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Sto caricando le informazioni... Starving the South: How the North Won the Civil Wardi Andrew F. Smith
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Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro. Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro. This might have been a fascinating account of the Civil War from a culinary/food history standpoint, but Smith broke it up into so many tiny pieces (each chapter contains multiple very short sections) that there wasn't any chance at all for a narrative to develop. That, combined with the very frequent shifts back and forth chronologically made this a read that I just didn't enjoy much at all. nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione
From the First Shot fired at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, to the last shot fired at Appomattox, food played a crucial role in the Civil War. In Starving the South, culinary historian Andrew Smith takes a fascinating gastronomical look at the war and its aftermath. At the time, the North mobilized its agricultural resources, fed its civilians and military, and still had massive amounts of food to export to Europe. The South did not; while people starved, the morale of their soldiers waned and desertions from the Army of the Confederacy increased. --
The legacy of this divide lives on today. The necessity of providing food transformed local markets into large, nationalized, and industrialized food suppliers. It forced the development of the northern canning industry, solidified the celebration of Thanksgiving as a national holiday, and forged the first truly national cuisine as emancipated slaves immigrated northward carrying the recipes and favors of the South with them. On the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Sumter, culinary historian Andrew F. Smith is the first to ask, "Did hunger defeat the Confederacy?" --Book Jacket. Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
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Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni... GeneriSistema Decimale Melvil (DDC)973.71History and Geography North America United States Administration of Abraham Lincoln, 1861-1865 Civil War Political history; causes, resultsClassificazione LCVotoMedia:
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Although there was food inflation in the North during the war – according to Smith, about 63% over the four-year period – it was nothing compared to the South, where food process rose by 10% per month during 1863 (for example). The North, of course, also had much better transportation logistics; the Army of Northern Virginia was on subsistence rations for most of the war despite being based in the most agriculturally productive part of the South; the Army of the Potomac was at the end of relatively short coastal and rail supply lines that brought more than adequate food to the front. Smith discusses Thanksgiving in 1864, where private groups attempted to provide a turkey dinner to every soldier in the Army of the Potomac and every sailor in the North Atlantic Squadron; it was by and large successful (all a letter from one soldier at a distant outpost reported his dinner was “pretty mouldy” when he finally got it, but he ate it anyway). The South attempted to counter but Thanksgiving and then Christmas came and went before they could get it organized; finally a New Year’s Dinner was attempted but didn’t come off very well. The amount of food collected was small, and in some front units had to be distributed by lottery. Smith claims this was one of the final blows to the morale of the Army of Northern Virginia; I can see how it might be.
An easy read – finished in an afternoon. No illustrations; footnoted but some claims are not referenced. An extensive bibliography, although it’s mostly general histories and biographies without much specializing in food production or logistics. However, for $3 from the remainder bin it was worthwhile. ( )