How did hush puppies the food get their name?

Answer 1

This is the story my mother told me. There were a group of fisherman that had taken their dogs on their trip. They had the dogs penned up, but when they started cooking their catch one night the dogs began to howl. After they had cooked the fish they put hot water in the cornmeal breading that was left over. They cooked these in the still hot oil, and fed it to the dogs saying, "Hush Puppies".

Answer 2

Confederate soldiers used their corn biscut rations to feed to their dogs to quiet them in order to avoid detection from Union soldiers, hence the phrase hushing the puppies.