make your own meals.

Through my readings of the diet of Civil War soldiers my admiration for them has grown, as I can't imagine how they accomplished what they did on the diet they had to contend with. Their diet makes my diet of C-rations in Viet Nam seem like 4-Star restaurant fare.

Davis tops off this book with over 50 pages of Civil War recipes designed to help make the food more tolerable. One interesting recipe was for "Confederate Apple Pie Without the Apples." However, I think I might try making some of the beverages listed, especially the ones using alcohol.

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