The U.S. Army Cooks' Manual: Rations, Preparation, Recipes, Camp Cooking

An army marches on its stomach—so the classic saying goes. This book brings together excerpts from contemporary manuals for U.S. Army cooks to show how the U.S. Army fed and provisioned its troops in the early 20th century and lift the lid on what daily life must have been like both for those preparing and consuming the rations.

The oldest manual included dates from 1896. At this time, the U.S. Army was involved in the last skirmishes of the Indian Wars, the Spanish—American war and the Phi...